Time Sensitive Please Help - Sick Chicken

[Chickenmama_]

I am a first time chicken mom and I’ve had my chickens for a little over a year now. This is the first time I’ve experienced a health issue with one of my ladies. She has always had an issue with her droppings getting stuck on her feathers but nothing more. The picture of my chickens rear end was taken 3/30 and I took her to the vet 3/31.

The vet wasn’t 100% sure what caused it but she ruled it out to be some kind of infection and prescribed antibiotics as well as a pain/inflammation reliever which I was to give for 10 days.

Today is her final day on the antibiotics and she is not acting like herself. Her back end has much improved, it is no longer red and inflamed. But she is no longer wanting to eat/ drink and she is very lethargic. She has her feathers ruffled up and prefers to lay on the ground inside of the coop and doesn’t want to go outside. Her droppings have also turned yellow and are very runny.

She laid an egg on Tuesday. I have placed her in a crate with food and water inside of her coop to give her a safe space away from my 5 other hens. She hasn’t even moved from where I set her down she’s just laying there.

Could this just be because of the antibiotics or is it likely something else going on? Please help I can’t get her in the vet for another 5 days.

 

[LaFleche]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

What kind of antibiotic and pain reliever did your vet prescribe?

Did your hen have issues with brittle or soft shelled eggs previously?

Does she drink enough? And what exactly are you feeding?

And when did you last deworm using what kind of dewormer?

Trimming overabundant butt fluff can prevent the droppings getting caught.

 

[Chickenmama_]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

What kind of antibiotic and pain reliever did your vet prescribe?

Did your hen have issues with brittle or soft shelled eggs previously?

Does she drink enough? And what exactly are you feeding?

Trimming overabundant butt fluff can prevent the droppings getting caught.

Hello! Thank you. My chicken was prescribed Sulfamethoxazole and Trimethoprim as her antibiotic. She has been taking 1.6 ml every 12 hours. And for pain relief she was taking OstiLox .85 ml once a day. Her eggs are normal not brittle or soft shelled. Out of all my hens hers are typically the largest. She eats Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve. Prior to yesterday she seemed to be eating and drinking as normal.

I have had to trim her butt fluff in the past but since this all started she has been plucking out her feathers back there leaving her behind quite raw with no feathers.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Put her on a probiotic ASAP. I had a horse that was on antibiotics and develops stomach issues that I caught right away before it turned into colic. I put him on probiotics and a stomach supplement which solved the issue. The same thing happened to my husband. He was put on an antibiotic and it completely destroyed his gut microbiome. Because of what happened to my horse I knew what to do for my husband. Again it fixed the issues. Antibiotics kill both good and bad gut bacteria which creates an imbalance in the gut microbiome. Without being treated it often results in the bad bacteria taking over the gut. There have been numerous studies and one I recently read one study on how taking antibiotics and then not rebuilding the gut microbiome after lowers the bodies immunity. My child’s pediatrician flat out tells his patients that if their child is on an antibiotic you HAVE to give them a good probiotic afterwards. The gut plays one of the largest roles in the body’s overall health.

 

[LaFleche]

The vet told you to give the antibiotics for how long exactly? 10 consecutive days or was this just for the pain reliever?

The antibiotics combination can lead to kidney issues if given for too many consecutive days.

As the prescribed medications are not approved for chickens you should discard any eggs she might lay for at least 10-14 days.

 

[Chickenmama_]

The vet told you to give the antibiotics for how long exactly? 10 consecutive days or was this just for the pain reliever?

10 days for both.

 

[Chickenmama_]

Put her on a probiotic ASAP. I had a horse that was on antibiotics and develops stomach issues that I caught right away before it turned into colic. I put him on probiotics and a stomach supplement which solved the issue. The same thing happened to my husband. He was put on an antibiotic and it completely destroyed his gut microbiome. Because of what happened to my horse I knew what to do for my husband. Again it fixed the issues. Antibiotics kill both good and bad gut bacteria which creates an imbalance in the gut microbiome. Without being treated it often results in the bad bacteria taking over the gut. There have been numerous studies and one I recently read one study on how taking antibiotics and then not rebuilding the gut microbiome after lowers the bodies immunity. My child’s pediatrician flat out tells his patients that if their child is on an antibiotic you HAVE to give them a good probiotic afterwards. The gut plays one of the largest roles in the body’s overall health.

I have probiotics in her water but am struggling to get her to drink.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I have probiotics in her water but am struggling to get her to drink.

If would recommend bene-bac it comes in syringe form or picking up some needless syringes and giving what you have to her orally.

 

[LaFleche]

10 days for both.

Without any pause in between to protect the kidneys?

 

[LaFleche]

Try to get as much fluid into her as possible to flush her kidneys.
Grated apples, melons, carrots and greek yoghurt and you can also wet her normal pellets to make a mash.

Moro's carrot soup also helps to restore a healthy gut balance:

https://www.ency123.com/2015/09/natural-remedy-for-diarrhea-professor.html?m=1

But only add half the amount of salt as chickens' kidneys are sensitive.