Farmsitting and need help diagnosing a hen

[ProudRedneck]

Unknown age
Found today in between a hay bale and sidewall
Walks like she's drunk
Feels like she has a water balloon under her near her vent, the area feels hot to the touch
When I sit her down she slowly lowers herself in a roost position and then rolls over onto her side
Seems to be breathing normal and alert looking around at her surroundings, currently doing an Epsom salt soak.

Update: finished 15 min Epsom soak and blow dried her. Gave her soft bedding for the night so hoping to have suggestions to do in the morning for her. Including videos too.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Unknown age
Found today in between a hay bale and sidewall
Walks like she's drunk
Feels like she has a water balloon right next to her vent underneath her
When I sit her down she slowly lowers herself in a roost position and then rolls over onto her side
Seems to be breathing normal and alert looking around at her surroundings, currently doing an Epsom salt soak

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I don’t know a lot but my hen was acting like that when she had water belly. She also had the squishy thing under her vent. But hopefully I’m wrong maybe @Wyorp Rock could help?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think you are doing what you can for her.

She may be having a hard time expelling an egg. Calcium Citrate with D3 can be given for several days. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

The color of her leg - is that normal for her?

She's in a bad way, so may not make it, hopefully she will pull through. It does look like she may have some bloat or fluid in the abdomen which often can be seen in hens with reproductive problems.

 

[ProudRedneck]

04/08 Update: She is still alive and alert this morning. Still sitting in the same spot, though. I gave her food & water this morning, but she showed no interest. I left it directly in front of her so she didn't have to get up to get any. I'm including what her poop looked like this morning and a video of her walking yesterday.

The color of her leg - is that normal for her?

Thank you for the feedback and advice @Wyorp Rock . I don't know if this is normal for her as I just started farm sitting with the PM feeding on 04/05/2023 (until 04/20-AM).

 

[ProudRedneck]

Calcium Citrate with D3 can be given for several days.

What mg strength per tablet? I am finding multiple versions.

 

[ProudRedneck]

I went back and found a old photo I took of her on May 20th which shows her rear end looking like it does now and I am noticing that her legs are not the same color as they are now @Wyorp Rock

Picture taken. 05/20/2023

 

[ProudRedneck]

Is the Calcium Cluconate I already have greater, equal to, or not as good as the Calcium Citrate w/ D3? Also, here is what I have in my first aid kit for my ducks...will any of this help in the situation?

 

[Gwhite3678]

This is similar to my current situation with my hen… interested to see how this turns out

 

[ProudRedneck]

04/08 PM Check-up:
Hen is holding steady; when I reached in to get her for her treatment tonight, she fluttered up and attempted to perch on a low (extremely low) roost bar in the nursery that I am keeping her in, but she's so unbalanced she can't stay still on it.

Tonight, I did
1. 2 cup Epsom salt soak/1 gal of warm water for 30 mins
2. I gave her a Calcium Citrate +D3 pill (400 mg of calcium + 12.5 mcg (500 IU) of Vitamin D3 per pill)
3. Syringe fed a water mixture of 1cc vitamin B complex and 1cc of Calcium Gluconate. Tomorrow, I will also add 1cc of poultry cell to the water mixture.

Any other suggestions/critiques are welcome as this is a hen I am trying to help while the owner is on vacation, and I wanna do everything I can for the hen and owner. Thank you.

@Eggcessive ?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Tonight, I did
1. 2 cup Epsom salt soak/1 gal of warm water for 30 mins
2. I gave her a Calcium Citrate +D3 pill (400 mg of calcium + 12.5 mcg (500 IU) of Vitamin D3 per pill)
3. Syringe fed a water mixture of 1cc vitamin B complex and 1cc of Calcium Gluconate. Tomorrow, I will also add 1cc of poultry cell to the water mixture.

I would only give her 1 of those Calcium choices, not both -either are fine.

She's not doing well is she. I would suspect some type of reproductive issue, but a lot of times it's hard to know which one unless you lose them and perform a necropsy.

Does she have any lice or mites?

You could try an antibiotic that you have in your supplies - ask the owners if that's the approach they want to take. They need to be aware of any medications that are given that may have residual amounts in eggs/meat and observe any withdrawal periods - they would need to research those periods and come to a conclusion themselves.