Amazing UPDATE!!! Lethargic Hen.....Help Please

[Gracefulspice]

About 1/2 hr. ago I noticed one of hens not feels well.
I open the door to the coop to let them out and as always they all ran out. Except her. She did slowly work her way out and then stood there as if to fall asleep. I went to pick her up and she moved away from me but not as quick as normal. I did catch her and tried to give water and she didn't want it. I offered her a handful of scratch and didn't want that either. She stood next to me and allowed me to pet her and it seems as though she wanted to fall asleep. No discharge anywhere, and no wounds, eyes are clear. Poop is clear and some yellow and white...and runny like mucus.

Any ideas? I have no pesticides she can get into and was fine last night and this morning when I let them out into the run. Any help would be great. All my other hens are very normal..it's just her.

 

[CarriBrown]

Is she of laying age? Check to see if she is egg bound.
Also, let us know what her diet is. In the mean time, keep her seperated from the others. Keep a mental note of what all her poops look like. Just one poop won't give you a good enough idea. Don't give her any medication yet until we can get a better understanding of what this is.

 

[Gracefulspice]

As far as we know she is approx 1 to 2 years of age. I did seperate her and she seems to be drinking quite a bit at this time. I tried to give her yogart mixed with laying mash and placed some on her beak for her to get a taste and she didn't follow with eating it. I left it in there tho incase she changes her mind.

How do I check to see if she is egg bound. She does seem to want to stand instead of lay down and seem to be pushing a little but I thought it might be cause she has runny poop. She does still seem very tired. Her eyes close regularly but open with a sudden noise. So I'm pretty sure she's atleast still alert.

I feed layer mash made by the mill here. It's given all day, free choice grit and oyster shell free choice. Scratch for a treat. 2 handfulls a day between 6 birds. And I gave cantalope a few days ago.

 

[Gracefulspice]

I tried to feel for an egg..but I don't know what I'm feeling for. I used another hen as an example that I know laid an egg today. Her compared to the hen that does not feel well is softer and squisher in the rear area before the vent. The hen that does not fell well seems harder near the vent. I'm still not sure what to do. I did a search in byc and found some information on bathing. I also have lubracant I can use. I'm just afraid since I don't know what I'm doing that I may hurt her or even cause damage if that's not the problem.
Any sujestions?

 

[Gracefulspice]

This is really Cool. With-in checking to see if this hen was egg bound I did do some massaging. I went to check on her again and took some KY Jelly and a rubber glove with me to see if I could at least lube the area in case it was a bound egg. As I went to look I noticed this time she was very bulged. I knew then that she was with egg. Anyways I did lube what I could see and the egg popped out.

I was so amazed!! It was a very large egg. This hen is known for large eggs, but I didn't relize they could get stuck. I gave her bottom a bath to get off the excess poop, and she's now inside drying.

I just have to say I'm very Glad to have found BYC. If it wasn't for Carribrown and the idea she may be egg bound I never would have known. I also did a search in BYC for egg bound and found lots of results on what I could do too see if that was the problem and what I needed to do about it.

Thanks BYC and Members. If this forum didn't exist, there would be alot of lost chicken lovers out there.

 

[justusnak]

Awwww. Im so glad it all turned out good for you and the hen! How is she now? Is she eating and moveing around more?

 

[chickbea]

ee
Yay! You were right to start dealing with this as soon as you noticed she was in trouble. Nice work!

 

[Gracefulspice]

She is 100% back to herself again. While she was drying she decided to eat that yogart mix and scratch I put in there with her. And was pacing back and forth like she wanted out.

Once I let her out she went off with the other girls to forrage for worms and bugs...like nothing ever happen.

It's funny tho...I didn't think she would like the bath, but she stood there as tho she gets a bath all the time. I really feel as tho she knew I was helping her.:aww

I do still have a question..
How do they become egg bound in the first place? Why does the egg get too large? Is there a way to stop it from getting so big?

 

[CarriBrown]

OMG I'm tearing up!!! I'm SO HAPPY you found out what was wrong with her!! I've lost two hens so I'm very happy that my bad experiences have helped you.
Give her a big tomato and a hug for me!!!

Edited to add: I have one hen, Chicken Hawk, that loves warm baths. She gets poopy butt sometimes and we take her inside for a warm butt wash. She just perches on your arm (like a Falcon, hence "Chicken Hawk") and enjoys herself!

 

[Kitty&Eva]

What a great story!!
I'm so glad you figured it out and she's ok. I agree, this forum is wonderful, just found it myself. Unfortunately, found it under poor circumstances, as I was looking for information that might help me in figuring out what kind of predator got my two, Kitty and Eva

.
My husband and I can't wait to get new chicks though, and now we have this forum to help us when we need it!