Sick skinny chicken need help!

[jjanedoe]

Hi all, hoping for some help. I have a hen, less than two years old that is literally feathers, skin and bones. I found her collapsed next to the duck pond. I brought her in and fed her a little egg yolk water with a syringe. I don’t think she’s going to make it, she SO weak. I have her in a cat carrier with a towel, limited shavings, wet food and egg yolk water. I cannot tell you how bad I feel she’s so skinny
We had a similar issue with an old hen several months ago. We were advised she was really old and we my have worms. We treated everyone. We have had no issues since. Now this.
Here’s the details of our flock:
Chickens and ducks
Laying but reduced quantity (thought it was heat related been over 100)
Free choice layer feed
Scratch once to twice per day
Meal worms every night
Free range most days ( usually 5 or so a week)
Two waterers and a duck pond.

No one else appears to feel ill. When my husband gets home we will do a catch check of everyone and see if anyone else is super skinny.

Anyone have any idea what may be going on?

 

[rebrascora]

I don't think it is related to this particular death but

Scratch once to twice per day
Meal worms every night

This is an unhealthy diet that puts your birds at risk of a variety of ailments. Scratch is high in carbs and low in protein and they will eat it in preference to their regular layer feed, so they will get less of the balanced nutrients in the formulated feed. Whilst the meal worms are high in protein they have been banned from use for poultry here in the UK due to concerns about transmission of disease due to the way they are farmed in China. Something like 90% of the meal worms sold worldwide are apparently produced in China..... but this is a side issue.

As regards the sick chicken, the things that cause them to become skin and bone are usually a blockage of the digestive tract.... either a crop or gizzard impaction or a blockage lower down which can be due to several things like reproductive issues, tumours or worms.
What did you treat them for worms with?
Does her crop feel hard or empty?
Can you feel any lumps or swelling in her abdomen?
Is she pooping anything at all?
The best you can do is probably tube electrolytes into her a little at a time and then start with mushy food after that. Kaytee Baby Bird formula is very good but some chick crumbs mixed to a slurry with plenty of water would work or ordinary layer crumbles/pellets soaked in warm water. Nutri Drench or Poultry Cell or other poultry vitamin tonic may also help give her a little boost to keep her going.
If she doesn't make it, it might be useful to either send her off for a professional necropsy or open her up and look inside yourself. If you are unsure, take photos of all her organs and anything that looks odd and post them here because there are some of us that are becoming rather more experienced than we would like, at looking inside dead chickens and figuring out what went wrong. Many heads are better than one in these cases.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm sorry you've experienced some losses and that your hen is not doing well.

At less than 2 years of age, and being skin and bones, my first thought is worms or external parasites such as mites which can cause birds to be extremely anemic.

It could also be that she is at the bottom of the pecking order and not getting enough food. That sometimes happens.

It could be a combination of both...worms/parasites and bottom of pecking order. The two together may have extremely compromised her system especially in the heat.

She may have some internal issue going on that you simply are not aware of. If she is a commercial layer type, they can be prone to ovarian cancers, liver cancer.

And finally, she may have a slow wasting type of Marek's. Don't panic at the sound of Marek's as it is so common that nearly every flock has exposure. Healthy birds keep the tumors at bay with their immune system. Weakened birds succumb to internal tumors on organs that produces a slow wasting. There are many forms of Marek's, and only one kind produces the neural symptoms that exhibit paralysis, wing drop, and foot drag. Typically the slow wasting Marek's is unnoticeable until the bird is so emaciated that it is skin and bones and succumbs.

Without a necropsy, it is impossible to say with any certainty.

With any size flock, meaning more than just a few birds, it is not unusual to lose 1 sometimes 2 a year. Keeping 20 birds, I think over the years I've lost possibly average of 1 bird a year to something odd....usually my older girls...but sometimes a younger one.

If your birds are otherwise appearing healthy, you've done parasite checks and treatments, and have multiple feeders and waterers and places for heat protection, and you aren't seeing multiple symptoms in numerous birds, an occasional loss of the odd bird in a free range system is not that unusual.

Again, only a necropsy will let you know what you may be dealing with.
LofMc

 

[nestleaver1]

Hi - I've had success treating crop/gizzard impactions with Digestive Enzyme supplements (sold for humans in health food shops/online). Make sure the one you get contains cellulase as the impaction is likely to be plant-based. If she will eat you can sprinkle the powder from 2 capsules on some moist feed or greek yoghurt (make sure it's all moistened and mixed so she can't breathe it in). If she won't eat, you can inject the powder dissolved in water straight into the crop through the skin. I had a rescue chicken that was skin and bone: she was clogged up with cleavers seed in the gizzard. I gave her enzyme for 3 days (injected) and the impaction started to clear. She recovered and her feathers grew back and she lived a further six months.