hazel hen is very sick - we might be going to lose her...can anyone help? she's been getting worse over the last three days - runny poop and feathers at back end all cacked, now won't eat or drink, just squats with feathers ruffled and shivers a bit...what can we do to make her well again? we've got 3 others, and they're all fine.

Have you tried soaking a piece of bread with pedialyte( the stuff for kids). to get some electrolytes in her.?
Does she have bugs/ mites? have you dusted her with sevin dust as a precaution?
Have you tried feeding her cooked rice? or corn with a liquid vitamin mixed in it?
Do you have a drop light in her pen for her to warm up to?
K-Y jelly may help her bottom area if her skin looks raw.
do you bring her in at night? as the cold nights can take a sick bird .
Have you given her any LA200 antibiotic injectible?
or any antibiotics?
I am not a vet, just a caring bird owner, and I and have tried these for my own critters with pretty good
success.

Linda - thanks so much for your reply. Hazel made it through the night, and I think she seems a little better today - she's had a little water ( there's a fresh garlic clove in the bowl) twice today, and she's taken a wee bit of bread soaked in milk, with a spoonful of live yoghurt mixed in, and a few soaked cat biscuits. We're in Scotland, so don't know the brand names of the stuff you've suggested - I can try her with some liquid vitamins, but the electrolyte stuff we mainly have here is like a fruit flavoured drink - is that the same kind of stuff? I'm keeping her in their compound ( they're normally free range), with one of the others for company, and they're always shut in their house at night - she sleeping in a nesting box, so I think she's warm enough - the hen house is quite sheltered, and it's not going down below about 3 degrees here at night just now. We're pretty new to this - Hazel came with Holly a year ago as rescue hens, and they both had this runny poop thing that they passed between themselves - they'd been shut in a run, and kept pretty badly, but they both moulted last summer - Holly came back from it perfectly ( she's the top hen), and has never had the runny poop trouble since. The two babies who we got last Octber have never picked it up. Hazel, though, never really got all her feathers back properly after her moult, and never really went off lay - looked a bit scruffy, had a red bare patch underneath and keeps having trouble with the runny poop - she's often got a dirty bottom - but it's never been like this before. I was out with her just now, and the poop smells really bad - really strong - and maybe a bit of white mucus stuff coming out of her vent. Still, she's had a wee bit to eat and drink today, so fingers crossed that she'll make it through again tonight. I'll try the stuff you suggested, and if you can think of what it might be, or anything else, I'd be really grateful. Thanks again.

I've been told that dairy products give chickens diarrhea.
although cottage cheese is good as it has a high protein count.
the childrens drink is I believe to be the same thing. you can call or ask the pharmacy at the local drug store and they will know.about electrolytes.
I live in California so the temperature here never gets that cold.
I my self would try to bring her in at night for a while. what i used when myine got sick was a portable medium dog carrier(like for on airplanes). and kept 1/2 of it warm with a heating pad (cause I spoil my pets)
I set a heavy throw rug on the washing machine (so the cold metal from the machine would not put a night chill on my bird, as metal will do just that and make it colder than you can believe) and set the cage on that. This also gave me easy access to give the bird a quick check up and the LA 200 and B-12 injections that I had to do for the sickest one I've had.

I obtained my supplies by calling 1- 800-950-8387 ,(USA) a friend told me about them, gave me the phone# out of a bird magazine They shiped me the supplies I asked for , cause I am in a small town area and could not find the meds. locally.
they were helpful and prompt.
The LA 200 I got at the western store / feed store
it is Liquamycin LA-200 ( oxytetracycline injection) made by pfizer.
One of My friends had said could try it at 1/2 cc once daily for three days.
injected im or sub q. into the fatty breast area on my bird.
This is a broad sprectum antibiotic I used inj. cause with birds they hide that they are sick until they cant hide it any more. and then they are real sick and i needed to know that the meds got in . but not all people want to give shots.
what is her normal food consist of?
do you know the protein % of it?
Is her nesting area free from drafts?
any drafts can make it harder for her to keep warm at night.
especially when they dont feel well.
Does she have plenty of downy feathers on her to keep her warm?
You can also get a tetracycline powder at the feed store to use in the water. but
I've also been told to try giving them a hard boiled egg.
mine liked it when he was sick and fussy. also liked the rice and corn, and the llittle extra food befor they roost at night gave them something in their stomach which i hear may help to keep them warmer at night.

Well I hope sharing my own experiences have helped you .
good luck, I hope she makes it.

Scarab, if I were you I would run to a pharmacy ASAP and get a sulpha drug. The best we can get here in Belgium is S-Mez 16% (Natr. Sulphamezathine 16%) and I suppose you can obtain it in the UK. If that brand is not available for you the pharmacist will look it up and find an equivalent. Do it quick. And like Linda says, keep her warm. Good luck.

also hens will get a bare patch when laying eggs i've found this to be a normal thing but it goes away when they stop laying.
some people do add dry cat or dog food as it has a high protein content usually 21%, and its easy to get, and its a good booster for the birds.
also just for info a chickens body temp is naturally 102 degrees farenheight, so I've been told by many

Hi. Thanks everyone, thanks for your interest and concern. It helped us a lot to know we were not alone, even tho it's been a scary weeend.
Hazel went to the vet this morning and had antibiotic and B12 shots...however the vet was not hen experienced and doesn't know what is wrong with her...Does anyone know? At the moment we are feeding her every hour, she eats a few scraps then turns away...boiled egg went down a storm with my other 3, who had to muscle in...soaked cat biscuits and tinned seetcorn...I'm cooking up rice now.
Her vent is so matted and red sore its a shame... how can we clean her up without using water...we have snow predicted for tonight. Unfortunately, she won't come inside alone...she's v. nervy alone and we can't bring all four in...it would be mayhem. Any ideas.
I've got to sort the rice..I've got to go. Thanks again .

Hi scarab,

It's difficult to tell what goes wrong with sick chickens sometimes its a genetic weakness in the immune system area. A stool sample test is the best way to tell. usually done by the vet.
The anti biotic and B-12 may make her verry sleepy and slow for a day or two. it's o.k.
Did the vet give you any antibiotic to give her in food /water?
The best trick that I have learned is,
To grab my chickens at Night after they roost and that way they dont get nervous at all. they are asleep and they cannot see in the dark!! I spot them with a flashlight, turn off the light and grab their legs and off the perch they go.
to avoid any havic sometimes i'll put them in a box with straw/or a towel and in the shower stall in the bathroom with the door closed. kinda like solitary confinement.
The K-Y jelly for her vent/bottom is the best i know for redness and soreness.( because it's water soluable, and non sticky)
Has she been dusted with sevin dust?yet
Have you checked her for tiny spider mites?? or your hands after handeling her??
These bugs left untreated can drain the energy life out of a chicken.
The poopy bottom though it looks bad is not the big worry here.
Keeping her Really Warm and making sure she eats is .
there is a book my friends have told me about Called, Backyard flock . by Mike Strecker it costs about $17.00 dollars and it is supposed to be helpful with info on hens. though I havent purchased it yet myself it is said to be a good book.
Best of luck with Hazel!!!
I'll keep checking in with you to see how she is.
Linda

Hi Linda - thanks for your message - Hazel is much better today! she's eating (treats only!)and drinking by herself. I think we now know what the trouble is - when I cleaned them out this morning she'd got rid of a whole load of rubbish in the night - one lump the size of a walnut like a little egg with no shell or yolk, but the white was set like it had been cooked, but was green inside and another the same size, but with a shattered rock hard shell - white all the way through, but again set. The whole of her bed was really wet, and round the so called eggs there was a whole load of green stuff - it all smelt really gross! (Hope you haven't just eaten!) So that was the trouble - but how can you stop that from happening again? The vet gave us a little phial of antibiotic liquid to drench her throat in the mornings - probably enough for about 3 day - but we can't get hold of antibiotics and stuff like you seem to be able to in the States - it's really restricted over here. Anyway, she seems to be on the mend, though everything that she poos is still a horrible green - I hope the antibiotics will sort that out. Have you ever had this kind of thing with your girls? What did you do about it? We've ordered some stuff for red spider mite etc. just to be on the safe side, though I've never noticed anything when handling them. Do you treat yours for worms? We've ordered some stuff for that as well - I read that they could bring them down as well, though I'm not sure it's a good idea to treat Hazel with loads of stuff when she's still so weak. The book sounds like a good idea - I'll see if I can get hold of it. Anyway Linda, thanks again, you've been a godsend - for us - and for Hazel.

Scarab-
I'm glad to hear she made it through another night!!
I wouldnt treat her with lots of stuff for a week or two,at least except for the antibiotics from the vet.
I would put up another message about her poop color, smell and the hard ness of it and the Wet all over.
you might get a faster helping response from others here @ the coop.this way.
I will check with my chicken friends about the poop and stuff, to see what they know.
but mine have not had that exact problem.
I'll get back to you soon, keep up the good work!
Linda

Scarab,

I have been reading this thread with interest and keeping my fingers crossed for your Hazel!

I currently have a broody hen who decided to stop eating and drinking for a few days. She got very dehydrated and I believe we came very close to losing her. She is gaining everyday now though so I think things are going well. We experienced no poop for a few days and obvious dehydration. I began to feed her a wet mash and several hours later, she let go of what I would describe as a golf ball poop -- hard as a rock, perfectly round little ball, all white on the outside. Before that golf ball came, some liquid came. I think she was just totally stopped up! Now, behind that, I am getting some pretty stinky messy ones but keep in mind she is a broody girl so only going once a day and the big stinkers are supposed to be the norm for her now. However I am wondering if your girl had some dehydration going and now that you're making ground in beating that, you are getting some messier ones? Also, antibiotics can cause some intestinal upset just like they can with people. It's the same principle -- killing the "good" bacteria in the intestine. When I had to treat my whole flock with antibiotics several months ago, it took a couple of days and then here came these really awful smelling, messy poops everywhere. Ugh! Maybe that's what is going on with Hazel now? I wouldn't worry too much about it at the moment, as long as she is eating, drinking and pooping. That is all such a good sign!

About her dirty rear end, are you able to snip away the dirty clumps and feathers with some scissors? We had some dirty butts around here when we had lice. I very carefully snipped some of those clumps away, being so careful not to knick the skin. They end up with a bare spot but the tail feathers cover it and they stayed clean from that point on.

You could try many things to soothe the redness on her vent. I wouldn't be afraid of most any human product, like creams for diaper rash, for instance! Just be careful about anything that might sting, like aloe vera gel. Ouch!

I hope she continues to eat and make improvements! Good luck!

Susie

Hi there,
Hazel looks much stronger but she can't be really..I guess that yesterday she ate as much food as you could very lightly cover the palm of your hand with...and much less today. Yesterday she took small beak bites every hour usually of a different food but not today, she's only had a bit of sweetcorn and is acting as if we are pestering her. Any idea of what else might tempt her. She won't eat with the others even tho I did a fab mash for them all..tomato, cat biscuits (soaked), crushed peanuts, shredded lettuce and cabbage leaf plus grain and pellets.. but no she dipped in then walked away..the others thought that I had come to my senses.
Normally they are free range, out here on the edge of a farm, but I'm keeping them all in their compound at the moment for fear that the faster ones would leave Hazel behind..so vunerable to foxes. If I leave her all day alone, but locked in then I fear she'll looose the interest of the pack (they are closely knit) and the others couldn't get home for egg laying or safety....so I feel a bit stuck. This week I've taken a light week at work to be around but as of tomorrow we are back at work big time..Which leaves Hazel not eating well and not strong enough.
The red vent is dire, I'll have to cut it back I guess, but she half moulted in the fall and her vent area to belly is still pretty bald ...and bright red...so if I cut her few feathers she'll have nothing!! Still, I suppose it must be done.
On a better note the other 3 hens have been great, they have been taking notice and do go and stand by Hazel ( she was/is second in command) except when special food is in sight or the lure of the open fields is too strong.
Can I build Hazel up, I guess that is the question.
Bye for now, nice talking to you guys.

scarab.

Hi Scarab,
How is Hazel ?
The worm medicine is hard on them . Myself I would'nt do it for a good while later.
Linda

Hi
I have been reading your problems with your chicken and they sound similar to that of one of mine, who has now been sick for a couple of months. My vet wasn't an expert either and firstly gave her a worm injection. The vet also told me to contact "vetark" who have lots of bird medicines etc - web site www.vetark.co.uk and get some "Critical Care formula", it is like a sort of glucose powders stuff to give birds that are not eating properely. It seems to have worked with my chicken. What i did was to soak bread in the solution and give it to her - easy way of administering medicine to a chicken! The other thing that i gave mine was grapes! She loves them and apparently again they are full of sugar and iron and water, all good for sick people/chickens!!! My chicken is at last perking up slowly. Hope this is of some help,

Sarah (Hampshire)

Hi,
Thanks for the message Linda, and sarah I've got the site for critical care..great...by the way Hazel normally loves grapes, but she wouldn't even eat them.
She eating better, but still has diohrea (what ever).
What has she had? The red sore vent is halved by the antibiotics but not cured. Will it come back again? Poor thing, it's bad not knowing.
Bye, scarab.

Im no expert so don't know what your Hazel has got, or what my chicky has either!! Mine has now had runny bottom for a couple of months! But improving now. Another thing a chicken farmer friend told me to do when my chickys have a bad runny tum is to give them dioralyte - you know, the stuff you can get in boots etc for human upset tummys. Apparantley it is good as it replaces all lost salts etc etc. I usually mix some up and give sicky chicky a syringe full before bedtime.
Hope Hazels poor sore bottom gets better soon!
Sarah