# Help with my sick girl



## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

I have a 3 month old BR. She has seemed lethargic the last week or so. She has been going to the coop by herself and sitting by the door with her eyes closed. I have seen her eat and drink. I have thrown out mill worms and scratch and have seen her eat that as well. Crop seems fine...might be a lil lighter then normal. She just don't seem like she feels well. I believe her stool is ok ....I have 8 and have not seen anything abnormal. I dewormed my chics and gave them coccidia meds not to long ago. It has been very very hot here but they have shade and water. I cleaned out their coop today and put down sand due to some rain we have had here recently . I also put electrolytes in the water. Oh yeah her comb hasn't changed any but she is still pretty young. Just so worried about her.... just don't know what to do.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I recommend that you put her in a cage or crate and bring her inside in the a/c. Make sure she has fresh water while caged. Feed her a mash of chopped boiled egg mixed with buttermilk to eat. Inspect her for lice or mites prior to bringing her in the house, check the vent area in particular.
Buttermilk is a much better probiotic than yogurt and is easily absorbed in the digestive tract. It will help build up her immune system. The chopped boiled egg is extra protein which will help build up her strength. Feed her this for several days and see if there's improvement. Have patience and keep her cage clean as best as you can.
If there's improvement, you can add her chick starter feed to the buttermilk/chopped egg mixture if you wish. Dont feed her any treats nor scratch.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

Ok great thank u


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I would treat her for cocci again. With a different anticoccidial if possible. I may also treat her for enteritis. I use Tylan but others use different things.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

I got really worried about her because this Morning she was totally excluding her self from the group. I took her and dropped her off at a Avian Vet Specialist. I hope she will recover and it's nothing serious.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

What is Tylan?


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

hayutfan said:


> What is Tylan?


Tylan is an antibiotic that can be used to treat mycoplasma diseases (chronic respiratory diseases) and necrotic enteritis in poultry. Tylan is normally administered as an injectable or soluable powder mixed in water. Keep in mind that sick birds normally dont drink enough treated water in order for the product to be effective.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

I got her back from the Avian Vet and fecal was negative . No worms or coccidia....stool normal. He did take blood and we sent it off to the lab. I have to tube feed her every six hours. It's not a one.person job. Lol but I got it done. I'm only giving her 30 ml of the vanilla Ensure. But right after she had a lil burst of energy checking out her new indoor facilities and she ate some of the boiled egg I made her I also gave her lil bites of cheese. I so hope she doesn't die...I also have to pill her with 125mg of clavamox which she hated even more. Poor girl is going to hate to see me coming if she pulls through.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I ran out of kaytee baby bird food so I used ensure vanilla. 
It's so much better when a vet can diagnose a bird and make a much more educated guess. Can you give her a pill crushed in the Ensure?
Tylan is one of the meds I keep at home because it covers alot of bacteria.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

I put the same lubricant on the pill that I used with the feeding tube. He said just to poke it down her throat. I than tried to give her a lil water to wash it down.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

hayutfan said:


> I put the same lubricant on the pill that I used with the feeding tube. He said just to poke it down her throat. I than tried to give her a lil water to wash it down.


You can crush the pill into powder and mix it in 2 or 3cc's water. Then draw it up using needle-less syringe and then administer through the feeding tube. Then flush tube with another 2 or 3cc's plain water. The medication will be absorbed quicker into her system rather than a solid pill. 
Lubing shouldnt be done, oils coat intestinal lining preventing absorption. Then the meds are excreted in feces.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Have to give my rooster aspirin was wondering how to do it.I'm going to crush it and give it by syringe.Thanks for the idea,Dawg!I was thinking of putting it in food.Your way is better.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

When you draw the 'mixed' liquid; for example 3cc's (or whatever amount you decide,) and you're going to use a syringe without a needle...only give the bird 1/2cc at a time orally. If you dont, liquids may end up going down the trachea. Then there will be big problems.
I cradle the hen in my forearm and use my thumb and finger to pull down on the wattles, this opens her mouth. Then use my other hand to grab the preloaded syringe and administer 1/2cc at a time. As soon as the liquid is in the mouth, I IMMEDIATELY let go of the wattles so the hen can swallow the liquid on her own. Then I pull her wattles down again as before and continue in this manner until the 3cc's have been administered. The key is letting go of the wattles once the liquid is administered.
Another perhaps easier way is to simply add the liquid onto a piece of bread or mixed in with some treats. However the bird will need to be separated from the other greedy birds if you decide to do it this way.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

Our girl is hanging in there so far.... tube feeding every 6 hours. We take her out about twice a day and she is alert and walks around. I'm offering anything and everything and she has been eatting a lil. She still sleeps a lot but for the most part she is about the same.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

dawg53 said:


> When you draw the 'mixed' liquid; for example 3cc's (or whatever amount you decide,) and you're going to use a syringe without a needle...only give the bird 1/2cc at a time orally. If you dont, liquids may end up going down the trachea. Then there will be big problems.
> I cradle the hen in my forearm and use my thumb and finger to pull down on the wattles, this opens her mouth. Then use my other hand to grab the preloaded syringe and administer 1/2cc at a time. As soon as the liquid is in the mouth, I IMMEDIATELY let go of the wattles so the hen can swallow the liquid on her own. Then I pull her wattles down again as before and continue in this manner until the 3cc's have been administered. The key is letting go of the wattles once the liquid is administered.
> Another perhaps easier way is to simply add the liquid onto a piece of bread or mixed in with some treats. However the bird will need to be separated from the other greedy birds if you decide to do it this way.


Dawg, I usually get the tip of the syringe to the back of the throat past where the trach is. Is that okay?


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

Yes.... the doctor told me when pilling my hen to poke it all the way back with my finger pass the trachea as far as I can get.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

I used a lil lubricant to coat her pill that the doctor gave me to pass her feeding tube. Then ipry her mouth open and poke it as far back as I can get it. She does quite well. I get fussed at more trying to tube feed her than poking my finger in there.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

Dawg.....I thought about crushing the pill and putting it through the feeding tube but I was worried about aspiration. If she aspirated then I would not know how much she got or spit out or aspirated in her lungs. So to be safe I do the two separate.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I did the aspirin the same way I do the Valbazen,Dale holds the victim and I grab the bottom half of the beak and wedge it open.Then I stick syringe in way back in the throat and semi-slowly give the dose.Haven't choked anybody and they get all of the medicine.Yesterday was worming day and the more we do it the faster it seems to go.I think the flock knows whats coming when they see us coming and I got 'the stuff".They don't put up much of a fight.


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## casportpony (Aug 22, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> Dawg, I usually get the tip of the syringe to the back of the throat past where the trach is. Is that okay?


That is how I do mine. This article explains how to do it:
http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/oral_dosing_article.htm

Enlarged pictures from above article:


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

Awesome pics thank you


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Yea nice clear pics!


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

I'm happy to say our girl is back with her sisters.... we didn't have any problems introducing her back to the flock. They all kind of got around her and started chattering. It was almost like they were asking where has she been all this time. Then they went off together . It was pretty cool how they all accepted her back in. She is happy to be back and is eatting on her on . I couldn't be any happier. She is now my Golden Chicken cause of her vet bill.... I call her my $100 chicken. Lol She needs to hurry up and start laying for her keep. She is the sweetest of them all and my son just adores her. Thank you for all of the advice...I really appreciate it. This pic was taken today with them all enjoying a summer frozen treat.The other is Zebra ( my son named her) roosting in a tree.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

How sweet! I wish I had grass like that.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

It doesn't look like that inside their coop. Lol And it's not fun to mow.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Really good looking flock!I have a $100.00 rooster,he had a bad ear infection and I took him to the vet.I can always get money but there is only one Junior and he is a special kind of guy,my lap rooster.And he takes very good care of the girls.


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## hayutfan (Jun 19, 2016)

Yeah hate those vet bills but love my girls. Lol


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