4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[chocchick]

Poor little Megan was walking round with her tail down and back slightly up yesterday, I thought could be a soft egg. Today she has been sitting down a lot and on moving (still tail down) has now developed a limp on one leg and produced a small amount of green poo. We can't see any injury and she didn't object to us feeling the leg.

Any ideas?

We've put her inside and she's had some water and polished off some mealworms. Can't really feel her crop so think she might be off her food. I would think it was worms/egg related if it wasn't for the limping-unless that is unrelated.

 

Edit: a tiny bit of yellow poo now.

Edited June 25, 2009 by Guest

[sandyhas3chucks]

they can limp if egg bound. It presses on the nerve, if she is blocked she won't want to eat.

I would take her to thevet if she hasn't passedf anything over night.

It would be useful to know where she roosts and you can see if there is any pooh overnight., if so what it's like too.

[chocchick]

Poo is greeny and a little watery. We've got her inside as poorly. We tried washing her feet and she did squeak and flap when I dabbed the limping foot, so could possibly be an injury even though doesn't look different to the other foot.

She has eaten mealworms and some pearl barley.

[Egluntyne]

Have you wormed her recently Choccy?

[chocchick]

We've been to the vets. When I came home from work Megan was sat down, closing her eyes and breathing more obviously (wattles and sides). Apparently she was eating and up at lunch.

She's panting a lot. She's not egg bound. She may have chicken gout i.e. crystals in the joints as obviously painful but no sign of injury or swelling. That would be caused by a kidney problem and nothing we've done. She has an exceptionally high temperature. When we put her on the floor at the vet's she didn't walk and just stood/sat there. She stands with her tail and backside down. She's had an anti-inflammatory/general antibiotic injections and we've got some more anti-inflammatory drops for her beak tomorrow. Hopefully she should perk up in a day or so and if gout water would flush out toxins. The vet said she would have bad poo if poorly and not eating/drinking properly. We have to try and force water into her beak with a syringe as vet was worried by high temperature (108)-should be 105 (I think).

[Egluntyne]

Poor girl. Fingers crossed for her.

[chocchick]

Thanks for your replies

Megan showing slightly more interest in surroundings last night. We put her cage in the garden and she started peeping and looking about and is on her feet a little more (was completely silent yesterday). Just have to see what she is like today. At least trying to stand rather than sitting down and should be cooler today. Does stumble round on her feet a lot. Temperature 106.6 but doesn't feel as hot.

Just need to keep fingers crossed.

[sandyhas3chucks]

fingers & toes crossed here too.

[chocchick]

Megan went back to the vet today and saw the vet more experienced with chickens. She thinks it is not gout, but neurological as should be evidence of swelling in the joints after 2 days. Megan has been given a vitamin shot, steroids and is going to go onto baytril as covers different bugs not covered by the last antibiotic. She is off the anti-imflammatory drugs.

Megan is sitting down with eyes closing a lot, but slightly better after vet and eating a bit on her own. It's not respiratory and her poo seems OK (for an ill chook!) her feathers, breath and weight and she is otherwise healthy. Neurological conditions can cause the sleepiness and lack of appetite and we need to keep trying to get her to eat. It is probably an infection causing it. She seemed hopeful as chickens tended to die from respiratory and digestion problems generally, and she didn't have either. Megan has an appointment for next Monday. The vet's friend who has nursed chickens is going to call with advice about feeding.

Keep fingers crossed.

[Budgies]

Sorry to hear how poorly Megan is. At least the vet you've just seen sounds very knowledgeable - it helps such a lot when the patient can't talk to have a good vet!!

 

Got everything crossed for Megan here Chocchick

[chocchick]

Megan seems better this evening. She has been eating treats nonstop the last hour (in attempt to find something she will eat), but painfully slowly taking ages over each tiny piece. Good to see her have an appetite and want to eat something and to look perky even if she eats sat down. She even stood up on both legs and walked one or two steps, looked confused like she had never walked before, then her legs wobbled and she sat down for a good peck at some mealworms. Feeling happy and relieved as first sign of improvement in days.

[chocchick]

Megan has been stood up a lot but has started closing her eyes again. Her tail is half up. She has started objecting a lot to the baytril and struggling and making noises and wiping her beak in disgust on being returned to the cage. One minute she is pecking a little at food and the next she is stood or sat doing nothing, maybe closing her eyes. She's still not eating properly and just picks, even at treats. She goes back to the vets tomorrow.

[Budgies]

We've had a few threads lately about Baytril suppressing their appetite. It might be that causing her to feel unwell.

 

Good luck at the vets

[sandyhas3chucks]

We've had a few threads lately about Baytril suppressing their appetite. It might be that causing her to feel unwell.

 

Good luck at the vets

Gosh I missed those, assumed they were poorly and off their food.

Not Baytril( a dif antibiotic) from Retfords however they DID send me an appetite stimulant AND another with electrolytes etc in. when my old girl was poorly.

Have seen similar on usually chooky sites, perhaps another addition for medicine boxes.

[chocchick]

Just to note that being ill/being less active would also suppress appetite.

 

The vet was happy as she was walking/flying/active compared to when she last saw her and she didn't move or walk. She's had a steroid injection that should last about 14 days and we're to finish the baytril. We're seeing how it goes as don't know if it's permanent or temporary and just relieved by steroids.

 

We've chicken wire'd off part of the chicken run so that she can be a bit more stimulated without being attacked by the others. She has a slight limp and is much less active.

[chocchick]

Megan's still very poorly. She seems OK with her legs but is now just sitting or standing with her eyes closed and has not eaten for about 2 days although she is drinking. I can't get her to touch more than a drop of so of syringed liquid if I try and make her. I don't know what to do.

She is on day 10 of a 14 day steroid injection. She did get better and start eating and producing normal poo and showing interest in exercise but she has got worse again. The vet wanted to leave it at least 10 days and see what happened. OH seems in favour of giving her steroid injections if it keeps her better but I'm wondering if it's just prolonging things for her. The vet didn't really know what it was either, apart from possibly being neurological.

Wondering if she would eat something liquid like yoghurt or food liquidised as she won't even touch favourite treats. Maybe phone vet soon.

[Egluntyne]

Sorry to hear it Choccy. I would take her back to the vet.

[chocchick]

Booked her in for this afternoon. Of course after forcing some sugar water in her beak she is on her feet and has taken 3 tiny pecks at the food and some water. Not sure if she ate or not, and she's back to stood up eyes closed.

[chocchick]

She has a fever, and lost 1/4 of her body weight. She's had the injections that helped the time before last and booked to go back in 2 days but not feeling very hopeful she will survive. Feeling really low.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

So sorry to hear that, Chocchick . I hope she recovers from whatever is ailing her .

[chocchick]

Megan is the same, just sat mainly and with a fever. Possibly a trace of breathing problems from anaemia. The vet suggested baby food as something we could try and feed her.

The vet was not helpful and could only suggest putting her down but we can't do it yet, especially as this was the vet that suggested gout, says she doesn't know about chickens and we don't know what's wrong with her. It was one of those fustrating things where she said if it was a dog or cat I'd do this and you can generally only diagnose chickens post mortem.

Our chicken vet has been off all week and is off until Tuesday. This vet was the first one we saw who was talking about having her put down then and she responded to the chicken vet's treatment a week later and was walking round the garden. I couldn't look at her and say yes as she still responds to us and looks sick but not in a hideously bad way. OH wants to try injecting antibiotics ourselves as we can't say she has been getting the dose as near impossible to get in her beak! Again she still fights back over this and will jump off my knee and go back in the cage when she is annoyed with being syringe fed. It's one of those things where I wonder if it is worth going to the vet or not and if she is only hanging on because of intensive nursing from OH. But we are willing to do this at least for the moment.

[quickcluck]

It's sounds as if you are doing everything you can. If she needs fattening up have you tried pasta and tuna/sardines.... she may have a little peck at those.....

[Egluntyne]

Have pm'd you Choccy.

[sandyhas3chucks]

oh, chocky know how you feel.

the last of my 1st 3 ex bats is poorly today..

You just don't know what to do for the best!

thinking of you.

x

[chocchick]

She's only eating what we syringe feed. She's just won't eat if you put treats in front of her, I've tried.

It's sounds as if you are doing everything you can. If she needs fattening up have you tried pasta and tuna/sardines.... she may have a little peck at those.....

We believe the fever has gone, but she is taking more effort to breathe since yesterday. Her comb did darken so she looks less washed out.