Lethargic, puffed up, white poop! Is this chicken going to make it?

[GitaBooks]

Best of luck with the vet trip!

If its a broken egg then it could be cured, however if its Water Belly (liver failure) then I'm not sure if there is anything you can do.

I do hope she gets better.

 

[deacons]

Thanks, I'll try to share an update tomorrow. Hope it's good news but I'm prepared if it's not. She'll get a big scrambled egg breakfast tomorrow morning

 

[enola]

When you wormed her in April did you repeat the dose in two weeks? What dose did you give her ?

 

[deacons]

So...we went to the vet...and I came home with my chicken! The vet said, "there's really no reason to put this chicken down right now. If she was mine, I wouldn't"

I explained the whole saga of the past week to the vet. He did a VERY thorough internal examination, and found no evidence of a broken or stuck egg, backed up egg material, or obvious signs of infection. He felt she was in good flesh, eyes bright and active, and considering that she's eating and drinking well right now, he thought we should take a "wait and see" approach. As he said, "considering the alternative, why not try."

He gave me a broad spectrum antibiotic to try with her and said to give it for a week and see if she perks up. If not, he said we could talk again. So, that's where we are today. We're going to try!

 

[GitaBooks]

That's awesome!

 

[deacons]

Looking good this morning. She was out running with the flock this morning, literally skipping through the grass and scratching around enthusiastically for bugs. Her appetite is great.

She does still have the messy bottom and her poop is a bit wet this morning- though she isn't straining to go anymore. I know the antibiotics mess with their system so attributing the runny poop to that.

 

[deacons]

Well, we finished the antibiotics today. Attitude wise, she's really back to her perky self. She wants to run and scratch and peck with the rest. She is no longer staying off to the side on her own or lethargic and hunched up. Her appetite is back to normal and she turned her nose up at her scrambled eggs (with antibiotic) this morning.

I still don't love how her poop looks, though it is more normal. She still has a messy bottom, but it is unusually hot here now and they are all looking a little messy from drinking so much more water than usual. Her feathers are still ragged and picked at, and I'm not seeing any evidence of her regrowing any.

All in all, for now it looks like not euthanizing and trying to treat was the right decision. I'm glad to still have her around, even if I didn't get a firm diagnosis about what was wrong.

 

[deacons]

I'm still pleased with how she's doing. Although this morning it looks like she may molt on me-lots of her feathers all around the coop. I guess she's been pretty stressed with all the handling, medicating, and separation from the others.

 

[deacons]

Aaannndddd....we may be backsliding. I think this is an egg-laying related problem.

This morning, she was just a step off, a little slower than she should be. After their morning free ranging, she stayed out of the coop but hung off by herself in a corner of the run, looking a little hunched/puffed up. The best way I can describe her is that she looked like someone with stomach cramps hunched up.

Later this afternoon, I found a broken egg in the nest. I can't say for sure it was hers because they had cleaned up most of it, but it seems too coincidental not to be.

Is there a way to "turn off" a chicken's desire to lay? Or do their bodies just keep producing the eggs, even if it's hurting them?

As far as I know, this is her first attempt to lay since she was on antibiotics, and it's not encouraging.

 

[GitaBooks]

Aaannndddd....we may be backsliding. I think this is an egg-laying related problem.

This morning, she was just a step off, a little slower than she should be. After their morning free ranging, she stayed out of the coop but hung off by herself in a corner of the run, looking a little hunched/puffed up. The best way I can describe her is that she looked like someone with stomach cramps hunched up.

Later this afternoon, I found a broken egg in the nest. I can't say for sure it was hers because they had cleaned up most of it, but it seems too coincidental not to be.

Is there a way to "turn off" a chicken's desire to lay? Or do their bodies just keep producing the eggs, even if it's hurting them?

As far as I know, this is her first attempt to lay since she was on antibiotics, and it's not encouraging.

I'm not sure how to stop a hen from laying. Sorry.