Chicken Sick?

[Sexyraftguide]

Hi all,
We think we've got a sick chicken on our hands. When I let my girls outside this afternoon, she went out but she moved more more slowly that usual. Not like she's hurt, more like she's lethargic. She didn't walk much in the time they were out. She didn't scratch or peck much. She also seems puffy and her tail is down. When I checked her back end, it's messy (see picture). I've isolated her and she's drinking. She's pecked at the yogurt, mealworms, and garlic I gave her but normally she would have eaten it all by now. Does anyone know what this is or what we can do for her?

 

[cleoandtheflock]

Her combs and wattles look well
Have you checked her for mites, fleas, ticks, and louse
Look for small bugs crawling on the skin especially near the preening gland, vent, under the wings also check for white egg clusters at the base of her feathers
Have you cleaned up her vent?
Have you seen any blood in her droppings?
Those are some good foods to give her
Is she eating her normal feed also though?

 

[Eggcessive]

Look carefully to see if she has any red tissue exposed which could be a prolapsed vent. Insert a finger into her vent one inch to feel for a stuck egg, or any membrane or broken egg material. If you see a prolapse clean her vent and take another clear picture. Here is what a prolapsed vent looks like, and it can sometimes occur when there is an egg stuck:

Photo by armorfirelady

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC. Is a vet an option?

 

[Sexyraftguide]

Thank you for your posts. A vet isn't an option. We checked to see if she was egg bound. We found shell fragments so the egg broke inside her. We cleared what we could find. We gave her a warm bath. She still seems to be trying to pass something though. No prolapse. I gave her a handful of pellets when I put her back in the cage and she ate them heartily. There's no blood in her leavings so I'm hoping that's a good sign. I'm not sure what else to do for her now other than hope she passes any remnants and/or makes it through the night.

 

[casportpony]

Thank you for your posts. A vet isn't an option. We checked to see if she was egg bound. We found shell fragments so the egg broke inside her. We cleared what we could find. We gave her a warm bath. She still seems to be trying to pass something though. No prolapse. I gave her a handful of pellets when I put her back in the cage and she ate them heartily. There's no blood in her leavings so I'm hoping that's a good sign. I'm not sure what else to do for her now other than hope she passes any remnants and/or makes it through the night.

Do you have any human or animal antibiotics?

 

[Sexyraftguide]

We do have some penicillin for chickens that we bought last year after one of our roosters was attacked. We were talking about giving it to her in the morning depending on what happens overnight.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

do you have calcium for them ? A nice warm bath in some epsom salts and a tums will help if its still there and the antibiotics should be started as well. I dont know if penicillin is the correct kind but our wonderful educators will be back to let you know

 

[Sexyraftguide]

Miss Libby made it through the night but she still doesn't seem like herself. She still acts like she's trying to pass something. I gave her regular feed, oyster shell, mealworms, and garlic before I left for work but she wasn't very interested. My husband is worried that she has egg yolk peritonitis or septicemia. If she makes it through the day, our plan is to check her again for more shell, give her a warm bath, and maybe a shot of penicillin. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'd love to save her if we can.

 

[rebrascora]

Oyster shell takes a while to break down and enter the blood stream, so a more readily available source of calcium like a human calcium and vitamin D or calcium gluconate or a tums indigestion tablet at a push will provide a more instant calcium boost. I would guess that the egg that broke inside her was a thin shelled egg and she may have another shell less egg in her system behind it which can be very hard to pass and really take it out of them. The calcium boost will not only help the shell gland but also help the muscles to contract to push it out. Warm soaks in Epsom salts will help her relax and assist the passage of anything stuck and a nice blow dry and set up in a warm, dim, humid environment is ideal to help her get through this. Keeping her hydrated is also important so I would only offer her soft mushy food, like pellets soaked in warm water until they go to mush and/or scrambled egg/yoghurt mixed into it. Make sure she takes the calcium supplement by putting it into her beak.