lethargic hen, discolored comb

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Mabel

Mabel

Hatching
10 Years
Mar 28, 2009
4
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7
I have a two year old barred rock hen who is very lethargic and has a discolored comb. She is usually the most perky of the flock, but I found her this morning just standing in the hen house. I examined her and don't see anything that looks off, except that her comb is listing to the side and is a dark gray/blackish color at the tips. She opens her eyes when I talk to her, but otherwise they're closed and she completely ignored the treats I put in front of her - very out of character. We just got home from vacation, so I don't know how long she's been displaying these symptoms - she was right as rain six days ago and our petsitter didn't mention anything out of the ordinary. Any idea what could be wrong?
 
When was she last wormed? Worms can go unnoticed for some time until they run the bird down, also lice/mites on the skin and feathers suck blood and cause irritation and anemia. Next would be an infection of some sort. i have a little hen that for sometime was very very pale, I did everything I knew, wormed her with safeguard, checked for bugs etc..... I then started her on some amoxicillian and now her color and weight is back up and she is doing good. Don't know what it was, as she is kept up off the ground with her mate only........ but she must have had an infection of some kind.
 
thanks, chickenzoo, for the quick response. we don't worm our birds because i've heard that it is not necessary in our area. upon closer inspection, it seems that her vent might've been partially blocked by poop - got her cleaned up, but her abdomen is quite swollen and i'm worried that she might be egg bound. help, please!
 
i'm not sure when she laid her last egg - we've been away for the week. i gave her a warm bath, which she seemed to enjoy, or at least she was very relaxed. she's drying and resting now in the living room. no egg passed yet. i'll try again tomorrow if she makes it through the night. poor girl
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with the discolored comb I would lean more towards worms or infection, although when ever they feel bad it can affect their color also. i always worm my birds as I have a lot, but some get away with no worming...I am not that lucky. I would worm her with some Safeguard, either liquid goat type 1cc per 10 lb or horse paste, 1 pea size dollop in her beak, then again in 2 days. I also give a shot of penicillian incase of infection if within a few days no improvement is seen.

To check for an egg, feel around between the vent and her legs, normally an egg is trapped closer to the leg area. You can insert mineral oil into the vent if she is egg bound to help unstick the egg. Also the warm baths
 
she really seems to be on her last legs. she moved around a bit this evening after her bath and drying, but other than that she's been very still, eyes mostly closed, slow even breathing. i can't get her to eat, though she has had a bit of water. if it is worms or an infection, is this too late to treat her? she'll spend the night in the house and my fingers are crossed for a miraculous recovery.
 
i have brought bone thin birds around, so I always try. You can see her and you know what time you have available for treatment, so do what is best. You can give her some safeguard, but I'd only give a very small drop, as killing off worms too fast could kill her. I'd stick her under the skin with a syringe of 1/2 water to 1/2 poultry nutridrench vitamins or what ever you can get. I'd put her under a heat lamp and try force feeding her some scrambled eggs....
 

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