Help for an aging hen

[crazychick26201]

I have a 7 1/2 year old hen who has become lethargic, does not want to eat or drink and has clear droppings with slightly yellow urates. She was acting completely normal until two days ago. She also is in the middle of a molt, which is early but this is commonly when she molts. All other hens in the flock are very healthy. We have had two weeks of very hot weather so could this be heat stress? I put ice in their waterers, have a fan in the run, and make sure they are in shade in the afternoon, plus cold watermelon in the late afternoon. Could she have a kidney problem? I have been syringing Smart Water into her beak and I have an antibiotic and anti inflammatory meds available but am not sure what or if to give them. My vet is on vacation for three weeks. Plus with the Covid situation it is difficult to get in. Please help!

 

[azygous]

At that age, it could be anything. In spite of molt, or even because of it, an errant egg could have been released into her reproductive tract, and become stuck. The yellow urates often indicate a reproductive issue.

The clear liquid discharge also lends weight to a blockage. You probably haven't seen a cecal poop from her lately, either. That's another sign the cecum is blocked and not producing cecal poops nor absorbing fluids as it's supposed to.

It could also be cancer blocking the tract and causing these symptoms, but there is no help for that as there is if you're dealing with a stuck egg. So I suggest treating for egg binding as a fall back action.

Give a calcium tablet whole directly into her beak. Or a Tums or other calcium antacid. Do this once a day until this resolves. I've had an aging hen take eighteen days to overcome a reproductive blockage. You need to be patient.

Provide fluids for dehydration, electrolytes will help. Dehydration makes it even harder to pass a stuck egg, so this is crucial. Place her in a quiet place to avoid stress which also makes this condition worse. Then watch and wait.

If she ejects the egg, it's fine as long as it's intact. A collapsed egg will require an antibiotic to counter almost certain infection from the egg yolk exposure. We can talk about that if and when it happens.

 

[crazychick26201]

Thank you. I did not think it could be an egg laying issue because she was molting. However I did find her in the nest box a few days ago! So tomorrow I plan to bring her in, give her an Epsom salt bath and give her some calcium. I have liquid calcium which I bought years ago and hope it is still good. I also have calcium citrate prescribed by my doctor but it is a huge pill. How in the world do you get a pill down a chicken? Please advise! She ate a little watermelon this evening but that’s all. She is standing around looking kind of she’ll shocked. I gave her a dose of loxicom this morning and she had had one dose of antibiotics yesterday. Not sure is I should continue those?

 

[azygous]

I've had more than my share of old hens that surprise me every other year or so with a string of eggs, as my ten-year old GLW Su-su did some weeks back, or in the case of my eleven-year old SLW Lilith, a persistent failed attempt.

Lilith, age eleven, tries every year to lay eggs. She's pretty agile and active for her advanced years, but her shell gland is SOL of calcium. Her eggs are shell-less and end up breaking inside her body. That sets up an ugly chain reaction of vent prolapse and infection. This recent episode took eighteen days to resolve. Her previous bout last year required nine days to resolve. I didn't think I'd be able to save her this time, but she surprised me again.

I understand why people cull old biddies when they quit laying, although my chickens mean more to me than just egg sources. Maintaining old hens is not for the feint of heart, though.

As I recently explained to another person who was concerned about their chicken being able to swallow a large pill, chickens are built to swallow large chunks of food whole. Even my half grown chick that is sick at present can swallow a large pill easily.

People have trouble swallowing large objects because we must chew our food into small bits as the first stage in our digestive process. It's why we have teeth. Chickens don't need teeth because their digestive process begins after they swallow their food. The crop breaks down some of the large chunks, but the real grinding takes place in the gizzard, the next stop after the food leaves the crop. It's why chickens don't need teeth and why swallowing a large pill, a whole mouse or a toad requires no effort.

Slip the pill into the beak and it will disappear like magic. You won't even notice the chicken swallowing.

 

[crazychick26201]

Well I am amazed! I put that pill in her beak and she swallowed it right down! I hope it helps! I am so continued dripping smart water into her mouth and giving her a dose of loxicom. I think there was a little fecal matter in her poop this am. But later I found a bit of black stuff in her dropping. Her crop is slow but not sour. Yesterday she wolfed down some spaghetti, but this morning I couldn’t get her to eat anything. She is definitely molting. But also curiously, I found an egg in the nest box this morning that looks like one of her eggs. But I am not sure. Puzzling indeed.

I have dealt with vent prolapse and infection in another of my old girls. Not a pleasant experience for sure. I have checked this one’s vent and it looks normal.

Thanks for all your help and advice so far. I will keep checking in if that’s ok.

 

[azygous]

I'll be around. Keep up the good work!

 

[crazychick26201]

Today has not been a very good day. I gave her that calcium pill, more water, and loxicom in the am. At noon I gave her some laying mash mixed with water and she ate a little bit of it. That’s all she has had today. She spent the entire day in a corner of the coop. This evening when I gave the flock (of 4 other hens) watermelon she would not eat any. I had to carry her out there. She is just standing in the run, alone. At this point after about 4 days, she has ceased all regular activity. And she had another of those clear poops. I will go out, syringe water into her mouth, give her more anti inflammatory, try to get her to eat some noodles and put her to bed. I will try the calcium again tomorrow. She is still alert and comb is red, though limp. But she simply will not move on her own. How long should I let this go on do you think? With the Covid, I can’t get much help from our vet but I have vowed that I would have the next hen put down rather than see her suffer for weeks on end. Neither me or my husband can do that neck break thing. I’m sorry. I am tired, and recovering from surgery myself. We are in the third week of 90’s here. It’s tough on both the hens and me! I hope there is a change for the better soon! She cannot possibly have laid the egg I found this morning.

 

[Eggcessive]

Does she have any enlargement or swelling in her lower backend? Liver failure or heart failure can cause ascites or water belly, and liver disease can cause yellow urates. Is her tail held down. She might be nearing the end, so I would try to make her as comfortable as possible. Feed her what she likes, and try to get her drinking water. I would consider euthanizing her if she seems to be suffering.

 

[azygous]

There's always tube feeding. Once you learn it, it's actually much easier than trying to syringe food and water into the beak. I'm about to do it right now for a chick I'm treating for gizzard obstruction.

When a chicken is sick, sometimes refusing to eat works against their recovery, so it's necessary to stuff nourishment into them to keep their strength up. There are many video tutorials on how to tube feed. You can get a kit for just a few dollars from any vet. Look at this photo and you will see where the esophagus is. That's where you insert the tube. Then you would inject the food into the tube with the oral syringe. It goes directly into the crop without any mess.

 

[crazychick26201]

Is the hole right in the middle the windpipe? So the esophagus is over to the side?
Update: her tail is not down, her belly is not squishy or bloated. She is alert but not moving much. This morning she are a bit of moistened laying mash on her own but I haven’t seen her drink. I am continuing to syringe water into her beak. I let her soak in an Epsom salt bath this morning followed by 1 ml of liquid calcium. And more syringed water. Then I blew her dry with a hair dryer and put her in a hospital crate in the basement where it is cool and dim. Poop is still clear slime with maybe one dark blob. I actually found a vet near me that treats chickens, and made an appointment for Monday morning if she is still alive. Boy I wish I had known about that vet earlier this week. She is molting and has pin feathers all over her back and around her vent. I will look up those videos about tube feeding. Looks scary!