Poorly chicken

[celi]

Joni, one of the hens I've had for around a year has recently been quite ill and I'm looking for some advice on what may be wrong with her as well as how to make her better (if that's possible). 

Her symptoms so far are:

• Loss of energy
• Loss of appetite (on the first and second days of this illness she was still eating something but she has more or less entirely stopped now)
• Difficulty standing and walking (there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her legs. It appears to be a balance issue)
• Drinking more than usual
• Messy vent due to diarrhoea (which is green in colour, if that helps identify anything)
• Not laying eggs (she hasn't laid since before the moult)

So far we've bathed her in warm water, given her crushed calcium mixed with olive oil, dusted her feathers in case it's mites and have been medicating the chicken feed with Flubenvet (although, as mentioned above she does not have an appetite so this may only benefit the other chickens). I've dealt with a few egg-bound chickens in the past and this doesn't seem like that. She hasn't been hunched over and she isn't isolating herself as much as an egg-bound hen would. On top of that, her crop feels normal. 

Based on stuff I've read online I think she might have an internal parasite of some kind but I can't seem to get a straight answer out of Google as to what the exact symptoms are of different parasites. Any information on this would be great. If you read the symptoms and think it's something other than a parasite, please let me know. 

Her quality of life isn't great right now and I'm aware of that. However, she's such a sweet hen that I really don't want to just give up on her until I know I've tried everything I can to make her better. If anyone knows of any good products I could buy to kill off whatever she has, I'd be really appreciative if you told me what they were. 

Any advice or discussion on this would be great. Thank you for reading. 

[Beantree]

Green is a bad sign in this case and is likely to be an internal infection which may be due to egg peritonitis; a condition where the yolks detach from the ovary but miss the oviduct addend up in the abdomen. This does happen in moderation with hens and they can absorb the yolks, but above 8% of 'misses' (think that's the number) and they can't cope, their abdomen swells blocking the digestive system and making it difficult to walk. Is her abdomen swollen, so firm rather than squidgy? If so a trip to the vet is in order, as antibiotics may be worth a try?

[celi]

1 hour ago, Beantree said:

Green is a bad sign in this case and is likely to be an internal infection which may be due to egg peritonitis; a condition where the yolks detach from the ovary but miss the oviduct addend up in the abdomen. This does happen in moderation with hens and they can absorb the yolks, but above 8% of 'misses' (think that's the number) and they can't cope, their abdomen swells blocking the digestive system and making it difficult to walk. Is her abdomen swollen, so firm rather than squidgy? If so a trip to the vet is in order, as antibiotics may be worth a try?

Thanks for the reply. I've had a feel of her abdomen and I wasn't sure whether it was abnormal so I had a feel of a couple of my other chickens for comparison. Oddly, the others' abdomens felt more firm than Joni's but honestly I could have been examining incorrectly. I think you're probably right about it being egg peritonitis so I'll look into booking a vet appointment for her. Unfortunately I've read that often it's too late to treat them once they start actually showing symptoms but I'm going to try my best anyway.

Thanks so much for your advice

[The Dogmother]

I would get to her a chicken-savvy vet and take along a faecal sample for them to look at too. As Beanie has said, it doesn't sound brilliant.

[celi]

1 hour ago, The Dogmother said:

I would get to her a chicken-savvy vet and take along a faecal sample for them to look at too. As Beanie has said, it doesn't sound brilliant.

Thank you, yes I've started the process of doing that. My local vet doesn't treat chickens and the nearest isn't within walking distance so I'll have to wait a couple of days for someone to be able to drive up there. My hopes aren't too high right now. 

[The Dogmother]

Do you have someone who could cull her if it doesn't look good?

Roughly where are you located? There may be a forum member nearby who could help if necessary.

[Cat tails]

It doesn’t sound she has a few days left. I would look to get her seen sooner rather than later or find someone to end her suffering.

[celi]

1 hour ago, The Dogmother said:

Do you have someone who could cull her if it doesn't look good?

Roughly where are you located? There may be a forum member nearby who could help if necessary.

I’m in the West Midlands. One of my neighbours used to cull them for us but sadly he passed away recently. I could ask my vets if they can cull her, I’d imagine they can but they just can’t provide specialised care for poultry.

26 minutes ago, Cat tails said:

It doesn’t sound she has a few days left. I would look to get her seen sooner rather than later or find someone to end her suffering.

I’m sad to hear that but you’re right. I feel so bad I didn’t catch it sooner though. Thanks for the reply.

[The Dogmother]

I agree that this should be done as soon as possible. It sounds as if you're in roughly the same sort of area as me, but possibly not near enough for me to pop out and help. I am in north Oxfordshire.

A regular vet will be able to cull her, or a friendly farmer.

[celi]

9 minutes ago, The Dogmother said:

I agree that this should be done as soon as possible. It sounds as if you're in roughly the same sort of area as me, but possibly not near enough for me to pop out and help. I am in north Oxfordshire.

A regular vet will be able to cull her, or a friendly farmer.

Yes that’s probably too far. I’m more in the Wolverhampton area. 

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it. I’ve spoken to my parents and we’ll take her to our local vet tomorrow.

[mullethunter]

Well done Celi - right decision by the sounds of it.

[Cat tails]

2 hours ago, celi said:

I’m sad to hear that but you’re right. I feel so bad I didn’t catch it sooner though. Thanks for the reply.

Chickens are very good in appearing well enough until it is often too late. I had to say goodbye to a hen a few weeks back too, when she was beyond the point of no return. I still find it hard to judge when a hen is really not well or just having an off day.

[Luvachicken]

On 3/10/2020 at 6:35 PM, celi said:

 I feel so bad I didn’t catch it sooner though. Thanks for the reply.

Please don't feel bad.

You did your best for her and took her to the vet.

As Cat tails said, chickens hide being ill very well, and it is difficult to spot when they are.

 

[celi]

Just thought I'd give an update. We took Joni to the nearest vet that could euthanise her and ended her suffering. I'm sad that her life was cut short but relieved that she's not in pain anymore. 

Thank you everyone who replied to this post with advice.