Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: Toosje on May 11, 2018, 06:44

Title: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 11, 2018, 06:44
Goodmorning you all,
I hope you can support me with one of our hens. I would like to hear your experience with this beside the visits to the vet.
Since a week one of her eyes is slowly closing so last tuesday we went to the vet. He said the eye is not damaged but infected and gave us cortisone drops. She can only have this 3 days and after that she will lose her feathers.
Today is the last day (this morning) and actually the drops don't seem to help. Her eye is fully closed now and she is holding her head on her side, like it hurts.
As soon as the vet opens his practice I will phone him, but still I would like to know if some one recognizes the symptoms. Could it be her ear??
She has stopped moving about as from yesterday and ate very little. I am considering taking her in so I can monitor her more closely during the day and maybe see if I can give her water.

Thank you.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: New shoot on May 11, 2018, 07:48
You could take her in and see if you can get her to drink, but I'm not sure what else you can do, other than wait to phone the vet Toosje.

She doesn't look happy, poor hen  :(
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 11, 2018, 08:44
I have an appointment at 10.15 and have taken her in. Hopefully the vet has some other ideas about what could be wrong.

Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 11, 2018, 10:12
There is something wrong with her vestibular. This can be a bacteria through her ear, but also something in her brain.
We have medicine for 5 days now and left with hope she will recover.

For now: making sure she eats and drinks enough: because her world is up side down, she doesn't know how to do so her self.
I managed to give her something to drink, but have been unsuccessful with the forced feeding.

Maybe some one has some advise on this one?
How long can a chicken go without food? She hardly ate yesterday.

She is 2.7 kg now, which I find on the light side for such a large chicken, but the vet said is ok.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: New shoot on May 11, 2018, 11:29
If you can get her to take water, that's something.  She probably feels so ill that she really doesn't want to eat, but as the medicine takes effect that may change.

Are you just trying with your regular chicken feed?  You could try porridge or a mash made with layers pellets and that might be easier for her to pick at or for you to get into her beak.  Just be careful not to try and put too much food into her beak.  If she inhales it, that isn't going to be good for her at all.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 11, 2018, 11:44
Thank you New Shoot,

Soaked pellets sounds like a good idea. I was trying with snacks because I also thought her appetite could be low due to feeling miserable.
For a few minutes she was picking up so I put her outside and she was even able to walk around a bit. I planned to use that time for her to eat something but Heidi escaped to join the food fest. Klarabella got so stressed, she stopped eating. She had a few strings of spaghetti.
She is back in her nest now, because it is such a familiar spot and her favorite. I was hoping she would get some rest (Heidi is at the front of the house now) and time to relax a little to try again later. I have chunks of soaked bread beside her nest, but she is not interested.

I really have to get started with work now so just one more try with water and then later this day some time to try and feed her. In the mean time the pellets can soak and I can find a syringe.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: grinling on May 11, 2018, 19:29
how old is she?
what colour poo?
do you have rats around?
can she walk normally?
there are quite a few things can cause neck issues
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 11, 2018, 21:27
Grinling, we don't know for sure how old she is. We got her from a farm last autumn and she was suppose to be under a year. The reason I started doubting that is that she ... changed her feathers period (I can't find the translation for that) and normally the first season chickens don't loose their feathers..

Her poo looks very healthy, firm, good color, white bit beside it..very stinky though..

We don't have rats but lot's of mice (Why?)

She can't walk properly. This started yesterday late evening: all of a sudden her head was twisted. Up till then it was just her left eye closing. That is why we thought she had a problem with her eye.. This afternoon she has been out a bit, wobbly but about. This gave her the opportunity to have some food: I have not managed to force feed her, just water.
This evening she was worse than seen up till now. She can't even stand. I think tomorrow she better stay in to get sufficient rest.

Tonight she was on my lap so we could give her the medicine. What I noticed when her head was all up side down is that one of her nose holes looks very dark.. She did have a good dust bath during the afternoon yesterday so maybe it didn't get the chance to clear out because soon after that she got worse??
Could it be blood? I would have to look again by daylight to see what color it really is.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: New shoot on May 12, 2018, 08:58
One thing Grinling may be thinking about when asking if she can walk is Marek's Disease. 

There is a link here to a lot of information on chickens diseases, but it is in english, so you might want to search for some information in dutch.

I hope it isn't that, but better to have the facts than not.

Re: Infectious Diseases of Poultry. in Poultry FAQs and other Information - Page 1 of 1 (http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=127931.msg1049078#msg1049078)
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 12, 2018, 14:32
O o I don't hope so..   :(
Wouldn't the vet thought of that when he saw her?? He is a poultry specialist..

I have been googling and did see the twisted neck and trouble standing. What to do? The other chooks will be infected then as well?

Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 12, 2018, 15:12
From what I understand (google) Klarabella is to old to get ill: after 16 weeks there is no 'outbreak' of the disease, but te chicken can carry it with her?

Is this information right?
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 12, 2018, 15:13

do you have rats around?


Grinling, Why do you ask about rats?
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: grinling on May 12, 2018, 20:37
 I find Haynes manual for chickens useful
toxoplasmosis - neck twisted, white poo, shrivelled comb etc....rat prevention
torticollis - needs antibiotics and inflammatory drugs. stress can cause this.
water on the brain -antibiotics and liquid feed.
mice are impossible to keep out of a run and some chooks eat them
hens can moult in year 1, mine did!!
eye infection might be a separate issue to the neck
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 14, 2018, 22:07
Today we went to see an other vet; since there was no improvement or change in Klarabella's situation we sought for a second opinion.
The cortisone drops were about the worst we could have given her. It turns out to be an infection and it could well have given it a big boost.
The antibiotics the last vet gave us where merely a quarter of the amount she should gave gotten, fitting her weight.

We did good, force feeding her every few hours, so physicaly she is in reasonable condition, but her situation was very very poor today.
She is staying over night now: She has gotten fluids, high dosis of antibiotics, a pain killer and something for her dizziness and sickness.
Her blood showed high activity fighting an infection.

By wednesday we should know wether she is going to make it or not. Hopefully I can go and pick her up tomorrow around noon.

I feel sorry for her for dragging on her not being well due to 'mal treatment'.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: New shoot on May 14, 2018, 22:23
I really hope she pulls through Toosje.  You followed the advice and gave her the medicines you were given, plus kept her going with food and water, so don't feel bad.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Sassy on May 15, 2018, 17:16
Hopefully the outcome will be good but whatever you really did your best for her  :)
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: grinling on May 15, 2018, 20:55
I hope everything is going well.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 16, 2018, 09:15
Thank you all :)

She seems to be pulling through!!  :D
She is still at the vet and he sent a short film of her this morning. She is sitting on a towel, sort of straight (not up side down anymore) and is showing an interest in her surroundings.
Before feeding and picking up would give her enormous stress: she would twist her neck even more and start shaking her head. Now she is standing and looking around after the feeding and medicine.

There is no guarantee yet, but the vet said he would be very disappointed if it would still go wrong and has good hope of her recovery.
Because her response to the new antibiotics is quite fast, the bacteria probably is not a viral one: he explained that these are often harder to 'kill'. This is good news as well, since we have 4 more chooks.

Yay!

On the side: The peach thought it a good day to: it seemed dead but is starting to show leaf now.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: grinling on May 16, 2018, 13:09
great news.
remember to check for egg withdrawl time
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 16, 2018, 17:47
Yes it is Grinling :)

Do you mean not to eat the eggs while she is on medicine? Or if the start of laying again will go smooth because it was unnaturally interrupted?

She stopped laying the weekend before last, but I will aks the vet about it. Maybe we have to with-hold eating a while after the medication?

Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: grinling on May 17, 2018, 13:00
some medications require not eating the eggs or meat for 10 days, others mean not eating the eggs meat at all.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on May 17, 2018, 21:04
This evening the vet phoned: it seems she has a serious cocodiosis infection beside it  :homy:

Tomorrow we will go and pick up the medicine.

In the mean time she is slowly but surely getting stronger. The force feeding is getting more complicated ;)
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: New shoot on May 18, 2018, 08:26
Well if she is resisting you, she is starting to feel better.  I hope the improvement continues.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: Toosje on June 13, 2018, 09:23
An update :)

After another big dip she finally seems to be recovering.

She is outside again, with her friend Heidi, she is even eating something out of her own movement, but I am still feeding her 2 times a day.

The main reason for my update is following: She broke down after going upward (18 of may) because of a nasty bacteria in her krob? Crob? The bacteria produces a 'chemical' which causes neurological problems.
So the eye, the head twisting and not being able to walk, the stomach trouble and horrible bacteria infested poop was probably caused by this bacteria.
One of the characteristics of this kind of infection is that the food doesn't pass the crob anymore: it stays full. Even water doesn't pass.
We were checking her crob and thinking she was doing well, but in 1 to 2 days she went downhill and nearly died.

Because the outside problems, with the inside cause don't relate naturally/logically I thought it might be interesting for someone with a chook with similar problems.
Title: Re: poorly chicken, eye closed
Post by: New shoot on June 13, 2018, 11:21
krob? Crob?

Crop :)

It sounds like it was a really nasty infection and that she was lucky to survive Toosje.  Without your care and treatment from the vet, there is no way she would have made it through. 

Thank you for the update.  It is really useful to know what the cause of these type of symptoms can be.