Am about to give up...Updated-internal layer?

JulieNKC

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9 Years
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1) What type of bird , age and weight. She's a production red. She was an adult when I got her, was told about a year, but think she's older. I thought she had scaly leg mites when I got her 4 months ago, but have treated and think now her legs are just scaly cause she's older. She's very thin.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. OK, first off a few ,months ago she started laying funky 2 toned thin shelled eggs. Then she stopped laying about a month ago. Then she had a swollen crop 2-3 weeks ago, and nasty breath. Treated what I thought was sour crop, that went away. Now her comb is blue, she's still not laying, still thin, and rattles when she breathes at night. Eats ok, and acts like herself. She has stopped roosting with the other girls, and has been sleeping on the bench or nest box in the coop.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? A few months, blue comb a few days
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? no
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. no
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
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7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Appetite seems fine, begs for treats and eats. I assume she's eating her chicken food too. Haven't noticed her drinking more or less than normal.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. Normal
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? Wormed everyone( wazine) a few months ago, sevin dusted them and the coop. Did it again when she started the sour crop symptoms, and wormed her again. Stopped her food, gave her acv a few days til her crop cleared up. Nothing since then. Have looked and looked for bugs, haven't seen any on any of the birds. Their feathers and skin all look clean and shiny and healthy. Processed some meaties who free ranged with my layers, and saw no bugs on them at all.
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? No money for a vet right now, so would like to treat her or put her down if she starts to seem like she's suffering and I can't help.
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. Not yet.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use They all live in a 6 x 8 coop with a 6 x 4 and a 16 x 10 covered run. The ducks and some of the chickens sleep in the run. There are only 6 large fowl and 2 bantams who stay in the coop right now. They have an acre of the yard fenced in to free range in during the day. I use deep litter. I put down a fresh layer of dried grass clippings or pine shavings every week or 2 with a layer of stall dry underneath.
Any help, suggestions, ideas for what to do searches on would be appreciated. She's my favorite hen, even though I haven't had her long. She was pretty skittish at first, but after a few weeks and ever since she has been my constant companion when outside. She follows me around, growling and begging. She always comes when I call. She's not real touchy feely, but she's always there. Thanks for reading this!
 
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I've no idea.
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I'll bump you along and keep my fingers crossed that someone can help.
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Best of luck to you, she sounds like a great companion! <3
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Sounds like she's getting up there in age and blue comb usually means heart problems from what I have read in other posts
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Do you know how old she is for sure...could someone have lied about her age? I'm thinking this is the case
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That's what I'm thinking too. The lady I got them from didn't know how old she was for sure. The other hen I got from her is a pretty laced/partride? orpington looking girl who lays everyday. I think if she was younger she would be a mix too. Wish you could count the scales on chickens feet or something to tell their age. Now I have to decide if I have room to keep a non laying hen, or if I can find her a retirement home. I have a friend that will take her, but she has a couple hundred acres over in kansas and lets hers free range. Most of hers get picked off by the coyotes and such. I think if I don't keep her it might be nicer to her if I could bring myself to cull her. Or teach her to wear a diaper and have a house chicken.
 
I always let mine run too but haven't lost any so far. I would give your friend a chance with her and let her live her last days out roaming the yard
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I think she would love it
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It would give me a good excuse to go out there. And she likes weird chickens, so she has turkens, silkies, EE (not weird but at first I thought so, Blue eggs from a chicken?, lol), etc. So I could raid her coop and bring home some eggs and hopefully get my turken I've been wanting. Plus I have 10 lil babies right now and only want 1 roo out of the bunch, so I could take my extra roos there too. Looks like I'll be making a trip in few months.
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Update...She's still doing ok. She's roosting with the other chickens, eating, comes running for treats. Her combs been looking brighter red even. Today most all my silly chickens decided to sleep on top of the cage I have in the middle of the run. Which is nice because I've recently added some SLW to the flock and I'm happy they've decided to finally become one big happy family, banties included even. Anyway, I was moving them inside to their roost because it is supposed to storm tonight. When I moved Lil Red I noticed a lump on her abdomen. I felt everyone elses, theirs are all soft. Hers is soft on one side, but there is a golfball sized lump on her left side. I'm pretty sure it's been awhile since she layed. Her eggs were pretty distinctive, half light tan, half brown, sometimes with a white ring around the middle or speckles.
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I never thought I'd be this attatched to one of my girls. Especieally her. No offense to anyone, but I think RIR's are pretty boring looking birds, especially production reds like her. But her personality has won me over. She'll pick me over the flock anytime. When she was going through what I thought was a bout of sour crop a few weeks ago and staying in the house I'd let her go in the front yard by herself during the day to stretch her legs and she'd come fall asleep by the front door at night waithing for me to bring her back inside. She knows where her coop is, she wanted to come back inside lol. If it is internal laying I'm tempted to bring her inside at night for however long she has left. She's made me happy, it's the least I can do for her.
Does she sound like she could be an internal layer?
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If she is, is it ok to keep her as long as she's acting happy and all? I don't want her to suffer, but I don't want to lose her. Is there anything that can make her more comfortable or help her? Should I check to see if the lump is an egg? Even though she is acting all perky and has a good appetite now, would antibiotics help any? Olive oil? Anything? Please?
Thank you
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You might want to treat her with antibiotics for respiratory infection.
 
The rattling is only occasionally at night. When her comb turns bluish she seems to rattle. She seems to have good days and bad days. She doesn't have any discharge or anything. None of the other hens have any symptoms, and are all laying an egg a day pretty much except for the broodies. No one has any watery yolks, I had one soft shelled egg in March but it was from one of my BO's who'd just begun laying. I have looked up all the respiratory diseases. I thought it might be coryza because of the stinky breath but she doesn't have any swelling or nasal discharge. Was also thinking bronchitis but again no runny nose or anything. Maybe mg but everyone else is laying. And no one else shows any symptoms.
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It's just her, and I am really leaning towards the rattly breath being related to something wrong internally, either internal laying or heart problems or something like that.
 

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