# Sick Chicken



## KristyHall (Jan 27, 2011)

OK I have a sick hen in my bathtub. She has been there for a few days. She seems alert but I have to hand feed her a mush water mix via tube. She still isn't eating on her own and now her poop is green.
I am about ready to give up and put her out of her misery but I want to see if there is something else I can do.
Anyone know whats going on?
Now on top of it she seems to have hurt her leg!


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## adoptedbyachicken (Jan 27, 2011)

Green poop indicates lack of food, or the food not going through her.  Since you know she is getting food it's that she is not moving it through and as such has a very poor prognosis.  You did not state her age but I have to suspect mereks disease, which is a progressive paralysis often effecting the gut and limbs.  It is a common virus in backyard flocks and spread by wild birds, most chickens get over it with minor cold symptoms, or no symptoms at all, those that don't often are left permanently disabled even if successfully nursed through the acute phase.  Mortality once there is neurological symptoms is 50 to 100%.

Prevention is by breeding selective for resistance, vaccination as day olds or some hatcheries now vaccinate the incubating eggs and for commercial flocks isolation from wild birds (they say, but it's airborn transmission so unless they have no ventilation I don't see that working).


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## DianeS (Jan 27, 2011)

Have you posted this on BackYardChickens? It's a sister site to this one, all about chickens. You can find a link to it at the veeeeery bottom of this page.

Hope the chicken feels better soon!


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## KristyHall (Jan 27, 2011)

That makes sense since she is having difficulty with one leg.
She is about two years old. A couple other birds acted a little sickly but got over it. My birds are free range so keeping them isolated is near impossible.
Once they exhibit nurological symptoms about how long before they die if they will die?
She is part Americana and I have to say americanas don't do well in my area where they are allowed to free rang. I guess they're not tough enough. I have the best of luck with partridge/barred rocks, cotchins, astralorps and rhode island reds though a majority of my birds are all so mixed I don't know what is in any of them.
No I haven't posted at the sister site. I guess I'm being lazy


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## adoptedbyachicken (Jan 27, 2011)

It does sound like mareks then.  If they are from a hatchery they may have been vaccinated (it's optional and an extra charge) but like all vaccines that's not 100%.  With good care she could survive it, without care of course she would die of starvation or trampling in the flock.  Once I suspect mareks and they have neurological deficits I do not nurse them anymore since I have not seen them recover from it and I personally will not have a disabled chicken and the responsibility of care.  So for me it's euthanasia, but the choice to try is of course yours.


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## KristyHall (Jan 27, 2011)

I appreciate the advice. I think I may have to put her down.
I am trying to decide the best way to do it. I could cut her neck like I do when slaughtering birds, or maybe break her neck. I won't be eating her since I have a policy about eating sick animals. It breaks my heart but I have been hand feeding her for days and obviously I am either not doing enough or its not processing through. I can only get a couple of ounces down her a day because when I try to go past that she fights to much and it spills out.
Her crop feels pretty full too.


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## KristyHall (Jan 27, 2011)

someone on byc suggested botulism.
If its botulism then I will continue hand feeding her since mortality rates seem to be lower than with mereks


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