Listless with poor comb colour

[The Harlequin]

Thanks for the reply, and your interest.

- photos attached
- poop to follow once she's spent a night in the dog cage
- she's 2. My wife says we've had her, along with the rest of the flock, since hatching: not from a neighbour as I previously said
- i don't know if she's ever laid an egg, as we don't know which ones lay. we get 4 or 5 a day from our 8 hens. this doesn't seem to have dropped since isolation so i guess she wasn't laying previously

We checked the crop this evening and it seemed ok. Will do some more checking tomorrow.

regards
H

 

[Wyorp Rock]

i don't know if she's ever laid an egg, as we don't know which ones lay.

We checked the crop this evening and it seemed ok. Will do some more checking tomorrow.

The only way to gauge proper crop function is to check it first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks - it should be empty at that time. If it still is full, then she has a crop issue going on.

Her stance with the tail down and droopy comb reminds me of a hen that is having reproductive problems. Reproductive disorders can be common in laying hens - Egg Yolk Peritonitis, cancer, tumors, Internal Laying and Salpingitis all have very similar symptoms. I would feel that abdomen - see if it's bloated/swollen or possibly even fluid in the belly. Sometimes a hen can recover enough to continue on for a while. If there's fluid, draining that can give some short term relief. Antibiotics again would give short term relief. If you happen to lose her and want to find out for sure, send the body to your state lab for necropsy or if you want to do one yourself, take some photos and we will help you with what you see.
https://poultrykeeper.com/reproductive-system-problems/egg-peritonitis/

 

[The Harlequin]

OK thanks will look further. Meantime, here's a poop pic.

 

[The Harlequin]

We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her, she continued to lose weight and be listless, wasn't moving around, and had developed a limp, so tonight I put her out of her misery.

A sad evening but, thanks to any helpful suggestions, I'm reassured that we had given it our best shot.

Thanks
H