Sick bird?

[mamasnowwolf]

Hi all,
I have a little RIR hen that's roughly 5 years old. I went out yesterday and she wasn't out free ranging with the other birds. She just sat there. I wondered if she was laying an egg even though she was outside and not in the coop. When I threw scratch and she didn't get up, I knew something was wrong. The pictures I have aren't the best, but I can't see any real physical reason she is acting up.
We separated her from the flock, we cleaned the coop, and did what we could for the remaining flock. She then got a good soak in warm water with Epsoms salt mostly to clean up her fluff which was covered in poo. We noticed a few bugs on her so we did dust the parts that weren't wet and I'll dust her fluff and the rest this morning. She isn't moving around much, she doesn't stand up long. She did eat when we held food out to her. She ate quite a lot actually. She is drinking water as well.
Her eyes are bright and clear, her beak is fine, no signs of a runny nose. She is breathing normally. What other things should I look for? Is there anything I can do to help her? I can take other pictures if you tell me what you need. Any advice is welcome. Thanks you.

 

[orelsi]

Eating and drinking is a good sign. Most of the poultry illnesses and parasites can cause the chickens to be listless and fatigued.

Mites and lice can cause the birds to be tired and sleepy all day, since they don't let them have a good sleep during the night. Check her thoroughly - around the ears, back of the neck, under wings, around vent.

She could be egg bound. The stance (in general) is sitting like a penguin, does she do that or is her posture normal? Has she produced eggs today? How long has it been?

Check her poo, what is the color, the consistency?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What kinds of bugs did you see on her? Do you know what maggots look like?

 

[mamasnowwolf]

Eating and drinking is a good sign. Most of the poultry illnesses and parasites can cause the chickens to be listless and fatigued.

Mites and lice can cause the birds to be tired and sleepy all day, since they don't let them have a good sleep during the night. Check her thoroughly - around the ears, back of the neck, under wings, around vent.

She could be egg bound. The stance (in general) is sitting like a penguin, does she do that or is her posture normal? Has she produced eggs today? How long has it been?

Check her poo, what is the color, the consistency?

She is listless, but in a fact she just doesn't want to get up and move much. I gave her food, but she didn't eat until I put it in front of her.

When we bathed her last night, hubby took the magnifying glass to her face and couldn't find anything. But 3 bugs jumped on him as he was playing with her feathers. They were tiny little things. I tried to take a picture, but it came out blurry. It could very well just be a mite. I will try and see if we can get a bug again and put it under the microscope.

She's an older bird and hasn't laid an egg since September. She was only sitting up straight for the picture, most of the time she's down low reminding me of a broody hen trying to cover a clutch. Only don't fluff herself up in the same manner. Her shells were weak despite adding calcium to her diet. They have been weak since her 2nd year of laying.

Poo appears normal. I'll keep checking.

 

[mamasnowwolf]

What kinds of bugs did you see on her? Do you know what maggots look like?

Yup, I know maggots. We didn't see any. The bugs are very tiny and light colored. Almost like a gnat. I almost got a picture, but it's blurry. I can post it if needed, but it's hard to tell. I can only assume it's a mite despite not seeing any around her face as I have in the past.

 

[mamasnowwolf]

Just an update. A friend of mine that has birds (but is in a different state) suggested ivermectin. The fact that she's eating and drinking, but very thin made him think our hen has worms. I gave her some ivermectin in her water but I don't notice any signs of improving. Her waste looks normal. We just switched foods (after she got sick) to a mixture we made ourselves. things like split corn, black oil sunflowers, fish meal, red soybean and so on. She loves the food and eats well, but doesn't improve. She sometimes sits like a penguin. She hasn't laid an egg since last summer, she's around 6 now. She doesn't move much, but she can get up and walk. I've never seen her walk, but as she moves around in her private tractor, I assume she walks, not rolls. around. I don't feel anything such as eggs insides but I'm not really sure what I'm feeling for. We have been giving her warm water soaks with Epsoms salt, but still nothing. I'm out of ideas. I welcome suggestions.