Chicken acting strange

[jennyman]

Right now I would focus on figuring out what's wrong and not worry so much about integration afterwards. Somethings take some time and regardless integration will happen when it's time, long or short, it can be done successfully. I would do the crop check in the morning, if it's empty then, before food and water, then not likely a crop/digestion problem. If her crop is not empty, then we go from there. If it's still full and soft and squishy, or if it's got a hard mass, then she's likely not passing things through. I would work more on fluids at this point, less about food. Get her hydrated as well as you can, monitor droppings over night, see how she looks in the morning. Every time you give her fluids you can massage the crop gently, see if that helps, if there are any solid feeling masses it may help break it up. Has she ever been wormed, or had a fecal done? How is her weight? Does her breast feel well muscled or is the breast bone very prominent? EE's tend to be less meaty than some other breeds, so a bit leaner usually. If you have others in the same age range you can compare how they feel with her. Was she laying before this and do you know when she last did?
If she's not drinking well on her own you can give her fluids via syringe, or you can tube them. Tubing is a bit safer than syringe, less chance of aspiration, but you can do syringe being slow and careful. Use room temp or warmed fluids, not cold.
This is a very comprehensive thread on dealing with a sick bird that covers everything really well, with links embedded on hydration (and checking for dehydration), tubing, etc.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...are-updated-01-17-2021.1048620/#post-16058298

Hello, thanks for all the information. The crop is not empty. It is about the size of golf ball and soft/squishy. She has not been wormed or had fecal done. Her weight doesn't seem unusual. She is lean. She was laying but I'm not sure when the last egg was. I would say in the last week. She is drinking on her own. I am not sure what to do next. I attached two pictures of her feces and her form this morning.

 

[coach723]

Give her only water soluble feed to eat, nothing fiberous or hard to digest. You can give some coconut oil (freeze it and break into small bits, they usually like it) and massage the crop, see if it will start things moving. Some say applesauce may help (I've never tried it) to get things moving. Since she's young I'd be inclined to worm her unless you have a vet that will run a fecal for you first. Worms are often a cause of things backing up. Safeguard liquid goat wormer or Safeguard horse paste are usually available locally, or you can use Valbazen which usually has to be mail ordered.

 

[jennyman]

Give her only water soluble feed to eat, nothing fiberous or hard to digest. You can give some coconut oil (freeze it and break into small bits, they usually like it) and massage the crop, see if it will start things moving. Some say applesauce may help (I've never tried it) to get things moving. Since she's young I'd be inclined to worm her unless you have a vet that will run a fecal for you first. Worms are often a cause of things backing up. Safeguard liquid goat wormer or Safeguard horse paste are usually available locally, or you can use Valbazen which usually has to be mail ordered.

Ok thanks! If I worm her, should I worm the whole flock? I have ducks and chickens.

 

[coach723]

If worming her helps, then yes, I would do the whole flock. Last summer I had a hen that had this issue, after worming it took 5 or 6 days before she was passing things normally again. I gave coconut oil daily, lots of fluids, crop massage. The worming in her case made the difference. I have a known roundworm load in my environment, so it is a known issue for me in my flock.