# Help with sick chicken



## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

Four years ago I purchased six Isa Browns and six more two years ago and about a year ago four Rhode Island Browns. Eight weeks ago, I had three Isa's get sick. Became lethargic, lost weight and a runny discharge on butt feathers. I went everywhere for help but no one around here knows anything about chickens. The three Isa's died. The local feed store gave me some Zyfend A. They thought it was a parasitic load. I also took some of the poop on the butt feathers to a local vet. He said he did not find any worms or other bad things....but he gave me some Albon 5%. Since the rest of the chickens looked healthy, I didn't give the Albon....but have given the Zyfend twice now. About two weeks ago, another Isa chicken started getting sick. Lethargic, runny poop on butt feathers, pale comb and head shaking. I gave this chicken four days of 1.5cc of the Albon. That didn't seem to make much difference and I think the chicken will die. This Isa will slightly eat some sweet potatoes and blueberries and sometimes I see her eating her regular chicken food. The rest of the chickens look healthy and good. Can anyone help save this chicken?...


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Are these the older Isa's? It is possible that they're having egg laying issues. 

Zyfend isn't really a wormer, it won't kill off internal parasites. 

Is there an unpleasant odor coming from the discharge?


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

I don't really know which ones are which. The one that is currently sick, quit laying maybe 4 to 6 weeks ago...before she got sick. But she was always sporadic with her laying. She wouldn't lay for a week sometimes and then start laying again. I have never seen worms in any of the chicken's poop. I never noticed any smell but I didn't intentionally try to smell it either. The feed store that sold the Zyfend led me to believe that this was a wormer. I assumed that the vet that sold me the Albon was giving me a wormer also but I am not sure about that. Thanks for any help.


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## TomC (Apr 9, 2020)

The help and advise you get here is awesome and I'm no down playing it one bit. But, if it were me, I would take your sick girl to the vet, since you have one willing. Descriptions, pictures, and explanations are often good enough diagnose most things, but nothing beats a good, hands on, exam. Since you've already lost 3 with another doing poorly, I would be worried that something is going through the flock that may potentially take them all.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You would notice it without having to get your nose up close and personal. I'm leaning more towards it being an egg laying issue with the sporadic laying of the one.

Have you noticed any abdominal swelling?

The Albon is a broad spectrum sulfa drug. Your vet was aiming at it being a GI issue that involved an overload of bacteria.

The Zyfend is more of a protector. Something to be used once it's established internal parasites are not an issue. 

What Tom said is so true. If your vet would look at one of them it could give you answers it's just not possible to give here.


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## mitzy123point (Dec 21, 2018)

It could be vent gleet. I would look that up and see if it sounds like your chickens. It typically causes them to stop laying and if left untreated can kill them.


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

TomC said:


> The help and advise you get here is awesome and I'm no down playing it one bit. But, if it were me, I would take your sick girl to the vet, since you have one willing. Descriptions, pictures, and explanations are often good enough diagnose most things, but nothing beats a good, hands on, exam. Since you've already lost 3 with another doing poorly, I would be worried that something is going through the flock that may potentially take them all.


Thank you so much for that. We have one vet here in town and he said he doesn't do chickens. I will make an attempt to contact surrounding vets. I am amazed that two feed stores and the local vet can't give a referral to someone that does treat chickens. It never occured to me that when I got some chickens that I would have no support for these animals. I was told that I should search online sources for support....so that is why I am here. I think my experiment with chickens is done....but I will see what I can find about vent gleet. I have looked online about egg bound. This chicken is past doing that kind of treatment. I will be surprised if she is alive when I go down there. I am in a rural area and you would think that there would be professionals around here that help. Thanks all for your help.....


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Don't give up yet. We all have dealt with health issues with our little beasts. 

For whatever reason vets in the US are not trained to treat chickens. They get about five minutes in all the years they're in school learning about them. Chicken physiology is vastly different from that of mammals. 

Usually farm vets are amenable to looking at our birds. But most often we have to go in with an idea of what might be going on. Basically give them a direction to look. For you, it would be: 1. is it vent gleet 2. Is it internal laying? 

The very first chicken my vet ever treated was a head injury bird. I told her what I needed and after the exam she sent me and my bird home with the drug I needed. That bird went on to live 14 years. It only worked out that way because I was able to tell her how they were treated for head injury.


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

Here is what her rear end looks like.

Joel


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

I have now three no's from vets.....


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Shot in the dark, do a search online for Nystatin. Some pigeon websites offer it. If it is vent gleet. You can also try picking up some monistat cream at the store. 

The same thing can appear when internal laying is an issue. 

If the vets are not willing to see them all we can do at this point is guess.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

Try searching for "exotic pet vets" in your area. You might have more luck being a little more specific and no, chickens are not exotic pets but you have a better chance of finding an exotic that will look at chickens than you do regular vets. (we have an exotic 55 miles away should I ever need it lol)


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

The chicken died. I am very angry and I appreciate your support. I suggest that before someone gets chickens, they check the local vets for support first. If they don't do chickens, you are on your own. I am a dentist. No, I don't do orthodontics....I don't do periodontics....I dont do endodontics....but I have excellent support in my county that I refer to. They are better than I could be. I just don't get it with vet services.....


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I understand your hurt and anger and the frustration that help is not always there from those that are supposed to know. 

There is a ton of stuff that transfers from human medical training to the birds. Some of the most basic things, like ABC. Your medical training is an advantage. 

Their age also may be part of this. Many birds start experiencing egg laying issues by four years old. There isn't a ton to be done about it other than spaying but since no one near you will see them it's not an option.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I was curious so I looked up more information on the Isa Browns. Lifespan for them is 4 to 5 years with a few living a bit longer. This lends more to my thinking that this is an egg laying issue. 

Look for ascites in the belly area. If you feel any, you have the training to drain the fluid. Then put the bird on a broad spectrum antibiotic. It's only a stop gap measure, not even a vet can help with this issue. 

This is something many of us that raised chickens for years observed with birds bred specifically for heavy egg laying.


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## Sylie (May 4, 2018)

I am really sorry for your loss. You did what you could, it is a failure in our society and veterinary services. Most people see chickens as food and as such, treat them as if they were a cob of corn or something. I live in a farming community and I see farmers treat ALL their animals this way, they are THINGS, not living creatures that need us as much as we need them. It is a very cold, hard way of living, I could never farm that way. My animals are just as important as anything else. I am angry for you and with you and again, I am sorry for your loss and the frustration caused by the lack of medical services available.


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## TomC (Apr 9, 2020)

I'm sorry for your loss. I understand your anger, but don't get discouraged. I believe, unfortunately, that the reason most vets don't do chickens is, there's no money in it. It's much more profitable to handle cattle, horses, and hogs. Also, even more unfortunate, is that, like Sylie said, most chicken owners look at them as food and expendable. Most chickens are bought as day-olds for just a couple of bucks each, so the loss of a couple is not enough to warrant a vet visit that may cost $25, $50, or more. Since few people take their chickens to the vet, few vets work with them. It may be a little different in areas of the country that have a lot of large commercial operations, but then, those vets are probably contracted to work on the large farms.

I am very fortunate that within 30 miles there are two exotic veterinary clinics plus the University of Missouri Veterinary School, which has a large public clinic that will see most any creature roaming the Earth.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Tom, the vets that work with commercial flocks don't actually do any doctoring. If a problem is found the whole building is euthanized. All they do is the tests.


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

You guys are great. Thanks. It doesn't matter to me which animal I have. I feel my job is to do the best I can to keep them well and to help them.....and cost isn't an issue. I quickly buried the chicken....maybe that wasn't smart. I should have inspected it more. Any general suggestions that might help with the rest of the birds?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I think at this point most of us have named our birds and can recognize the different birds even if they're the same breed. 

One of the things that makes it difficult for us is we're going off pics and with chickens the same symptom could be caused by different disease processes. 

If you lose another one you can do your own necropsy, although those are not as definitive as the state and their testing abilities. 

And don't give up having them. Look for breeders in your area. The birds will be more expensive than those that come from hatcheries but they are longer living. I had two hatchery birds, both died by the time they were five. Egg laying problems. All my others were bred by me or others and many lived to be anywhere from 8 years old to 14.


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## ZDibi (Mar 26, 2020)

Im very sorry for your loss If this happens to any more of your chickens I recommend researching “egg yolk peritonitis.” One of my chickens had similar symptoms and the vet said she has “eyp.” This is an egg laying issue and causes fluid buildup in her abdomen, which leads to pressure on the organs, so if another chicken gets sick, make sure to check if the abdomen (or back near the rear) feels larger than the other chickens. We gave my chicken a low dose of aspirin dissolved in water, but she still gets sick every few days. Additionally we force feed her the days that she seems sick( we give her cinnamon applesauce and aspirin water).


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## ZDibi (Mar 26, 2020)

ZDibi said:


> Im very sorry for your loss If this happens to any more of your chickens I recommend researching "egg yolk peritonitis." One of my chickens had similar symptoms and the vet said she has "eyp." This is an egg laying issue and causes fluid buildup in her abdomen, which leads to pressure on the organs, so if another chicken gets sick, make sure to check if the abdomen (or back near the rear) feels larger than the other chickens. We gave my chicken a low dose of aspirin dissolved in water, but she still gets sick every few days. Additionally we force feed her the days that she seems sick( we give her cinnamon applesauce and aspirin water).


I also recommend washing their rear with warm water if a lot of poop gets on the feathers, then wrap it in a towel and sit with it for a about 15 min.


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

I am going to start cleaning the ones with runny butt poop. Do you recommend snipping off those feathers?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No, just wash them in warm water. Cleaning them and having feathers will help protect their skin from scalding. 

I need to ask, do you know now what is going on with the girls? That it's not your care, it's not the lack of veterinary care, it's genetics.


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## Little Rascal (May 22, 2020)

Thanks for your interest Robin. I washed the rear end of this one chicken this morning. She had the most hardened poop run-off. I don't know much about chickens, but I am learning. Her vent seem to be pulsing...like contractions. I am guessing she wanted to lay an egg? From all I heard, it sounds like these chickens are having a laying problem....probably get plugged up and die. Unfortunately, I can't stick around all day and watch them. I hope she was able to lay today. There are three others that have poopy butt too. I should probably do some cleaning on them. The skin under the poop seemed redder that it should be. That's all I know since the other one died.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

No, you can't and you shouldn't be around all day because it won't change things. She will either lay an egg or the albumin will be diverted into the body cavity. It's what happens when they're internally laying. There is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent it from happening. 

Your options are very limited at this point. You can either put those that are having issues down or have them spayed. Since no one around you will touch them then you only have the one option. 

Even those that have raised chickens for years face the same issue with so many. As I mentioned before birds that come out of hatcheries are the most compromised when it comes to laying problems as they age.


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