9 month hen RIR sick - weak, laying down, falling over

[bettylove8]

Hello! One of our chickens is acting differently and I am very worried. We live in Florida. We have a backyard flock of 8 hens (all same age of 9 months). 2 of which are Rhode Island reds, one started acting different last evening. She isolated herself for most of the day from the flock, she lays down basically all day and occasionally pecks at nearby grass while laying down. When she attempts to get up, she limps and falls over to the sides trying to balance with her wings and definitely struggles to get onto her feet to walk. She then walks for a little with a slight limp and pecks some grass and lays back down or stands in one spot. She has eaten food that I have brought to her with a strong appetite and she does drink well. She is stooling without issue - it is loose, but not diarrhea and it is brown/white/dark green in color. She is breathing comfortably, without wheezes or any abnormalities noted. Her comb is nice and bright red without specks. Her crop does not feel hard like the others, it is soft (like a small water balloon) - but she is eating/drinking/pooping so I am not sure that it is bothering her?? She sat in the nesting box today In the morning but I did not see her lay today, I am not sure if she did or didn’t lay - she’s a pretty good layer (we typically get 7 eggs each day from 8 hens, today we got 5). I thought maybe she was egg bound so I did give her a warm bath and inspected her vent area in the morning, which it appears normal and she has been stooling throughout the day. She is also not losing weight - she’s bulkier than her sister. She is mostly just laying down and acting too chill, allowing me to hold her and pet her all I want. Her limp/walk is also bothering me - but inspecting her feet, I did not see anything obviously wrong. I am worried that I have no idea what it could be - any advice or ideas would be very much appreciated!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would observe her for the next few days and see that she is eating. Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? I would check her crop in early am to see if it has emptied or if it is full and puffy or hard. Inspect her lower belly as well to see if it is full or enlarged. Poop pictures can be helpful.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I was going to ask if she was egg bound... but you already said that you don't think that's the case. Hmm... @Eggcessive @Pyxis

 

[bettylove8]

She has that wide-eyed scared look in the first photos and clearly does not feel well. Body language looks a little better in the last post. I agree to watch her for a couple days. Have you checked her legs and feet over for injury?

I have checked her feet and legs and did not see any injuries or any abnormalities. She is walking better and balanced today, not laying down a lot like yesterday. She seems to be improving with each hour..

 

[bettylove8]

This is wonderful to hear.Perhaps she ate something that made her really sick. Do they freerange and could she have come across something poisonous?

They do free range majority of the day, we don’t have a large backyard though. We don’t have any poisonous plants growing but I wouldn’t be surprised if they dig up some debris and possibly eat that :/, we live in the city. They otherwise eat only organic feed, and I make them healthy meals often. We got chickens for eggs, but they’ve become pets and they’re just so lovely!

 

[bettylove8]

Mine are pets, too. I’m pulling for you and your sweet girl!

Thank you!!

 

[bettylove8]

I would observe her for the next few days and see that she is eating. Was she vaccinated for Mareks disease? I would check her crop in early am to see if it has emptied or if it is full and puffy or hard. Inspect her lower belly as well to see if it is full or enlarged. Poop pictures can be helpful.

Hi! Thank you for the reply!!! She has not been vaccinated for Mareks disease, which was my main concern. She is acting better this morning though, she is moving around more but slowly. Her crop feels empty, not soft and boggy like yesterday - I will keep an eye on her to see how it forms throughout the day. Her belly seems normal - not full or enlarged. She actually feels lighter today, not as heavy as yesterday. She had a great poop that I actually caught on camera yesterday, but was unable to post a video. Ill see if I can attach an image.

 

[bettylove8]

Here is a screenshot

 

[micstrachan]

She has that wide-eyed scared look in the first photos and clearly does not feel well. Body language looks a little better in the last post. I agree to watch her for a couple days. Have you checked her legs and feet over for injury?

 

[micstrachan]

I have checked her feet and legs and did not see any injuries or any abnormalities. She is walking better and balanced today, not laying down a lot like yesterday. She seems to be improving with each hour..

This is wonderful to hear. Perhaps she ate something that made her really sick. Do they free range and could she have come across something poisonous?