# My chicken is dying..



## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

Hi everyone, this is kind of a harsh post but I'm 90% sure my Americauna chicken is dying.. The past 2 days she has had diarrhea so I gave her Ivomec today but haven't really had a chance to look at her.. Tonight I looked at her, her belly feels full of air, or her guts rather? The area between her sternum and her vent.. She also has crackling noises when she breathes and her heart is racing...

Her name is Chockaboo (after a video game I played as a kid..) I have had her for 5+ years and she was supposedly 1 year old when I got her. She hasn't laid eggs in probably 3 years.

My questions are.., has anyone seen this before? Is this old age? Could this be a contagious disease that I should worry about? Could parasites cause this?

She went down hill fast.. I feel like I should "end her suffering" but I have never been good at that part..


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

I'd give her pen g. You have to look up the dose. She's not really old. I feel like she has an illness. I bring my sick chickens into my bathroom to treat. Make sure she has food and water. Can you get her temp?


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

I feel like she is older than I was told because she stopped laying eggs two years after I got her.. I could get her temp tomorrow if I can find my thermometer.. Her breathing is very labored and the crackling in her lungs is very loud..


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

I can't bring her inside, my house and bathroom is tiny and her poop smells worse than any chicken poop I have ever smelled.. Nobody in the house would sleep.... She's warm and safe in the coop though... I left her by food and water all day but I'm not even sure if she's eating or drinking.... I'm a terrible chicken mom... I spend most of my time with the goats and hardly pay attention to my feathered girls...


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

She's never had any respiratory issues, no cough, no discharge from eyes or nose... I'm really puzzled why she has crackling lungs..


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

You might want to give her some bird electrolytes or molasses water with an eyedropper. A vet also told me to get baby food meat & add enough water to be able to eyedropper or syringe feed.

It's so hard to figure out what's wrong with sick chickens! One thing I learned volunteering at a wildlife center is that warmth is the most important thing for any sick or injured bird, I think because they use a lot of energy trying to maintain their body heat.

I know what you mean about giving the goats more attention than the hens--I feel guilty too.


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## MylieD (Sep 16, 2013)

It sounds like an uri or pnuemonia just from your description. Antibiotics are the only thing I can think to do for her, besides what you're doing. If it is an infection, it's not going to go away on its own and she'll go down fast.


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## Steampunked (Mar 23, 2015)

This sounds like respiratory disease. Antibiotics are the best attempt right now as several folks said above, but birds are very vulnerable to lung conditions due to their complex respiratory systems. Warmth is important as they run at a higher temperature than most of us mammals.

A good meal for a sick chicken is boiled chopped up egg, with some grated apple, a little multivitamin powder. Lots of water, with a little ACV to encourage appetite (works on chickens too!).


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

I'd give 1/2 cc Tylan 200 daily for 5 days...you can give it orally. I know people say chickens live 8-10 years but I have found for some of them 5 is the max.


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

Thanx stephanie, I will try that


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

If it is respiratory that should kick it.


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

She's actually looking a little better today. She's drinking water and she ate some chicken feed with goat milk mixed in. She's really thin... I'm not getting my hopes up yet..


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Hi again! I hope she's hanging in there still. A vet I really liked suggested the pate' style canned cat food for sick skinny chickens. Also (as you've probably noticed) chickens love red food. My college biology teacher said red is the color birds see best. That's why hummingbird flowers are red. I had one old hen who LOVED her cherry cheese cake! A tiny bit of raw hamburger might interest your girl too.

Good luck with her!


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

Chockaboo wasn't well at all last night so I gave her a big dose of banamine to ease her pain.. she was still very tired this morning so I put food and water right next to her and when I came back she looked like she had just fall asleep... she was great with the new baby americaunas, I will miss her but I'm glad she's not suffering any more.. thank you for everyone who gave advice..


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm sorry you lost her.


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## Sara+pumpkin (Jul 21, 2015)

I'm so sorry


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## HappyCaliGoats (Mar 19, 2014)

Thanx guys.. I knew it was coming.. I just wanted to try just in case there was any slight chance..

She fell asleep in my lap Thursday, she was so shiny and beautiful, I just pet her until she fell asleep then sat admiring her feathers for a while before I put her to bed.


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