[Becky C]

Hello all.
Firstly Thanks for all the help so far...this forum has been exceptionally helpful in my new hobby of keeping chickens!

However, one of my little ladies appears quite unwell and despite reading numerous threads I cannot figure out the answer! So any help appreciated....and without sounding really really awful the local vet is not the most helpful and is very money orientated (mis diagnosed an infected grass seed deep in my dogs foot as labrador hip displacia due to him limping and if it wasnt for a second opinion would have cost thousands so a bit sceptical!)

Anyway here goes with her symptoms:-

8 days ago:-

very quiet, sitting hunched up , lethargic, not eating or drinking, really runny splatty poos (a bit like the one where it says they havent eaten enough on your poo photo pages!)

I gave her five warm baths a day as she seemed to really enjoy them, gave her water via syringe (when she wanted not forced into her mouth) and also fed her actimel yogurt....each morning I expected to find her dead but gradually she perked up a bit.

Three days ago she was back to chasing flys in the garden albeit not as fast as normal and ate 15 pieces of green giant sweetcorn which is her favourite food and some chicken pellets.

But now yet again she is very very sleepy, she is wondering around the garden but not really with the others, not eating again and only drinking when I give it to he, she has what looks like white poo marks on her bottom feathers which I keep wiping off, her comb is more a purple/red than a red/red, still not laying, and seems depressed although doesnt seem to be  in pain just miserable and follows me around everywhere when she isnt sleeping. I have followed advise from this site for symptoms.....her crop feels very squishy like its full of fluid with one or two little crunchy bits in it, but prior to this didnt know where the crop was so cant compare it. Her vent looks like I would expect it to look although she does have her tail right up.

Im sorry for the lengthly post but wanted to give all the symptoms.
Please dont think Im being horrible over the vet thing. I would never see an animal suffer and if I thought it would of helped would have taken her to the vet last week but from what I have read the outcome never seems to good so suprised she is still going!

Do they get depressed?

Oh and I clean them out twice a week. Have disinfected 3 days ago. They are wormed with the pellet looking ones (not sure if these are good enough). All the others are fine and currently wrecking my garden looking for bugs.

Any help much appreciated. I live in Birchington Kent if anyone knows any good avian vets!!

Becky

xxx

[Vember]

Hi Becky

Welcome to the Hen House

is her crop squishy before she has eaten or drunk anything? If you open her beak does her breath smell funny ?

I'm wondering if she has sour crop May need a vet for anti fungal drugs and I can't help for your area sorry

Have a look here http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=26140.0

Sarah

[Becky C]

Hello Vember.
Thank you for your reply. Yes her crop is squishy BUT her breath doesnt smell at all. I even got my husband to have the pleasure of checking that bit.

This is why Im so confused as to what is wrong as typical symptoms for each hen ailment dont seem to add up (I know a lot of that is typical self diagnosis) but if with all the help from experienced chicken keepers doesnt give a conclusion then I feel that a vet with no chicken experience wont have much luck either :-)

Is does seem that the outcome for most chicken illnesses is not good....but if this is the case surely she wouldnt have perked up sp much? Is that just wasted optimism! ??

I just checked her again and all the others are out and about while she is just in her coop standing there (not squatting).

I didnt realise they were such complicated little things!

Becky

[Foxy]

How old are they Becky, and how long have you had them?

[Becky C]

Hello Foxy. I have had them three weeks now and they were approx 16 weeks old when I got them. They are normal brown chickens (NR Nicks or something cant remember sorry!! and I have two silkies and a frizzle from somewhere else and they are fine too).

They came from a huge barn with hundreds of chickens which is why I wormed them again as even though they said they had been wormed I wasnt convinced they could be sure. I hope this isnt what has made her sick (although that was three weeks ago).

Becky

[snowflake]

what did you use to disinfected out the house? just wondered if she picked something up a purple comb is not a good sign.
 as she sound a pullet she should be laying soon?
is she bottom of pecking order do others keep her from food and water? could be stress?
ACV in water is good tonic also heard garlic crushed in water. Cat food is a good boost wet fishy sort even a hard boiled eggs mashed up.
Any signs of lice or mites they can make a hen run down perhaps a spot on treatment for her.

[Aunt Sally]

Hi Becky

She doesn't sound well does she 

Has a crop problem has been ruled out ?

A blue tinged comb is indicative of a lack of oxygen in their blood.  This can be caused by a few things.   A heart problem is fairly unlikely and a respiratory infection would give more symptoms like rattly breathing and possibly face swellings and discharges from the eyes or nose.  Lung worms would cause gaping.

The only other thing I can think of is an egg problem although at 19 weeks she may be a bit young to be laying.  How big are her comb and wattles ?

If she has an egg laying problem such as internal laying it may cause a build up of fluid in her body cavity and this can put pressure on the lungs and heart causing the blueness.  Have a good feel of one of your "normal" hens so that you know what their abdomen should feel like (the soft area between the vent and breast bone).  Then have a gentle feel of your poorly hen.  If she has fluid in the body cavity she will have a fatter abdomen which may feel a bit more ridged than the normal hen's.

I hope you can find out what's wrong and get her better soon

[poultrygeist]

It sounds like it could be her crop if it's squishy. The smell isn't always obvious and it could have led to an infection.

If it doesn't go down at all and she's reluctant to feed, you can try upending her and gently massaging her crop to see what comes out. If her crop is functioning properly it won't actually hurt her (though may annoy her quite a bit) but could give some relief.

But rule out any internal egg problems first. Don't want to risk squeezing her if there's one stuck inside.

Rob

[Becky C]

Thank you poultrygeist and Aunt Sally!

I will go and smell her breath again (never thought in a million years I would be trying to see if a chicken has bad breath!)

and will also catch one of the others and check for the differences like you said. She had just started laying already...only very tiny little eggs though but I guess even they might get stuck!!

Very interesting re the comb though.

Is internal laying treated in the same way as an egg bound chicken? Is there a good outcome for this?

Thank you for all your help!

Ill update this post either way incase anyone else has similar problems :-)

Best wishes.

Becky

[Becky C]

Hi snowflake.

I used a very very diluted jeyes fluid as it said on the bottle that it is suitable for animal cages and pens including pigeon lofts and kills bird flu and other avian disease....if this isnt suitable please let me know as I will obviously bin it.

I know its not good for me as heavily pregnant but says its safe for animals!!

We shut all the girls out and let it dry completely before adding bedding and letting them back in.

She wasnt bottom of the pecking order but since she has been ill the silkies sometimes bite her....one of the silkies even tried to bite her vent which was harsh but that seems to have stopped. (Im off work now so keep a close eye on them throughout the day).

Im not sure what ACV is but will look it up in a mo and go and get some if it helps!

Thanks

Becky
x

[snowflake]

Hi Becky.C
Jeyes fluid is fine, just wondered if she picked up something she shouldnt have, purple is a sign of heart prob's IMHO.
ACV is apple cider viniger great stuff in water, the cloudy sort you get for horses so large pet shops that do large animal feeds would stock it.
chickens can be nasty when one of them is ill,
you say you changed the bedding what did you use. just ask as I have a  hen who eats the woodshavings daft I know but she does worry me at times shes half sharp. They will have a go at anything.

[Becky C]

Hi Snowflake....yes I did change to woodshavings......always a possibility so will go and remove them just in case. I just gave her another bath after comparing her to another hen like Aunt sally said and discovering her abdomen is a little firmer feel I should treat her for a stuck egg?

I got on a rubber glove to have a feel like I have seen suggested before and just stood there staring for ages until I decided I couldnt bring myself to do it.....I will have a go at most things but not brave enough for that incase I hurt her so I then decided to call the vet. They confessed they havent got a clue about chickens and therefore would be a consultation and x-rays to start to try and establish what may be wrong but suggested calling another vet who they suggested as a specialist.....when I phoned them they said they have one vet who has dealt with a small number of chickens....arghhhhh! She said other than steaming her like they do with budgies and putting liquid parafin in the water then the likihood is that she will die anyway so kinder to just bring her in to be put down!

Well please correct me if Im wrong but my views on chickens have changed immensley in the last three weeks....they are not 'just' chickens and the fact that she was looking at me while I was on the phone filled me with guilt so I have decided that I will do everything I can and follow any advise and do my best to make her better HOWEVER if I think she is in pain then will obviously take her to be put to sleep as I cant see them in pain....(Im assuming if a chicken was in pain she would make some kind of noise even if only when I move her etc)

Her comb is a little redder than this morning if that makes any difference? Or does the purple/red colour sort of come and go?

I appreciate all of your help so Thanks.

[Aunt Sally]

You will know if she is in pain.  She'll just stand or sit eyes closed or stairing and won't complain even if you pick her up.

I would probably go for the x-ray as it would tell you what's going on inside. You'd be able to see an egg or fluid filled spaces or possibly any tumours there 

They would only put her to sleep if you allowed them to !

What's your location Becky, perhaps someone here may be near you and know of a vet who treats hens.

[Becky C]

Oh...I assumed she would make some sort of noise if she was in pain! But she does stand and shut her eyes a lot....now I feel terrible if I am letting her suffer! Maybe it would be better to put her to sleep.Youll probably think Im a really awful person now but  Financially Im not in a position to pay the £16 consultation fee, plus £7 per x-ray when they said they usually need atleast a couple then whatever the treatment will be especially if the outcome is that she will be put down anyway (which is what the vet advised the outcome would probably be!) I was just hoping to give her a good chance first. All my other pets are insured but not sure if you can get chickens insured!! But Im going to look just incase!

I stupidly thought that chickens were just chickens and when the time came I could just take them to the local farmer to do the deed ....now they all have names and Im all attached and cant even stomach the thought of a chicken salad!!

I live in Birchington Kent. My local vet was very honest and basically felt they couldnt help as didnt have a clue on chickens!

She is walking around the lawn at the moment. Slowly but atleast not just standing there so I will see how she is in the morning.

Thankyou for all your help and advice. I will chat to my husband and see what he thinks about the vet   

[Aunt Sally]

If you can't afford a vet then that's not a good sugestion from me.  A diagnosis is difficult over the internet and I think we've probably given you some ideas on what the problem could be. Do let us know how she goes on

Do you see the "Ask a Vet Online" advert at the bottom of this page ?  Might be worth a try !