Buff Orphington -- blood in her poop/pee

[My1stChickens]

Buffy is 4 or 5 years old and had not laid eggs since she was 2. The last few days she seemed "fat" and almost appeared like a Cornish, tipping back and forth a bit when she walked. Went out with flock, came in with flock, participated in meals and treats. Sometimes not as enthusiastic about food as the others, but that's normal for her because there is another hen that bullies her a little. This morning she did not come off the roost and had some watery reddish poop coming from her vent. Immediately brought her in and washed her butt. Very few "solid" clumps stuck to feathers, but the water was very reddish brown. When I carried her she was oozing this mess on me. And she feels alarmingly thin-- like literally no meat over her breastbone. She has definitely lost significant weight.

Set up hospital cage. First thing, I offered scrambled egg and blueberries.... she immediately ate a bite of egg which was encouraging. But when I checked back, it looks like just that one bite. She's resting quietly and "puffed up". She's continued to make red stains. It is not straight blood, it looks like blood diluted by 50% or more. Very little solid material in the mix. Because she's puffed up, and I can't remember if she's had coccidiosis before, her water is Corid solution.
Checked coop and the other 3 hens, no other signs of blood or liquid poo. No serious poopy butts, all seem fine.

Back to the house, gave her Safeguard paste (actually Panacur, which is the same medication) directly in her mouth. Same with two more bites of egg, and two bits of bread soaked in the Corid water. She's strong enough to object. The bloody poo/pee smells bad, partly like ammonia, partly like blood.

Am I missing anything I should be doing? This came on pretty suddenly-- yesterday she was still with the flock. I did notice she had a poopy butt but it was NOT bloody or dark. It was just enough that I made a mental note that I'd wash her butt today, and check for mites in case I needed to do the Elector PSP.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Any indication that she may have prolapsed?

You mention he poop has a strong ammonia odor, she may have organ failure, but hard to know.

I'd continue to treat as you have been doing, making sure she's drinking the Corid water.

Do look around the vent through the feathers and along her abdomen for any signs of a wound or flystrike that may be the source of blood and odor as well.

 

[My1stChickens]

thank you Wyorp Rock. She was eating well from my hand, but also pecking/grooming her vent area. I saw some little worms, and assumed the wormer was working... but upon closer examination realized there were signs of flystrike. I was able to find information on what to try-- you had given some advice on another post from some time ago. I did a betadine soak for 20 min, then was drying her but she kept getting weaker. I was too late.... not attentive enough to notice and address this sooner. She passed. I feel terrible, hard lesson learned, and I hate that the hen paid the price for my oversight.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

thank you Wyorp Rock. She was eating well from my hand, but also pecking/grooming her vent area. I saw some little worms, and assumed the wormer was working... but upon closer examination realized there were signs of flystrike. I was able to find information on what to try-- you had given some advice on another post from some time ago. I did a betadine soak for 20 min, then was drying her but she kept getting weaker. I was too late.... not attentive enough to notice and address this sooner. She passed. I feel terrible, hard lesson learned, and I hate that the hen paid the price for my oversight.

I'm so sorry about your hen.

Hens can be so stoic at times, often signs/symptoms are not noticed until they are in a very bad way.

Often there is already an underlying condition, a hen may be weak due to reproductive issues or some other condition. You mention she had not laid eggs in a couple of years, so she may have had something going on that allowed the Flystrike to take place. Flystrike can advance very quickly, sometimes less than 24hours in warm/hot weather, once the maggots hatch, they can do a lot of damage in just a few hours.

So sorry!

 

[My1stChickens]

I'm so sorry about your hen.

Hens can be so stoic at times, often signs/symptoms are not noticed until they are in a very bad way.

Often there is already an underlying condition, a hen may be weak due to reproductive issues or some other condition. You mention she had not laid eggs in a couple of years, so she may have had something going on that allowed the Flystrike to take place. Flystrike can advance very quickly, sometimes less than 24hours in warm/hot weather, once the maggots hatch, they can do a lot of damage in just a few hours.

So sorry!

thank you for your kind words. I do suspect there was something wrong, since she quit laying so early. I did not realize how damned FAST flystrike can be-- very scary stuff. I take a little comfort in getting her to eat a good bit of egg yolk today-- enough that she passed actual poop. But the damage must have already been done. Those maggots had for sure hatched, and there were a lot of them. Most disgusting thing I've seen in a long time.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

thank you for your kind words. I do suspect there was something wrong, since she quit laying so early. I did not realize how damned FAST flystrike can be-- very scary stuff. I take a little comfort in getting her to eat a good bit of egg yolk today-- enough that she passed actual poop. But the damage must have already been done. Those maggots had for sure hatched, and there were a lot of them. Most disgusting thing I've seen in a long time.