sick black copper maran

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Hi,
im a newbie to this but i cannot find anything that will give me an idea to what is wrong.
I have 3 chucks,2 which are healthy & happy as can be but theres one my black copper maran. We bought them all from a respected hen dealer all been inccoulated etc...Shes been fine since we bought her back she was the top bird in the pecking order. It all started about 3 weeks ago,we wen out to feed and let them run in the garden, the other 2 shot out but she stayed in,she couldnt stand and she was having trouble breathing. We took her to a vet she weighs 1kg :-)06 which is not very good, he gave her antibiotics & vitamin injections,2days in the house she perked up...well to cut a long story short....shes back to her scruffy self,not eating,not preeing,she cannot stand its almost like she cannot see well either, her head sometimes goes from side to side?? ive powdered her in mite stuff, wormed all of them(Verm-X) and now im wondering wether to put her out of her misery :cry: ,(unsure of how to do this also) you dont realise how attacthed you get to them. Any advice would be grateful.
 
Have you tried contacting the person that you got them from for advice?
Is she moulting? All of mine are scruffed up and snugged together atm, but it's only because of the weather. they are all happy to eat. Does she not eat when you offer her food by hand? Are they vaccinated? What antibiotic was she on and how long?

worst case scenario, from what you described it sounds like Toxoplasmosis but it is rare...
Some details from the Poultry Keeper disease info.
A laboratory test can identify it. It is usually kinder to dispatch birds with this condition because it usually ends in death anyway.
Species affected: All.
Other Names: Toxoplasma
Symptoms: In growers: Loss of appetite, incoordinated and stressed, sometimes walking in circles, muscle spasms, twisted head, paralysis, white droppings, occassionally diarrhea, a pale shriveled up comb, blindness.
Causes: A protozoan parasite.
Transmission: Via infected cat droppings, infected worms, beatles, rodents or flies or rotten meat.
Diagnosis: Symptoms above and identification or protozoan parasite in laboratory tests.
Prevention: Control the things that the parasite uses for transmission above.
Treatment: None known.
Risk to Human Health: Infected uncooked meat can cause infection.
have a peek on here and see if any of these ring any bells http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/Diseases_Of_Poultry
 
Hi,
Thanks for the advice anythings gratefully recieved.

she eats little bits from your hand, shes very fussy as are the other 2, its a bit of a chore trying to get them to eat the layers pellets,usually they like cous cous, grapes,sweetcorn...well everything! She is eating but its not enough.The other 2 scrat around and eat loads of grass and greens she just stands at either the back door or the patio doors? wether this is from the first time she was ill we had her in the front room?

This is a copy of the companies vaccinations:
Vaccination Programme Age Disease Advised
Day 1 MAREKS HATCHERY INJECTION
Day 1 or 2 SALMONELLA LOHMANN TAD VacE*
Day 5-7 COCCIDIOSIS PARACOX
Day 20 INFECTIOUS BURSAL INTERVET GUMBORO D78*
Day 28 INFECTIOUS BURSAL - GUMBORO INTERVET GUMBORO D78*
Week 5 CLASSICAL INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS/
NEWCASTLE DISEASE INTERVET MA5/CLONE*
Week 6 SALMONELLA ENTERITIDIS LOHMAN TAD VacEweek *6
Week 7 VARIANT INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS INTERVET IB4/91*
Week 8 AVIAN RHINOTRACHEITIS MERIAL NEMOVAC*
Week 10 CLASSICAL INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS/
NEWCASTLE DISEASE INTERVET MA5/CLONE 30*
Week 11 VARIANT INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS FORT DODGE IB PRIMER (D274)
Week 13 AVIAN ENCEPHALOMYELITIS INTERVET NOBILIS AE*
Weeks 15 or 16 SALMONELLA ENTERITIDIS LOHMANN TAD VacE*
Before delivery INAC
NEWCASTLE/INFECTIOUS BRONCHITIS/
EGG DROP SYNDRONE 76 INTERVET IBmulti+ND+ED(INAC)

* Administered by drinking water

I think now would be the time to coantct the company, i wasnt sure how it worked and if we had her for too long? She seems to be on another planet? Comapred to Gerty which she is a Coucou,shes eating for england and the only one laying at the minute, and even the one which was at the bottom of the pecking order Lucy shes a Snowflake she is also healthy but not laying as yet,they both have fluffy feathers and red combs. Hyacinth the Copper black just isnt right...
 
How long have you had them?

She sounds very unwell, and "going light" is not usually a good prognosis I'm afraid :(


Welcome to the forum btw! :-)99
 
In the mean time while more people see your post and give ideas, maybe try and bring her inside where it's warm and cozy. give her some fresh water and make a porridge out of some pellets. See if she has some of that. keep her company so she knows you are there, it sounds like she's rather spoiled! so maybe she's just sulking for mum while she's not well. I think i would speak to the vet about egg binding and egg peritonitis. not sure how much you are willing to invest but blood tests and xrays could help. showing any infection or if there is an egg trapped.
 
Welcome to the Forum from me, too - I'm sorry it is in such difficult circumstances.

I would worm with Flubenvet rather than Vermex, which is a herbal tonic that may help chickens resist worm infestations, rather than deal with them effectively. There's a thread here about Flubenvet that may help. http://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-medication/poultry-medication/flubenvet-used-for-worming.html

I'm not saying this was the cause of her problems, or that it might help her at the moment, but worth knowing about for the future, maybe. Please let us know how she gets on.

Personally I don't think obviously sick chickens are 'spoiled' or 'sulk,' but warmth is definitely a good idea, (ie, keep her quiet in a box inside, warmer than outside at the moment, but not overheated compared with what she's used to.)
 
Marigold said:
Personally I don't think obviously sick chickens are 'spoiled' or 'sulk,' but warmth is definitely a good idea, (ie, keep her quiet in a box inside, warmer than outside at the moment, but not overheated compared with what she's used to.)
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood me Marigold. Mine are all healthy and sulking in the cold wet day atm. i meant she's unhappy and needs a cuddle and a spoil to help her feel better. she's used to spoiling(which isn't a bad thing) from the sounds of all the goodies she gets.

as for the worming, i agree, but assumed since the vet has seen the bird that they would advise worming so did not mention it.
 
Trouble is GEM, it's a circle. They lose appetite for whatever reason, get weak and then don't want to eat anyway. We have a couple that keep drifting into weight loss. The ones at the bottom of the pecking order. Keeping them warm, treats (no hen can resist maggots) and TLC seems to work for them as long as they go back for a few hours every day to remain familiar to the rest of the flock. A second feeder helps if they are bullied off the one.
 
Hi,

What often happens is a chicken will become ill with a disease and not show many obvious signs. When they go down hill, they go down quite quickly, this is because a secondary disease takes hold.

This is often in the form of a respiritory problem. Chickens have rather complicated breathing arrangements - 8 air sacs as well as their lungs. Infection in any major organ near an air sac soon speads very quickly via the respiritory system.

So seeing the signs of respiritory infection and a 'not very well' (hunched, feathers fluffed) chook is often the last few days and hence why people say they go down hill very quickly.

I'm not saying this is what your chook is going through... but it does help to understand the visual symptoms you see may be secondary infection and not the main cause of the illness that's underlying.

Veterinary tests may tell you more, or the stress of taking the bird to the vet at this stage may finish the bird off...? The best / kindest cause of action I believe is for you to decide. Others will disagree... veterinary advice is the best.

It could be as simple as a case of worms. I have seen intestines impacted with worms where owners had been using herbal products. I personally always like to use Flubenvet to be sure but do use herbal products in between times.

My question to myself if I have a sick bird is always "is she wormed" before anything else. It is so easy to rule that out then.

I have also read on forums of owners with birds in this state feed them half grapes with a small amount of flubenvet and the birds have made a recovery... Not that I can condone this of course because this isn't how it is supposed to be used...

It's a tough call and whilst some will say 'call a vet', often, only you can decide what is best for the bird.

You may find this page useful - the tabs should allow you to 'flick through' the different diseases and disorders quite quickly although obviously can't replace veterinary advice :roll:

http://poultrykeeper.com/poultry-diseases-and-disorders.html

Oh and Good Luck, it's not a nice time :(
 
With vaccination programmes like the one you describe, it's hard to see how birds could become ill at all but obviously they do. It would make you wonder if some of the vaccines are now losing their effect.

In regard to not eating and wasting away, it seems that some birds can pull round but sometimes they just don't make it in spite of treatment. Hopefully most owners will be able to balance their own feelings against poor quality of life for their birds and make the right decision.
 
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