Sickly chicken

[Jackie-83]

Sittin's chicken is an Orpington of unknown age. I've had her for 3+ years. She has not produced an egg since the winter, and stopped laying daily last year about this time, when she started molting. Other than humble foot, and a odd swelling in the back part of her comb she's never had any health issues with me. Late spring/early summer when it got hot, I noticed she slowed down a little bit, but was unconcerned. As the temps kept coming up I worried about my girls and took measures to help them manage. Little girl developed waterbelly, but sittin chicken just kept doing chicken stuff until about a week ago. That when she started to get off the roost before we went out to open the coop. She would be on the coop floor near the water. I assumed it was hot up there and she was just moving to a cooler spot. She would come out of the coop as soon as we opened it and go about her day. Yesterday, when the coop was opened she didn't come out. She was standing by the water. I checked her over but she just seemed tired. Tail dropped, and low energy. Me messing with her seemed to light a fire and she went out. Today she was laying by the water. Tail down, wings dropped, back feathers raised. She has a squishy crop, with no smell.And some poopy butt. I brought her in the house for a bath and some A/C. The bath has been a good pick me up for my girls over the years. But it didn't do anything for her this time. I've given her water and grapes. She's not interested in either, and she loves grapes. Her weight is good so far. Her comb is upright, however due to the swelling I'm not sure if that's a reliable indicator for her. She's currently on a towel in my living room floor. Just laying there, taking naps. I don't know what's wrong, she's obviously unwell, but I can't pinpoint a cause. I don't have a bird vet in my area so I'm on my own for treatment. Any ideas?

 

[Jackie-83]

So, it's been 3.5 hours. She hasn't eaten or drank anything. And she hasn't pooped yet. She's only moved to stand up after I harassed her to try to get her to eat or drink.

 

[theoldchick]

Get your hands on her and give her a good exam. Put her in a dog crate and put her in a cooler place. There are so many things that can be wrong with her-heart issues, reproductive issues, parasites and so forth. Take her to a vet if you can and if you can't give her supportive care.


https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-help-sick-chicken/

 

[Jackie-83]

I've got her in the house with me. She's on a towel on my living room floor instead of a crate so that I can keep a visual on her. Its 72° degrees in here. I've done an external exam, nothing to indicate any kind of injury. Her crop was mushy, like she had drank a bunch of water. In the last couple of minutes she has finally started preening. But she spent a solid 3 hours napping. She's still laying down, but she's putting her feathers back to normal.
Her wings and tail are still down, with her back feathers puffed up.
I'd love to take her to a vet, but none in my area treat chickens.

 

[Jackie-83]

She's now eaten a single grape and pooped pure liquid. Still not drinking. And only ate the grape because I kept dropping the pieces in front of her. She also has tuna and crumble on offer. I think it may be waterbelly. She's seems pretty full on the back end.

 

[Jackie-83]

Its bed time for my chickens, typically they nibble on some crumble, water, and then on the roost. I've had her under observation for over 5 hours. In that time she did not drink, and only ate a grape. Her craw was somewhat full and squishy like a wet diaper. Early in the afternoon, it was fuller, and felt more like a water balloon. I've put her back in the coop to see if being in her normal environment will trigger "normal bed time behavior". Depending on how she reacts I will decide if she can stay out or if she needs to be in the house for the night. In the morning I will check her craw again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She has not produced an egg since the winter, and stopped laying daily last year

She was standing by the water. I checked her over but she just seemed tired. Tail dropped, and low energy. Me messing with her seemed to light a fire and she went out. Today she was laying by the water. Tail down, wings dropped, back feathers raised. She has a squishy crop, with no smell.

Sounds like you need to address the crop symptom.
Do keep in mind that often there is an underlying condition that causes a crop to slow.
She's not been laying eggs in a good while, so she may be suffering from reproductive problems like cancer, eyp, internal laying or something else.

I'd be inclined to also give her extra calcium for 3 days just in case she's having a hard time expelling any material from the reproductive system. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 at Walmart, give her 1 tablet daily for 3 days.

When was she last wormed?

Photos of her and her poop in good lighting would be good too.

Read this article to begin treating the crop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Jackie-83]

Sounds like you need to address the crop symptom.
Do keep in mind that often there is an underlying condition that causes a crop to slow.
She's not been laying eggs in a good while, so she may be suffering from reproductive problems like cancer, eyp, internal laying or something else.

I'd be inclined to also give her extra calcium for 3 days just in case she's having a hard time expelling any material from the reproductive system. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 at Walmart, give her 1 tablet daily for 3 days.

When was she last wormed?

Photos of her and her poop in good lighting would be good too.

Read this article to begin treating the crop. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Cal supplements can start tomorrow. I will try for poop pics tomorrow as well. Same for crop issue. Waiting to see if its empty in the morning. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Jackie-83]

After no food or water all night her crop is empty-ish. I'd say she has 1 to 2 table spoons of fluid in there. I do not feel anything chunky or grity. So, I'm going to try to get some nutrition and fluids in her today. So far no poop for pics. Should I offer food? Wet pellets, watermelon, and other easy to pass items?

 

[Jackie-83]

Also, should I be feeling grit? They have free access to it in a separate bowl, and the ground here is sand (river bottoms) so the also have access to non store bought grit materials.