# Sick Black Star



## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I have a 2 year old Black Star that has been fluffed up for the last 3 or 4 weeks. She has lost a lot of weight, has watery diarrhea. She eats and drinks normally. She acts lethargic on occasion. This situation happened while coming out of molt. She has been routinely wormed.
I suspected coccidiosis initially and she is currently being treated with sulmet.
The sulmet expired March 2016. I have doubled the dosage to maintain potency and she's been drinking it for 2 days.
I now suspect she might also have colstridium perfringens because sulmet is quick acting and there was watery diarrhea at the bottom of her cage this morning.
I started her on penicillin this morning for the 'cols perf.'

I wasnt able to address this problem when it first started due to circumstances beyond my control. Family illness first and foremost.
I'm afraid internal damage may have been done in the hen, but will continue treatment with the penicillin for 7-10 more days and stop the sulmet in 4 days.
If I can stop the diarrhea, I know she'll recover. I'm going to give her some plain white rice shortly.
I just took this pic of her:


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

She gobbled down the rice. After I took my dog for a walk, the hen excreted watery brown diarrhea with some white urates.
She's currently back to 'hunkering down.'


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I'm sorry to hear about your hen.Hopefully she will recover.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I'm glad you're attempting to make her better. So either it's something you can fix or something you can't. I wonder if she's blocked somewhere other than her crop. I hope the Pen. works. She's a pretty hen.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Her crop is fine and I believe her gizzard is okay too. There isnt any undigested feed in her watery diarrhea. 
You're right Karen. It's going to be fixed or an eventual cull.
I gave her a small amount of crack and she gobbled it down lol.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I don't think she'd be hungry if she had a blockage. And I think if she was eating she must feel okay . 
I know people used to talk about a chicken that has a hard molt. One of mine did. She lost a lot of weight, no appetite for treats when she was always first in line, and kept herself separated. I don't remember how long but it was more than 2 weeks. I don't remember if she had diarrhea, and I don't remember if she fluffed up. Watch her and see if she's really eating or just faking it.
Did you check for an impacted egg? Does her belly feel heavier than the other hens?


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## Valentine (Dec 4, 2016)

dawg53 said:


> I have a 2 year old Black Star that has been fluffed up for the last 3 or 4 weeks. She has lost a lot of weight, has watery diarrhea. She eats and drinks normally. She acts lethargic on occasion. This situation happened while coming out of molt. She has been routinely wormed.
> 
> I suspected coccidiosis initially and she is currently being treated with sulmet.
> 
> ...


Would giving her activated charcoal help,I know it's good for poison and diarrhoea especially after all those treatments. Just a thought


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> I don't think she'd be hungry if she had a blockage. And I think if she was eating she must feel okay .
> I know people used to talk about a chicken that has a hard molt. One of mine did. She lost a lot of weight, no appetite for treats when she was always first in line, and kept herself separated. I don't remember how long but it was more than 2 weeks. I don't remember if she had diarrhea, and I don't remember if she fluffed up. Watch her and see if she's really eating or just faking it.
> Did you check for an impacted egg? Does her belly feel heavier than the other hens?


She's not egg impacted for sure. 
This morning there were small but solid bits of poop with only a nominal amount of liquid. This is encouraging news.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Valentine said:


> Would giving her activated charcoal help,I know it's good for poison and diarrhoea especially after all those treatments. Just a thought


I normally give buttermilk mixed in rice for diarrhea and it works. Since I'm giving her sulmet and penicillin, I'd rather not give her buttermilk.
She seems to be responding to the treatment as evidenced by some bits of solid feces this morning. I gave her cooked plain white rice yesterday morning and she scoffed it up. This morning I gave her the same thing except I laced the rice with the penicillin and she's hogging it down. 
Three more days with sulmet and 5 more days with the penicillin. 
Once this regimen is done, it'll be buttermilk mixed in rice for a few days to get her good gut bacteria built back up (if she doesnt relapse, then I'll cull.)
Here's a couple of pics I just took of her eating the laced rice:


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

I love the feeders and waters.Never would have thought of using milk jugs.Only a small opening to get to the food and it's closed on the sides to prevent the feed from being thrown all over.And they are disposable.They would've saved me some messes over the years.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Sounds like she's feeling better. Eating is a good thing-and she's always eaten.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

chickenqueen said:


> I love the feeders and waters.Never would have thought of using milk jugs.Only a small opening to get to the food and it's closed on the sides to prevent the feed from being thrown all over.And they are disposable.They would've saved me some messes over the years.


Yeah, they fit perfectly in the corners of the cage. I have more out in the shed for my other cages. I use a piece of clothesline to tie them off.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> Sounds like she's feeling better. Eating is a good thing-and she's always eaten.


She has progressed really well throughout the day. She is excreting more solids, but still abit runny for my liking.
I gave her some more plain white rice mixed with tomato juice this afternoon, then gave her small chunks of sliced tomato. She ate all of it.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

She has quite an appetite. Good for her!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

So far today my Black Star is back to acting normal. Her poop is solid, color has returned to her comb, and back to her misbehaving ways of shuffling feed out of the feeder. She's also talking again. She's been a good patient and has a few more days to go before I release her back into the pen.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

YEAH!!! I'm glad you had a positive experience. Sometimes it doesn't take much to get them healthy again.


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## Tony-O (Jul 19, 2012)

After she's off the meds, you may want to worm her too. Yellow watery, kind of bubbly poop "can" be a sign of worms. But if you do worm, wait till you're finished medicating.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Tony-O said:


> After she's off the meds, you may want to worm her too. Yellow watery, kind of bubbly poop "can" be a sign of worms. But if you do worm, wait till you're finished medicating.


Thanks. I know about worms and worm my birds monthly. Yellow watery bubbly type of poop can also be a sign of Histomoniasis.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

My Black Star has made a full recovery. I stopped the sulmet yesterday but will continue with the penicillin for 2 more days, then a couple more days with probiotics. Then back into the pen she goes.
Her poops are back to normal, these are pics from her overnight dump.
She has shed alot of dander, perhaps it was from coming off molt that I hadnt noticed before.


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## casportpony (Aug 22, 2015)

Glad she is better!


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## casportpony (Aug 22, 2015)

And I love your poo pictures!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

casportpony said:


> And I love your poo pictures!


LOL, we've been corrupted by chickens!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

LOL, OMG, Casportpony, he's turning into (Gulp) one of us!!!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Hahaha. I've always been a poop watcher!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

But never a poop photographer!


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## casportpony (Aug 22, 2015)

And how about poop sniffing?


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

casportpony said:


> And how about poop sniffing?


Only when my dog lets out a SBD smell. (Silent but deadly pfffft!)


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

My 2 year old Black Star started having diarrhea again one week ago. She had been doing well with firm feces and had put on some weight. Her comb and wattles have been dull red and hasnt laid a single egg the whole time. All the other hens have bright red combs/wattles and are laying eggs. All my birds have been wormed and the hen in question was given a mega dose of corid/water over 3 days without success.
I gave her rice mixed with buttermilk the last 2 days with negative results. This morning I donated her to a local feed store and told the owner that whatever is causing the diarrhea is NOT contageous as her sister was acting normal including laying eggs.
Later tonight I'm relocating her sister in with the Barred Rocks, hopefully the pecking order will settle quickly tomorrow morning.
I'll be dismantling the small Black Star coop and pen this week and giving it to a disabled vet across the street. I'll help him reassemble it and expand it as needed. His family has been wanting chickens for awhile. So, I'll get them started and help them as needed.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Sorry to hear about your hen and downsizing.I thought you were thinking about getting chicks....


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I wish I could get more chicks CQ. However my wife has some ongoing health issues and I'm also my moms caretaker even though she's in a nursing home. It's overwhelming at times. To be honest, I'm thinking about selling my boat that I just bought. I dont see myself fishing or even swimming at the beach anytime soon.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

Sorry to hear you wife has health issues and I know how it is w/ aging parents,I've been there,done that.But sell your new boat?!?! You may be busy now but I'm sure you'll have a little free time for Dawg,eventually(you ARE keeping the Harley,right?).


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Sorry Dawg. I would not make any rash decisions about the boat. The nice thing is they can sit there until you use it. Most times one needs something to take them away from their situation to just get a breather. It will wait.

Hope things look up soon.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I tell you, retirement sucks.
Every time I plan "me" time, something important always pops up. You ought to see our calender, every day there's something going on and it's not leisure time.
Early last week I got a recall for the car. I made an appointment at the dealership to take it in this morning. My wife had severe pain in her gall bladder area yesterday and made an appointment with her doctor. The only appointment available was at the same time as the car appointment and my wife couldnt drive due to the pain. I had to cancel the car appointment and take her to the doctor. We spent most of the day at the hospital getting her CT scan, blood work and more appointments.
It's things like this that are driving me up the wall.
Now I'll have to get a neighbor to follow me to the dealership, then back to pick the car up when they're done.
It's so darn frustrating and I havnt even begun about my mom. 

I want some cheese with the whine or give me a paci to suck on.....wah!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Dawg, eventually you will get some "me" time. OR it's important that you do at some point. When your wife is having good days, I'm sure she'd agree. Give it 3-6 months before you make a decision.


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