Sick chicken - green & yellow poo

[chickmom22]

Our Buff Orpington pullet is weak, lethargic and has been passing watery green and yellow poo. She may be heat stressed as the temps have been 100+ for several days

We brought her inside yesterday as she was collapsing, then getting up again. Gave her scrambled egg and yogurt this morning. She eats some crumble, oats and some water. Got some electrolyte solution down her by syringe a couple of times as she didn't want to drink it. I'll check her crop in the morning to see if it is emptying.

I have read that green poo means their system is shutting down. Is there anything more I can do? She didn't seem to handle the heat well about 6 weeks ago, and since then had not been gaining weight as much as our other chicken. She was active and eating OK, but seemed weak in her legs. Wouldn't go up on the roost or jump onto a chair as she used to do. But it has been the last 2 days that she is quite lethargic.

 

[Eggcessive]

Green poops can mean that a chicken is not eating enough, and the green bile is in the stool. Yellow green poos can mean E.coli. What is her age? Heat stress is very hard on some chickens. I would also rule out coccidiosis, since that can cause lethargy, diarrhea, and puffing up. Corid in the water for 5 days can treat that. Worming with SafeGuard or Valbazen may also help. A vet could check a stool sample for cocci, worms, and look for other problems such as enteritis. That way, you would know what treatment is best.

 

[chickmom22]

She is 22 weeks old. Her crop felt like there is something in it this morning, but not hard. She ate a little mash this morning but refused water. I'll ask around to see if there is a vet who would do a stool test.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have a regular animal vet that is friendly to you, they may agree to do the stool sample as a favor. Or you could just ask your regular vet to check as stool sample on your animal for coccidia and worms, and don't tell them it's a chicken until afterward. Many vets will refuse to do them if they don't see the animal, or if you are not a regular customer. If you can get a stool sample done, then I would treat with Corid for 5 days, and then worm with SafeGuard or Valbazen 1/2 ml orally, and repeat the wormer in 10 days. Corid dosage is 2 tsp of the liquid (or 1.5 tsp of the powder) per gallon of water over 5 days. Porbiotics and Vitamins should be given for 3 days afterward. If symptoms don't clear up then I would treat with an antibiotic.

 

[chickmom22]

Thanks so much. I'm trying to find a vet to do a stool sample. The feed store we use says they don't know of one, and the 3 I called said they aren't set up to test chicken samples. One will call me back.

 

[chickmom22]

Still working with this sick chicken. We thought it was heat stress at first, lime green/yellow poo, weak legs, barely eating or drinking. I didn't give cocci treatment at that time because I never saw blood in her poo and she was so weak, I thought it might harm her if not what she needed. We got her through that with loving care, then dewormed her because she still wasn't well. Saw a lot of thread-like white worms in her poo for several days. She perked up after a few days, but towards the end of the 14 day treatment, she went downhill again. Then she got 'messy butt', which I learned was yeast infection (probably from effect on gut of antiobiotics in dewormer). Gave her yogurt, applesauce, warm epsom salt 'butt' baths. She is eating better now and her poo looks good, but she is listless, weak, head and tail down, not growing or putting on weight. She is 6 months old, same as our other hen who is twice her size and weight and has been laying for 3 or 4 weeks. This one isn't even close. She is an Orpington.

Should I still treat her for cocci or is it too late for that now? She has been weak and doing poorly for a month, and before that, her growth had slowed down. Should we have her put to sleep if she will be chronically ill? We don't care if she ever lays eggs or not, but we need to have her strong enough to be with the other chicken. They were such good buddies since they were chicks, but being so weak, she gets picked on now and we have to keep them separated.

 

[chickmom22]

Also wanted to say that I dusted her with Sevin because she kept pecking at her neck. Today she is twisting her neck quite a bit. What does that indicate?

 

[chickmom22]

We had to have her put to sleep today as she was very weak. Turns out she had tumors on her bones and other places. The tumors were eating her food, preventing her from gaining weight or energy. More tests will be done but the lab said it could be Marek's disease or another form of leukemia. We did all we knew to do, so it was helpful to learn that there was nothing more we could have done. What a sweet Orpington she was. We will never forget her!

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[BigECarter]

If it's Marek's, this thread has a lot of good info.

Not an Emergency...Marek's in the Flock
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/741957/not-an-emergency-mareks-in-the-flock

I ordered my replacement chicks vaccinated from Murray McMurray - of the 9 chicks that I kept, only one developed Marek's and she recovered. Honestly, we would have culled her but she was my daughter's favorite - also a buff. Sweet girl.