Sick Bantam - No balance

CardBordWindow

I have a sick silky bantam and wondering if anyone can help.
The bantam seems to have lost her balance and has been very sluggish the past 2 days. Normally when I handle her, she tries to escape, but barely moved today when I was checkin her for lice, as I lost a bird to lice years ago when I first started with birds. No lice on her though.

Themadhouse

Has she been eating ok? What does her crop feel like? Any odd poo colours?

If you havent checked her crop i would advise that you do. It should be soft, like plastacine. If its hard she has an impacted crop.
Has she laid recently? Is her chest raspy?Do you worm?
Do you have baytril that you can give her, its an AB.

I would bring her inside. Confine her in a pen of some sorts in a warm, quiet dark room like an ensuite. I would scramble up an egg for her, see if she will eat it. They love scrambled eggs.

If she is losing her balance i would say she could be starving..... Does she feel lighter than normal.
Its so hard to tell with hens.

CardBordWindow

Themadhouse wrote: »

Has she been eating ok? What does her crop feel like? Any odd poo colours?

If you havent checked her crop i would advise that you do. It should be soft, like plastacine. If its hard she has an impacted crop.
Has she laid recently? Is her chest raspy?Do you worm?
Do you have baytril that you can give her, its an AB.

I would bring her inside. Confine her in a pen of some sorts in a warm, quiet dark room like an ensuite. I would scramble up an egg for her, see if she will eat it. They love scrambled eggs.

If she is losing her balance i would say she could be starving..... Does she feel lighter than normal.
Its so hard to tell with hens.

The last time I remember seeing her eat was at the weekend. She's only a young bird and hasn't started laying yet. She is a bit lighter alright, but I put that down to her being sick and unable to eat due to the lack of balance.
I do treat for worms. It would have been 8-10 weeks since I treated her.

I'll bring her inside tonight. I'll try get her to eat some egg. Hopefully she'll be alright. I haven't checked her crop, but I will when I bring her in.

Themadhouse

How old is she?
Are you feeding her growers pellets or layers pellets?

CardBordWindow

Themadhouse wrote: »

How old is she?
Are you feeding her growers pellets or layers pellets?

She's about 4 months old.
I'm feeding all my birds rolled barley at the moment.

Themadhouse

there are some that say the rolled barley has insufficient ruffage in it to help it pass through the hen, it ends up backing up in the crop and impacted crop happening. I dont know how true this is. Its possible your girl is not getting enough grit to help the food pass through.
I feed growers to hens under 18 weeks and layers to over that. Treats are mixed corn. I have never fed Barley so cant really comment personally.

If it is impacted crop her will feel hard. Liquid parafin or olive help shift it.

http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicken_a/chicken-crop/impacted-bound-crop.php

We had one a few months ago that turned to sour crop. We had her in the ensuite for a week. SHe is now laying away!
Its imprtant that she gets some nutrition into her and water. Syringe natural yoghurt itno her in small dose, if you have baby food (fruit or veg). Anything she will eat in small doses

Themadhouse

The poultrykeeper uk is a great chat board to get information and advice from people who have years of knowledge. Might be worth popping over there to see if anyone can offer anything different.

CardBordWindow

Themadhouse wrote: »

there are some that say the rolled barley has insufficient ruffage in it to help it pass through the hen, it ends up backing up in the crop and impacted crop happening. I dont know how true this is. Its possible your girl is not getting enough grit to help the food pass through.
I feed growers to hens under 18 weeks and layers to over that. Treats are mixed corn. I have never fed Barley so cant really comment personally.

If it is impacted crop her will feel hard. Liquid parafin or olive help shift it.

http://www.poultry.allotment.org.uk/Chicken_a/chicken-crop/impacted-bound-crop.php

We had one a few months ago that turned to sour crop. We had her in the ensuite for a week. SHe is now laying away!
Its imprtant that she gets some nutrition into her and water. Syringe natural yoghurt itno her in small dose, if you have baby food (fruit or veg). Anything she will eat in small doses

I have her inside now. I gave her some warm milk with a drop of brandy in it, on advice from a friend. I'll get some olive oil first thing on the morning and try giving her a few drops. Unfortunately I don't have any at the moment.
I'll try give her some water and food tonight and see how she is in the morning. Thank you so much for your help.

Themadhouse

Fingers crossed she comes around for you...

Whispered

How is she today?

CardBordWindow

She seems a bit more aware today. Her balance is still gone, and she is still sluggish, but she struggled a bit when I was giving her some water and olive oil this morning. She ate some scrambled egg, but I had to hold right in front of her beak. I'm keeping her in the kitchen for the time being, until she improves.

Ailishcrehan

CardBordWindow wrote: »

She seems a bit more aware today. Her balance is still gone, and she is still sluggish, but she struggled a bit when I was giving her some water and olive oil this morning. She ate some scrambled egg, but I had to hold right in front of her beak. I'm keeping her in the kitchen for the time being, until she improves.

Just out of curiosity - why haven't you brought her to the vet or phoned the vet for advice? It really doesn't sound like she is well and though you can try all the tips and listen to advice from people that have poultry, each animal is individual and may need a different level of care/medication.

Giving an animal antibiotics when you aren't sure what is wrong with it is not really the way to go.

Your animal has been sick for a few days now, so time to call the vet for professional advice and see how your chuck fairs.

Best of luck!

CardBordWindow

Ailishcrehan wrote: »

Just out of curiosity - why haven't you brought her to the vet or phoned the vet for advice? It really doesn't sound like she is well and though you can try all the tips and listen to advice from people that have poultry, each animal is individual and may need a different level of care/medication.

Giving an animal antibiotics when you aren't sure what is wrong with it is not really the way to go.

Your animal has been sick for a few days now, so time to call the vet for professional advice and see how your chuck fairs.

Best of luck!

Unfortunately, I don't have readily availability of a car at the moment, which doesn't help. I've brought a few birds to the nearest vet to me, but he doesn't have much experience with birds, and has never been able to give much help, if at all.
I have arranged a lift to a different vet with my cousin, but that's not til Saturday. I'm just hoping that the advice I've been given will help her until then.

Ailishcrehan

It seems quite common that vets aren't 100% up to date with the poultry knowledge - I feed my sisters chickens when she is away (quite often) and I know I had great difficulty getting help when I suspected on of the hens was poorly. The vets suggested antibiotics but again, without seeing the bird, I was wary of overdosing the bird as I couldn't weigh her and wasn't prepared to guess the weight either.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as rude or anything like that, and I hope your chuck feels better soon

Themadhouse

Did the food leave her crop overnight or is there a hard lump there? If you are keeping her in the kitchen I would cover the pen and keep her in the dark so she can sleep. Just wake her up for some soft food and water through the day. Has she done a poo?
It sounds like she is weak hence the lack of balance so the more sleep she gets the less likely she is to use up her energy.

The problem with vets is most of them don't know how to deal with poultry unless you are lucky enough to find one that specialises. A vet won't take an emergency call for a sick hen. They will probably offer a jab of vit b and keep as you are going or cull her. When we got hens first I needed to clip their wings to keep them in the garden and the vet clipped the wrong feathers... I had wanted him to show me with this girl so I could do the others myself. Eventually he got the right ones.

A hen hides sickness very well so it's really bad when they start to show it. Most of the time those with backyard hens can offer more and better advice than a vet.
With an antibiotic it can help with respiratory problems, impacted crop turning to sour, impacted egg, broken egg in side, prolapsed vent. It won't do her any harm to get a dose until you discover what is wrong.

If she hangs on til sat bring her anyway. You might be lucky enough to see a vet that has experience with poultry.

Let us know how she is doing. Oh, also molasses is apparantly good for them or nutridrops if you know anyone that would have some to spare.

CardBordWindow

Ailishcrehan wrote: »

It seems quite common that vets aren't 100% up to date with the poultry knowledge - I feed my sisters chickens when she is away (quite often) and I know I had great difficulty getting help when I suspected on of the hens was poorly. The vets suggested antibiotics but again, without seeing the bird, I was wary of overdosing the bird as I couldn't weigh her and wasn't prepared to guess the weight either.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as rude or anything like that, and I hope your chuck feels better soon

A lot of vets seem to be more up on cats and dogs than poultry alright, but at the same time, more people have them as pets.
The vet I'm going to on saturday is an agricultral based vet, so he should have a bit more experience.

CardBordWindow

Themadhouse wrote: »

Did the food leave her crop overnight or is there a hard lump there? If you are keeping her in the kitchen I would cover the pen and keep her in the dark so she can sleep. Just wake her up for some soft food and water through the day. Has she done a poo?
It sounds like she is weak hence the lack of balance so the more sleep she gets the less likely she is to use up her energy.

The problem with vets is most of them don't know how to deal with poultry unless you are lucky enough to find one that specialises. A vet won't take an emergency call for a sick hen. They will probably offer a jab of vit b and keep as you are going or cull her. When we got hens first I needed to clip their wings to keep them in the garden and the vet clipped the wrong feathers... I had wanted him to show me with this girl so I could do the others myself. Eventually he got the right ones.

A hen hides sickness very well so it's really bad when they start to show it. Most of the time those with backyard hens can offer more and better advice than a vet.
With an antibiotic it can help with respiratory problems, impacted crop turning to sour, impacted egg, broken egg in side, prolapsed vent. It won't do her any harm to get a dose until you discover what is wrong.

If she hangs on til sat bring her anyway. You might be lucky enough to see a vet that has experience with poultry.

Let us know how she is doing. Oh, also molasses is apparantly good for them or nutridrops if you know anyone that would have some to spare.

Still no poop.
She won't eat unless I actually place the food in her beak. I don't feel much of a lump in the crop though. I'm continuing to give her water, and some olive oil, and massaging her chest.

I couldn't agree more about birds not showing signs of illness until they are bad. I've had a few birds drop with no warning. Pheasants are worse than bantams for that.

Themadhouse

Just keep going with the dark place and feed her and make her drink. Hopefully you can get her the vet tomorrow.
Try asking around some of the poultry sites for advice too.

Themadhouse

How is your little one doing?

CardBordWindow

Themadhouse wrote: »

How is your little one doing?

Sorry, wasn't online yesterday.
She had pooped during friday night/ saturday morning, and has pooped twice since. She's loving the natural yoghurt, which helps.
The vet unfortunately wasn't too sure when it comes to poultry. She even said that the most times she has diagnosed, have been through an autopsy!! :eek:
She gave me some Baytril to give to the bird, and told me to continue treating her the way I am.

She's still very weak. Sleeps most of the day, but I she's a bit stronger today and struggled a bit when I tried to feed her.

Themadhouse

Oh thank crunchie she's still with you! Great news that she is popping, at least you know the food is passing through normally. Hopefully she will improve. It took my girl a week before she would eat herself. Once the Baytril hits in you should find a huge improvement in her. Once she attempts to eat some yoghurt or scrambled egg herself try adding a small bit of her usual food to entice back to normal eating.
Post up and let us know how she is getting on.

CardBordWindow

When I got home from work yesterday, I went to feed her, and saw a nice improvment in her. As I was giving her some yoghurt in the syringe, she perked up, and started opening her beak herself instead of me having to open it manually. She is pooping a bit more regularly now too. I think she's started on the road to recovery now! She's taking more food too, so hopefully, she'll have some energy.

Jelly2

CardBordWindow wrote: »

When I got home from work yesterday, I went to feed her, and saw a nice improvment in her. As I was giving her some yoghurt in the syringe, she perked up, and started opening her beak herself instead of me having to open it manually. She is pooping a bit more regularly now too. I think she's started on the road to recovery now! She's taking more food too, so hopefully, she'll have some energy.

Just read through this thread, and glad to know that the hen seems to be recovering. We have hens too, and it's often mystifying as to what is wrong with them, and what to do about it. We've had one or two keel over dead in less than two hours, and not had a notion why. Interesting tips here about possible things to try when they are ill though...

Whispered

I would love to see a pic of your hen in her recovery room

Interceptor

CardBordWindow wrote: »

When I got home from work yesterday, I went to feed her, and saw a nice improvment in her. As I was giving her some yoghurt in the syringe, she perked up, and started opening her beak herself instead of me having to open it manually. She is pooping a bit more regularly now too. I think she's started on the road to recovery now! She's taking more food too, so hopefully, she'll have some energy.

Sounds like good news - what colour are the droppings? Light brown/orange or foamy will indicate worm infestation and this can weaken a bird significantly. I feed a mixture of layers, rolled barley, rolled oats and flaked maize to mine and they free range on a half acre - I have six bantams and they are all broody at the moment so its hard to get any sense out of them.

'cptr

CardBordWindow

Whispered wrote: »

I would love to see a pic of your hen in her recovery room

Would you like your picture on the internet when you're not looking the best?
I'll try post a picture when she's more like her old self.

CardBordWindow

Interceptor wrote: »

Sounds like good news - what colour are the droppings? Light brown/orange or foamy will indicate worm infestation and this can weaken a bird significantly. I feed a mixture of layers, rolled barley, rolled oats and flaked maize to mine and they free range on a half acre - I have six bantams and they are all broody at the moment so its hard to get any sense out of them.

'cptr

At the moment, the droppings are a grey/green colour. Seeing how her diet at the moment mainly consists of yoghurt, scrambled eggs and diluted molasses, I'm not too surprised!

CardBordWindow

She was more perky on Tuesday, but yesterday she became very groggy again. Today she was the same, but now I've noticed her breathing is raspy. It became worse after I gave her water. It nearly sounded like she's snoring.

Themadhouse

CardBordWindow wrote: »

She was more perky on Tuesday, but yesterday she became very groggy again. Today she was the same, but now I've noticed her breathing is raspy. It became worse after I gave her water. It nearly sounded like she's snoring.

Is she still on the Baytril? Are you syringing into her? Sounds like an upper respiratory infection. If you can, put her in the smallest room that has a radiator, like your en suite. Put the rad on and a damp towel on the rad.

CardBordWindow

Themadhouse wrote: »

Is she still on the Baytril? Are you syringing into her? Sounds like an upper respiratory infection. If you can, put her in the smallest room that has a radiator, like your en suite. Put the rad on and a damp towel on the rad.

Yeah, still on the Baytril, and still syringing. Her breathing seems to be improving a bit, not as wheezy. She's still very weak though.

CardBordWindow

I met a friend of mine at the weekend,who I haven't seen in years. Turns out she's now a qualified veterinary nurse, so I told her about my sick hen. She didn't know much off hand about what could be wrong, but she's working today, and asked the vet, and rang me. Unfortunately, the verdict is that as she has been pooping regularly for the past week, it's very unlikely that it's still due to an impacted crop. As I've been treating her for worms, it's not that. And it's unlikely to be a bacterial infection as I've been treating her with Baytril, and I would have seen an improvement by now.
The other options are that it's either viral or neurological. Either way, there's nothing that can be done.
As she's still very weak, and unable to stand by herself, I may have to look at putting her down, which will break my heart, but the poor bird is in a bad state.

Themadhouse

http://http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=135247&p=1

I agree that at this point its not impacted crop, at this stage it would have turned to sour crop and she wouldnt be pooping as often as she is.
DO you think it might be Mareks? This thread is quite interesting with some info on apparent cures
It is a shame that she doesnt seem to be improving as you have done so much to try to help her. I really feel for you...

Themadhouse

Is she able to eat her normal hen food or greens yet?
Have you tried making a porridge out of the barley you normally feed?

CardBordWindow

She's barely able to drink water at the moment. She's gone downhill a bit the past day or so. If I wasn't syringe into the back of her beak, she wouldn't eat or drink at all.

Marek's seems possible, especially with the age of the bird. I'll call into a health shop on my way home from work and get some hypericum. I'll try it out for a day or two and see if there's any improvement. At this stage, I'm running out of options. I hate seeing her suffer though. Fingers crossed.

Themadhouse

The poor girl.
I thought the thread was very interesting. Cetainly worth trying for a day or two.
You've really thrown your heart into saving her and I really hope you manage to do that...

CardBordWindow

I tried the homeopathic option, but there was no improvement. She was still so weak, and just skin and bones at this stage, so I made the decision to put her down.

Thank you so much for your help, especially themadhouse. It's a pity there wasn't a more favourable outcome, but unfortunately that's life.

Whispered

Fair play to you for doing all you did. I'm sorry there wasn't a better outcome but at least you know there wasn't anything else you could do.

Themadhouse

CardBordWindow wrote: »

I tried the homeopathic option, but there was no improvement. She was still so weak, and just skin and bones at this stage, so I made the decision to put her down.

Thank you so much for your help, especially themadhouse. It's a pity there wasn't a more favourable outcome, but unfortunately that's life.

I am so sorry. You did so much to try to help her. Rip little silkie.