Sweet Golden Comet is sick and I don't know what it is???

[hischild1977]

We have a sweet Goldie who once in a blue moon will lay. She has always been that way. We feed our flock Dupont layer feed and mix in shells with the food. Always fresh water. We have a plastic oil pan that we drilled holes in on the bottom and fill with sand and DE....I know I know...it needs wood ash too. We are in a dry spell in Kentucky and cannot burn to get the ash. Anyway, we put that in the coop for them as a dust bath. We got her about a year ago from TSC as a chick. Her not laying is my first question....is there something we aren't doing that we should be doing? Second question...which is ironic...yesterday she was acting lethargic and her tail was down. Watery poo. Would still eat and drink. Area around vent is swollen and egg shaped...but isn't hard. I thought, sounds like egg bound, right? Well, I gave her a bath this morning and crushed a tums in with a dollop of Greek yogurt and spread it on a watermelon rind. She ate it up! I put her back in her nesting box and waited a couple of hours. I checked on her again and still no change, so I put a glove on and checked to feel for an egg, and nothing! She did give a watery poo when I pulled my finger out. Now I don't have any idea what to do next. Any other suggestions? We love our sweet goldies and don't want to lose her!

 

[MadGardener]

Welcome to BYC! Sorry you're having some difficulty with your hen.

I'm not terribly experienced, but I do obsessively read the emergency forums. To me it seems likely your hen could have a reproductive issue. It's very common in Red Sex Link chickens like Comets. They're bred to lay so many large eggs their little bodies can't always take it long term.

How frequently did she lay before she was unwell? Can you post pictures of her vent and poo?

There is a possibility she is laying internally- the egg material going inside the abdominal cavity. Feel her abdomen between her legs (compare to another chicken if you're unsure what feels normal). Is it really squishy? Super hard?

The watery poo could be vent gleet or a ruptured egg. Pictures would be very helpful.