Hen Lethargic,not eating strange poop!

[SouthShore Phil]

Hen is 2 1/2 yrs. very aggressive and in charge hen in a flock of 5. Not free range but occasionally out in chicken tractor this week. Been laying consistently but sometimes will have a soft or wrinkled egg.
48 hours ago, just stayed on coop floor and did not go to the roost for the PM. Did not move all day or drink/eat. Feathers fluffed up, comb straight and bright red. No sign of worms or blood in poop. She did have a very, very watery movement and then today a whiteish semi solid poop. This AM put a bowl of water with electrolyte and some Corid 9.6. Within 2 hours she is slowly walking around, drinking a lot and finally slowly eating. Looked at the poop chart but I can't tell so attached a pic.

 

[micstrachan]

How is your girl? Sorry this post got missed and you havenot received any help yet. Can you examine her all over? Please check that her crop is fully empty in the morning. How do her abdomen and breast feel? Hoping my response bumps this up and you get more replies. Sounds like she might be responding to the corrid, which is great. I don’t have enough knowledge on coccidosis to know whether it can take a chicken down withpit blood in the poop? Good luck. Keep us posted.

 

[SouthShore Phil]

Crop seems empty and abdomen etc feel ok. Slept on coop floor last PM but up this morning, out of coop and just sitting in run. Very large watery poop from last night.
Will continue Corrid and electrolytes, but she doesn't seem right.

 

[chickens really]

Egg bound?....Not sure....Sound like the meds are helping...Best of luck...

 

[SouthShore Phil]

Fyi, they are all starting to go into molt. This one is eating more now but drinking a very lot. Don't know if because of the electrolyte I added. Still seems weak but tail is up, feathers still puffed, crown up and brilliant red, walking fine but slow, unsure of herself, no apparent respiratory issues. However she is squirting out a lot of liquid mostly clear.

 

[HoopyFrood]

I hope someone with more experienced sees this soon! I'll reply as a bump and offer a couple thoughts:

This does not sound like coccidiosis to me. She is rather old to suffer from it and you made no mention of red or orange coloration in her feces. Therefore administering Corid sounds like a bad idea. Medicines like Corid can inhibit uptake of certain nutrients in the host as well as the parasites. Not ideal if you're trying to nurse an ailing bird back to health.

Additionally we have seen Nutri-Drench make a BIG difference in birds that are not eating well. It can bridge that gap: get them feeling better and well-fed enough to get back into a normal eating and drinking routine.

Hopefully someone else can corroborate this or offer more experienced advice!

 

[SouthShore Phil]

Ok I will stop the Corid as I really didn't think there was a worm problem but at that time I did not expect her to last due to symptoms. By the hour is getting better. Now walking around from coop to run, eating pellets and some Boss scattered in pen. Close inspection of last nights poop is a lot of liquid and some marble size pieces of normal stuff. If I had to diagnose - it's like she took a sleeping pill during the day!!! Never ANY issue with the
5 birds I have had for 2 1/2 years. All strong, lively, no worm signs and we keep the coop excessively clean.

 

[chickens really]

Fyi, they are all starting to go into molt. This one is eating more now but drinking a very lot. Don't know if because of the electrolyte I added. Still seems weak but tail is up, feathers still puffed, crown up and brilliant red, walking fine but slow, unsure of herself, no apparent respiratory issues. However she is squirting out a lot of liquid mostly clear.

Word of caution....Electrolilytes only once and not days ...Fresh water is best...Only feed the chicken feed nothing else...Up protein to 18%

 

[Kiki]

Ok I will stop the Corid as I really didn't think there was a worm problem but at that time I did not expect her to last due to symptoms. By the hour is getting better. Now walking around from coop to run, eating pellets and some Boss scattered in pen. Close inspection of last nights poop is a lot of liquid and some marble size pieces of normal stuff. If I had to diagnose - it's like she took a sleeping pill during the day!!! Never ANY issue with the
5 birds I have had for 2 1/2 years. All strong, lively, no worm signs and we keep the coop excessively clean.

Corid does nothing for worm loads.
It is only for treating Coccidiosis and if treating with Corid one should never offer "extra" vitamins.

I would keep her on the Corid and rush some fresh poop to the nearest vet to check for worms.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Let's see the rundown here: 2.5yrs old, molting, history of soft and wrinkled eggs, fluffed feathers, walking slow.

She did seem to respond to Corid and electrolytes. Could be coincidental - but if she was getting extra care and encouragement to drink - dehydration can be playing a part in this. It's up to you whether or not you want to complete the 5days of treatment with Corid, it's mild and not harmful. If you suspect the improvement was because she was drinking more, it may be better to stop Corid and supply her with Vitamins and plenty of water.

Since she is starting to molt, this can also play a big part in how she feels. This is when a hen can start having a few laying glitches - could be that she is stopping laying for the season, but also was trying to pass a soft shell egg - this can make them very ill, not walk well, become slow and lethargic. Once they pass that egg, they will start to improve. Depending on if it collapsed, it can take over a day for it to pass. You may have never seen the egg if it was soft enough or deflated for the others to snatch it - they will eat it up the evidence quickly. I have one girl that has this problem, the only thing that alerts me when it happens is my girls are all running around battling for a piece of the yummy soft shell And of course, my hen's behavior.

Getting some calcium and vitamins into her is a good idea. See if she will take some egg along with some wet feed. If you have a vet that can perform a fecal float to rule out Coccidiosis and worms that would be best.