Can Anyone Help Me With A Lethargic Chicken???....

[sandysylvester]

She has been completely fine up until yesterday afternoon. She suddenly was acting "tired", fluffed and not too active. Anyhow, I picked her up to put her in the coop when suddenly she released membrane and egg out her vent (no shell). She did lay earlier that day.
Anyhow this morning she seemed ok, but now she is back to the same behavior? Any ideas? Any ideas what I can do? I do not see a prolapse. I had 1 die a few weeks ago who did though.

 

[Karhog]

Could just be the 'softee' that she laid- they can make them feel really unwell. Hopefully the fact that is out should soon start to make her feel better.Give her some sugar water for energy and just observe how she goes.

 

[sandysylvester]

I did have to pull out the membrane since it was "stuck" and I saw a small piece go back in her. I really dont want her to die and am upset about her behavior. This is my 1st load of chickens and I have already had a 50% death rate.

 

[Karhog]

I would give her a warm belly bath- ensure her vent is covered - they usually love this- keep her in the water for about 15-20 mins- This will relax all her muscles and hopefully enable her to pass whatever else is inside. You can dry her off with a hairdryer after of if the weather is good dry her gently with a towel.
Failing that sit her on awarm hot water bottle covered in a towel but make sure there is enough room for her to move off it if she gets too warm.

 

[sandysylvester]

And no she wont even eat. I just put mealworms in front of her.

 

[Karhog]

Well try the sugar water and warm bath, then mix up some of her usual pellets with hot water and allow to cool until warm- they usually go for this. Failing that try and tempt her with whatever you can- chopped grapes,or tomatoes, corn on the cob.
If she is still not showing improvement in the next day or so she made need A/B as the yolk could cause an infection- hopefully though she will pass it herself.

 

[sandysylvester]

she is not pooping. is that normal?

 

[Karhog]

No - though it's still quite early days.

 

[sandysylvester]

Never mind she pooped. Have her crated in a warm shop with all she needs. Not sure what else I can do or exactly what happened to her, She has never had an issue before, and after laying a perfect egg, why would she pass out a partial egg later that day?

 

[Karhog]

Could be her age, if she has just come into lay.....chooks never do this to plan! Usually they will lay an egg every 27 hrs or so but this can vary with different breeds and their age and other factors. The fact she has pooped is good- Just continue to keep her warm and comfortable and see how she is later/tomorrow.