A lethargic hen with watery poop :(

[BeginnerChickener]

Yesterday morning I noticed one of my chickens had started acting odd, she is unwilling to move and seems to be in pain. She does eat and drinks but isn’t too interested in food. I isolated her to have a closer look at her behaviour and droppings and this is what they look like. What could this be?

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have any pictures of the hen? Is her tail held up or down? Has she been laying eggs recently, and were they normal? Feel of her crop to see if it is empty, full, hard, or puffy. Can you hold a lid or cup up to her beak and make sure that she is drinking water and offer a little wet feed and scrambled egg. Get water into her first. That is more important. Is she in a warm area?

 

[BeginnerChickener]

Do you have any pictures of the hen? Is her tail held up or down? Has she been laying eggs recently, and were they normal? Feel of her crop to see if it is empty, full, hard, or puffy. Can you hold a lid or cup up to her beak and make sure that she is drinking water and offer a little wet feed and scrambled egg. Get water into her first. That is more important. Is she in a warm area?

Do you have any pictures of the hen? Is her tail held up or down? Has she been laying eggs recently, and were they normal? Feel of her crop to see if it is empty, full, hard, or puffy. Can you hold a lid or cup up to her beak and make sure that she is drinking water and offer a little wet feed and scrambled egg. Get water into her first. That is more important. Is she in a warm area?

I made her some eggs and gave her so water, she ate and drank. Her crop felt soft like a dough and I could move it around a bit. We have many chickens that lay similar eggs to hers so I can’t really say much about laying but during last few days I haven’t seen her inside the coop. This is her yesterday.

 

[Eggcessive]

She does appear sick. Her tail is held down. I would worry that she has a reproductive disorder. Those are common in hens over 2-3. Keep an eye on her crop, to make sure that it empties by early morning. If not, her crop may not be emptying. A hard or doughy crop in early morning may be impacted crop, while a puffy balloon-like crop could be a sour crop, especially if there is a bad or sour odor from her beak when the crop is pressed. Crop disorders can be on their own, but they can sometimes accompany reproductive disorders as well. It would be good to know if she is laying. Separating her inna dog crate with food and water for a day or two, but also keeping her with her flock for company would be a good way to do that. It would not hurt to worm her with Valbazen 1/2 ml orally, and repeated in 10 days. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer can also be used at 1/4 ml per pound given the same way or for 5 straight days. Worms sometime can cause issues.

 

[BeginnerChickener]

She does appear sick. Her tail is held down. I would worry that she has a reproductive disorder. Those are common in hens over 2-3. Keep an eye on her crop, to make sure that it empties by early morning. If not, her crop may not be emptying. A hard or doughy crop in early morning may be impacted crop, while a puffy balloon-like crop could be a sour crop, especially if there is a bad or sour odor from her beak when the crop is pressed. Crop disorders can be on their own, but they can sometimes accompany reproductive disorders as well. It would be good to know if she is laying. Separating her inna dog crate with food and water for a day or two, but also keeping her with her flock for company would be a good way to do that. It would not hurt to worm her with Valbazen 1/2 ml orally, and repeated in 10 days. SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer can also be used at 1/4 ml per pound given the same way or for 5 straight days. Worms sometime can cause issues.

She is a Hyline brown hen, I was warned that since she is a hybrid made to lay eggs she wouldn’t last more than a few years. I will try to pick up some wormer tomorrow after work! I didn’t smell anything unsual when I tried to smell her breath but I will keep an eye on the crop. Thanks a lot!