What illness is this?

[Lelilamom]

I know one of my 1 year old RSL hens is sick. In the morning she is puffed up and standing still in the corner, but warms up quickly as daylight increases and has a pretty normal day. She has white diarrhea almost all day but has some regular feces. In the morning she has a massive amount of bright orange diarrhea. She is eating and drinking normally and walks around clucking. When I pick her up, she vomits water and excretes diarrhea. I hear her gurgling from her throat and I hear air escaping from both ends and if I examine her by feeling her abdomen, crop or breast, she is in obvious pain.

I know she's ill, but I can't identify the problem. I have 20 other hens who are acting normal. I have lost 3 other hens in the past 6 months to egg bound, egg peritonitis and unknown illnesses.

Any ideas?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she laying eggs? Could you post some pictures of her droppings? Has she lost weight in her breast area? How does her crop feel--full and mushy, or full and hard, or empty? Does her crop empty overnight? She could have a crop problem, or a fungal or bacterial infection in her digestive tract, but if a vet is possible, I would have her seen. They can do fecal studies for worms, coccidiosis, bacterial or yeast infections, as well as Xrays. Vomiting is not normal unless you are squeezing a full crop and tilting her forward, so a crop problem or a slow crop may be a possibility. Could the orange diarrhea be blood? Coccidiosis can cause that, and Corid is the best treatment. Here are a couple of links to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html

 

[Lelilamom]

Is she laying eggs? Could you post some pictures of her droppings? Has she lost weight in her breast area? How does her crop feel--full and mushy, or full and hard, or empty? Does her crop empty overnight? She could have a crop problem, or a fungal or bacterial infection in her digestive tract, but if a vet is possible, I would have her seen. They can do fecal studies for worms, coccidiosis, bacterial or yeast infections, as well as Xrays. Vomiting is not normal unless you are squeezing a full crop and tilting her forward, so a crop problem or a slow crop may be a possibility. Could the orange diarrhea be blood? Coccidiosis can cause that, and Corid is the best treatment. Here are a couple of links to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/coccidiosis-what-backyard-chicken.html

Her poop is consistent with Egg Peritonitis (I've cleaned up all her poop! No pics to post, but it looks EXACTLY like that in the link you provided). I kind of suspected EP. I had another chicken from her batch with it in October. It took her a week to pass away. Same symptoms. Her crop is full and mushy. I'm not sure how empty it's getting overnight because she starts eating at daylight and she eats and drinks all day. We are on Day 3 of her slowing down. The orange diarrhea was only this morning and it's not blood. It's consistently an orange yellow color and only in her morning constitutional. The rest of the day is clear/watery/whitish with a bit of grit.

I was examining her crop and pushing on it, so that did make her vomit. She isn't vomiting otherwise.

She is NOT laying eggs. But nor does she feel full of them either or feel thin. I bought 12 chicks last Feb and have lost one to illness and two to predators. My other egg bound chickens in the last 6 months were from other years. All were RSL. I usually do an internal exam but I decided not to this time, she was so bothered by my gentle messaging when I was checking her body I didn't want to cause her more pain. When I've done internal exams before I found no more information that led me to a diagnosis. I never could feel a stuck egg. Just intestines.

Thanks for your reply! I've learned alot, I just wish there was more I could do. Unfortunately, we do not have a vet that cares for fowl. We are our own vet.

 

[Lelilamom]

It was a nice day today 55 degrees so I put her outside by the garage with food, water and strawberries. It started to rain but there is a large overhang and she was staying dry. I checked on her every 20 min or so and she was happily staying by the food and water. Just checked on her and she had disappeared. Ran down to the coop (about 100 yards away) and she was trying to get into the coop/run. I let her in. She's preening herself now.

This is what our other EP chicken did the day before she passed away. She wanted to go home to die. I feel awful but don't know what do do for Egg Peritonitis. I don't think there is anything. Poor girl. She's a sweet bird.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some good links to read about egg peritonits and internal laying, especially if you go to the links below from Merck Manual and click on them:

http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/tag/laying-issues/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/526089/egg-yolk-peritonitis

• Merck Manual​
• >​
• Veterinary Professionals​
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• Poultry​
• >​
• Disorders of the Reproductive System​

Topics in Disorders of the Reproductive System

• Cystic Right Oviduct in Poultry
• Defective or Abnormal Eggs in Poultry
• Egg-Bound or Impacted Oviducts in Poultry
• Egg Peritonitis in Poultry

• False Layer (Poultry)
• Hypocalcemia, Sudden Death, Osteoporosis, or Cage Layer Fatigue (Poultry)
• Internal Layer (Poultry)
• Infertility in Poultry

• Neoplasia of the Reproductive System in Poultry
• Oophoritis and Ovary Regression in Poultry
• Prolapse of the Oviduct in Poultry
• Salpingitis in Poultry

• Sex Reversal in Poultry

 

[Lelilamom]

Her symptoms match exactly and so did the last chicken we diagnosed with this. We don't have a vet around here to treat her. I don't know what to do for her but to put her out of her misery.

I went out to the coop to close up the doors before dusk and check on her and I petted her a few times. Several chickens saw her put her head down and jumped her and started pulling her comb. She couldn't fight them off and just cried. I got them off her and picked her up and she laid in my arms bleeding. I felt horrible. I brought her back inside. I gave her water and food and she gobbled both. I just checked on her and she's sleeping standing up in a corner, head and tail down. She won't roost.

I got pics of her waste. Very watery with some white and some grit. She's on a cement floor and there's a piece of rice in there which was part of her dinner. I thought at first she had worms, because I saw thin hair like strands, but on closer look they are just the white part of the feces spreading out into the liquid.

 

[Lelilamom]

I just went down to check on her before I went to bed and she's excreting large amounts of water. There's a large puddle behind her.

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm sorry that she was attacked, but chickens can be little bullies sometimes. Do you have anyone who could put her down for you? A hunter friend or a medical person? She probably won't last long, and I would just make her as comfortable as possible. You might check with your state vet since they will sometimes euthanise a chicken that they are going to perform an necropsy on, at no extra charge.

 

[Lelilamom]

I can put her down. We do it humanely and quickly. She's alert this morning, eating and drinking and clucking. I hate to do it when she's acting normal. Still passing mostly liquid though. I have her on Duramycin which is the only antibiotic I have available to me.

There is only one place that will do a necropsy and it's about 5 hours away. I'm not going to drive her out there. I'll let you know what happens.

 

[Eggcessive]

I can put her down. We do it humanely and quickly. She's alert this morning, eating and drinking and clucking. I hate to do it when she's acting normal. Still passing mostly liquid though. I have her on Duramycin which is the only antibiotic I have available to me.

There is only one place that will do a necropsy and it's about 5 hours away. I'm not going to drive her out there. I'll let you know what happens.

I agree, I wouldn't do it unless she is suffering. Give her some probiotics (small amt. of plain yogurt, buttermilk, or Probios Powder) during and after the Duramycin which can help with gut health. You can ship her body if needed. Someone posted a "how to" on that subject with pictures here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/799747/how-to-send-a-bird-for-a-necropsy-pictures
Many people do their own necropsies, and take a few pictures, just to confirm internal laying or EYP.