helpless, and new.

[the lone hen]

Our family chicken is sick. I have spent endless hours on google trying to find similar issues amd symptoms other chickens have had. I feel so confused and helpless and scared now and dont know what to do.
She is our only chicken, she roosts on our railing and lays her egg every day at our back door. 3 days ago I noticed she was not herself amd staying in her same little area all day. She was fluffed up quite and she has not stood up since. The next day I realised she had been in that same spot but not pooped. I have been feeding her be hand and gibing her water by hand. The has not layed an egg for nearlly 4 days but she did.do a very very large.poop yesterday which smelt very bad. She has not pooped since nor laid an egg nor stood up. I have tried to check if she is egg bound but she feels soft aroumd her abdomen.

 

[KHoward]

Hi Lone,

Where are you located, could she be too cold? One of my hens got too cold last week and was droopy-tailed and lethargic. I took her inside for a few days to let her warm up under a heat lamp and now she is good as new.

~Kristen

 

[the lone hen]

Hi kristen,
on the sunshine coast temperature is between 21oc at night and 30oc day.

 

[ten chicks]

Our family chicken is sick. I have spent endless hours on google trying to find similar issues amd symptoms other chickens have had. I feel so confused and helpless and scared now and dont know what to do.
She is our only chicken, she roosts on our railing and lays her egg every day at our back door. 3 days ago I noticed she was not herself amd staying in her same little area all day. She was fluffed up quite and she has not stood up since. The next day I realised she had been in that same spot but not pooped. I have been feeding her be hand and gibing her water by hand. The has not layed an egg for nearlly 4 days but she did.do a very very large.poop yesterday which smelt very bad. She has not pooped since nor laid an egg nor stood up. I have tried to check if she is egg bound but she feels soft aroumd her abdomen.

Check her crop for an impacted crop,her crop should be full during day(after eating) and should be empty in the morning(before eating). When you refer to "soft around abdomen" is it her abdomen or crop? Her crop is located to the right of her chest.

To check for egg binding,put on some gloves with lubricant and insert finger into vent,see if you can feel an egg or broken egg.

How long has it been since she has eaten or drank any water?

 

[Saerie]

Okay, first of all, how old is your bird?

It could be any number of things, that's the problem. Worms maybe? They cause weight loss, appetite loss, diarrhea and dehydration. Roundworms can usually be treated easily with medication from a veterinarian. It can be fatal so it's important to seek veterinary attention if you suspect that your bird has any sort of parasite. Worms are diagnosed by looking for them in a bird's droppings normally.
That's just a first guess... Another simple explanation, is that she's lonely, chickens are flock animals, sometimes all they need is another bird.
Because it really could be anything, I would take her to a Vet. I know how you feel about your bird, my birds are like my little feathery family too. And when one of them gets sick like this and I don't have enough information to help her, the quickest way is to take her to the vet for professional opinion and let them help her.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful...

 

[Bossom-hen]

She may be broody - the large smelly poop and sitting in one spot suggest it is possible. This is when a hen gets the urge to hatch some of their eggs out regardless of whether they would be fertile or not. There are loads of information sites on broody hens that you can read online and see if the symptoms match. Sometimes it happens even when you have taken the eggs, they just sit on imaginary ones.

 

[ten chicks]

Broodiness is a possibility as suggested by Bossom-hen,does she growl when approached or make funny sounds? Does she eat when offered food?

 

[pwand]

Treat with safeguard for worms as there is lots of worms they can get, you can get this at a feed store and also treat her for mites and lice.

When you say she sits in the same spot, is it where she lays her eggs? Maybe she is broody. Have you tried to move her to see if she gets upset.

Can you post a picture?

 

[the lone hen]

I have just checked her crop amd it feels grainy. I also checked her vent and I could not feel anything.
I thought she coild be broody when the last egg she laid she sat on it all day. But I took it away from her.

 

[the lone hen]