Chicken is lethargic, puffed up and lays broken eggs

[Kiki]

Hi. I can get a picture in the morning.
She eats Purina crumbles, grit, oyster shell normally. I give 5 grain scratch thrown into their run daily. We do a treat other than that every other day or so. They have had lettuce, banana, pumpkin w/ seeds, strawberry tops and occasional meal worms.

The discharge smells really bad. Like old poop kind of. It could be egg material though. Today it looked like some of her egg was wiped on the side of the run right by where she laid it (first time she has laid in the run and not in the coop)

I will try my hand at checking her crop in the morning. She seems to be eatting and drinking normally.

The scratch grains is part of the problem.
That, and anything else you are feeding besides the crumble feed , is taking away from the bird getting a balanced diet. Not getting a balanced diet can cause irreversible internal damage.


Stop feeding everything except the crumble asap.

 

[Kiki]

This is an excellent example of what an unbalanced diet helps cause:
Post in thread '*Graphic Necropsy Photos Update* Dead Hen This AM—Vent Prolapse? (Photo Warning) :'(' https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-prolapse-photo-warning.1519892/post-25590791

Another example:
Read through all of these disorders and notice that these yellow circled words are mentioned in most all of the list.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system

Treats/unbalanced diet is something you can control.

 

[AbbyTeters]

As far as I know, there are no antibiotics specially marketed for chickens, meaning there is no "chicken mox". Amoxicillin is amoxicillin. Since this is marketed for fish, we are able to buy it without a prescription. It works just as well on chickens since amoxicillin is amoxicillin no matter what words you put on the bottle with it. As long as the dose is correct, that's all we need to be concerned about.

The 1000mg calcium will do just fine. Remember, this is not to be given beyond the length of time required to get the issue corrected, then she can go back to oyster shell for her daily calcium needs.

Thank you so
Much! Leaving for pharmacy now.

 

[AbbyTeters]

As far as I know, there are no antibiotics specially marketed for chickens, meaning there is no "chicken mox". Amoxicillin is amoxicillin. Since this is marketed for fish, we are able to buy it without a prescription. It works just as well on chickens since amoxicillin is amoxicillin no matter what words you put on the bottle with it. As long as the dose is correct, that's all we need to be concerned about.

The 1000mg calcium will do just fine. Remember, this is not to be given beyond the length of time required to get the issue corrected, then she can go back to oyster shell for her daily calcium needs.

Thank you so much. I am headed to pharmacy for the calcium now and added corid to their water this morning. Antibiotic is on its way.

 

[AbbyTeters]

Can you post some photos of her, her vent/discharge and her poop?
What do you feed, including treats?

I would give her Calcium for several days to see if the shell quality improves. Calcium Citrate, 1 tablet daily.
Does the discharge have a yeasty smell or is it more like egg material.
Make sure she's eating/drinking well and see that her crop is emptying overnight.

She had 2 very different poops this morning. She is also now in a nesting box squaking a bit. She did lay yesterday evening.

This is an excellent example of what an unbalanced diet helps cause:
Post in thread '*Graphic Necropsy Photos Update* Dead Hen This AM—Vent Prolapse? (Photo Warning) :'(' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/graphic-necropsy-photos-update-dead-hen-this-am—vent-prolapse-photo-warning.1519892/post-25590791

Another example:
Read through all of these disorders and notice that these yellow circled words are mentioned in most all of the list.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system

View attachment 3059871

Treats/unbalanced diet is something you can control.

Thanks! I didn't know. It sounded like most people feed their chickens some treats and scratch when they are in a run and can't roam about.

 

[AbbyTeters]

Today's new symptom is that she has been at her feeder almost all day. She is also drinking a lot of water. I will check her crop in the morning, but any other thoughts. I can't find anything online that mentions the constant eatting...only things where the bird won't eat but drinks a lot.

 

[AbbyTeters]

It's possible she can have a reproductive disorder at the same time as coccidiosis. But with her history, truncated as it is, it sure appears she is having laying problems and they could be catching up to her.

You are right to be worried about infection if any of these eggs collapsed inside the oviduct before being expelled. I would treat her with an oral antibiotic to safeguard her fertility in case infection has begun. You can also safely give her a round of Corid to be safe.

What she needs most of all is a calcium supplement to get her system recalibrated and her calcium reserves brought up to a healthy level. Some hens don't absorb calcium very well from oyster shell since it's calcium carbonate and not easy to digest. This is what I recommend giving, until she's back on the map. Afterward, she can go back to oyster shell, but give it free choice not mixed into food so she can take what she needs. It's possible you were giving an adequate amount mixed into food. That's why free choice is best.View attachment 3059602

It should be given whole directly in her beak, not crushed or diluted in water. Do this each day until her eggs are normal again.

For the antibiotic, you can order it here https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/ or call and see if TSC in your area has it. The dose is 250mg per day for ten days.

I cannot get her to take the calcium. She isn’t a big fan of yogurt and if I put a few other treats in my hand she will eat all of the treats and not the pill. Any other tricks???

 

[azygous]

Chickens have no problem swallowing large pills that might get stuck in a human throat. Simply pry open her beak and shove it in. It's a reflex for the pill to automatically slide into the esophagus and then the crop.

 

[AbbyTeters]

Chickens have no problem swallowing large pills that might get stuck in a human throat. Simply pry open her beak and shove it in. It's a reflex for the pill to automatically slide into the esophagus and then the crop.

Thank you so much. I had no idea. Got it down. She is a super sweet girl and likes me holding her. =)

 

[AbbyTeters]

Thank you all so much for your help. Leia started laying good hard shell eggs about 5 days into the calcium supplements and 4 days after starting the antibiotics. We stopped the calcium of course and she finishes her round of antibiotics tomorrow. She is active, alert and now laying hard eggs!