PLease help, Poorly Chook?????

[afrench108]

Hi, i have 3 sussex hybrids, my goldstar has been a little strange over last few days, lethargic and staying alone, very abnormal for her. Yesterday i had to pick her up and put her in the coop as she was standing under it at dusk, very non responsive.

This morning i have opened the coop, the other 2 just trampled her and she is lying half in and half out with her head on the ladder????

I was going to seperate her and put her in the greenhouse in a nox of straw, maybe a little heat on her and see how she progresses, but any help at all would be great????

I dont have a vet nearby so that would be an issue

many thanks

[Nicos]

Oh dear...

I'm no expert but maybe can suggest a few things to check out...

Is she old??
Are her eyes and nose clean- or discharge?
Is her breathing bubbly or laboured?
Does she have prolapse or is egg-bound
Is her comb pale or the same colour as her coop-mates?
Have you checked her over for lice or other creepy crawlies?
What do her droppings look like?
Have you checked the coop for redmite?( it may just have started and she may roost nearest to where they are)
could she have eaten something which could have made her ill?
Do you know when she last laid??
When was she last wormed- and what with???
Could she have injured a leg/ both legs jumping down?

I'd certainly pop her in the greenhouse for now and feed her something warm- and give her a really thorough looking over- and the coop.

[afrench108]

hi, they were ready to lay pullets when i got them in May, so not old..
There is alot of green poo in the coop today, i clean the coop every 5 days and always add the red mite powder. There have been 2 eggs every day as usuall and i worm them on the 1st of every month, adding the liquid to there water and refreshing when empty...i am going to move her in a minute, is it safe to eat the eggs??? Last week my wife and little girl suffered gastroenterities? could be coincidence but they had eggs for breaky the day before???

[Nicos]

I certainly wouldn't eat any of her eggs until you know what's wrong with her.
My gut feeling is that she needs a different wormer. Flubenvet seems to be the only one which kills the worms- the others mentioned on here are not really strong enough...what are you using???

Just a thought- is she eating and drinking- is her crop big and solid ...she may be impacted
can you get a bit of live yogurt down her if she won't eat???

[motherhen]

I would get her away from the other birds and keep her as warm as possible a dark warm place like a shed rather than a greenhouse.
Can you get hold of Nutri Drops from Net Tex they can have a dramatic effect if the bird is caught in time. Is she being forced off the food by the others, she sounds very weak.
Don't over fuss as they can react in a stressy way try and see if she will drink by gently putting her beak to the edge of a small container to see if she will take a little.
Warmth and a little TLC can have the desired effect but do not be tempted to put her back out too soon.

[RichmondHens]

First of all as others have said isolate and keep her warm. If she is not really moving a cardboard box in your house is fine if you need to keep checking on her and don't want to keep going out to the shed/garage. Keep the top flaps folded over so she is in the dark and therefore rests (but obviously make sure there is a decent air hole).

Go through the checkpoints that Nicos has suggested. If she won't drink then try syringing some water into her. When a bird is very ill they usually won't drink or eat and you do need to keep her hydrated. Food is less important unless you know for certain she has not eaten for at least 48 hours, but if she is still pooing then she will have eaten within the last day. Examine a sample of her poo for worms (sounds yucky I know but it's just as important to look at what comes out of your bird as what goes in).

Leave her to rest and check on her regularly (but not too often) and offer a little water/tempting food. You'll know when she feels better as she will try and get out of the box when you open it up.

Keep us posted of any developments.

[afrench108]

thanks everyone, i have put her in a box of hay, in gh with dark cover over the roof to darken it for her, nice and warm with food & water nearby. The poo is slimey yellow/green with no worms, i have just disentected and cleaned all coop and feeders, can see where she lay overnight by mess.
Just checked her skin for feather mites and its clear but for slight orange tint, her mess is watery now, will check on her for improvement later..

[julesapple]

The slight orange tint could indicate a kidney or liver problem.

How's she doing now?

Jules

[afrench108]

she managed to move from the box and lay inbetween the food and water bowls, i syringed her some more water, a few drops, then covered the small coop i made and put the heater on low, but half hour later her head was just lying on the floor, i picked her up and put her back in the box.

I'm hoping she pulls through but the she dosen't look good, i took my little girl out to say goodbye, the other chooks are fine and leaving a gap for her on the perch in the coop....

Is this a common problem with such young birds?? kind of puts me off replacing her...