Chicken looks swollen up and is hunched

[ILuvChooks]

My Japanese bantam chicken has been looking swollen up with her feathers fluffed up. She's also standing hunched down a bit. I'm suspecting she might be egg bound, but she hasn't laid a single egg this year.

But she's still waking around and eating and seems to run too, but her balance is a bit off.

It is quite chilly today but I'm worried it might be something more serious than her feeling cold. She was also recently shifted with her japanese bantam rooster with our isa browns. She doesn't get attacked as frequent as I thought but maybe this could have something to do with it? I'm not sure, someone please tell me what to do, she's my most precious chicken and it honestly hurts to see such a small chicken sick.

 

[AidKD]

Have you felt around in between her legs and in her vent for an egg? How does her poop look?

 

[ILuvChooks]

Have you felt around in between her legs and in her vent for an egg? How does her poop look?

I did feel her vent before I posted that, and didn't feel anything, but later on I started to feel an egg, so I gave her a warm Epsom salt bath and attempted to move it towards her vent using a massage. I'm not sure if the egg moved though, it seems quite large.

She was also very eager to drink the water I was pouring into her tub, so I put a full glass of water to her mouth and to my surprise she nearly finished the whole thing in such a short amount of time. And even then, while she was emerged in the water, she was drinking the bath water, until she started gurgling the water. I became slightly concerned so I stopped her from drinking too much.

I'm not sure if what I just said had to do with anything, I'm providing them just in case.

Ok this is an update; I'm getting really worried as the so-called egg seems to be something else. It's located usually where an egg-bound chicken's egg is, and it starts off round put seems like it has a point? It feels like a rounded triangle, just doesn't feel like an egg. Although I could be wrong and maybe it's just a quite large, deformed egg.
I also tried to lubricate her vent with petroleum jelly in hopes she would pass whatever is stuck but it felt like something was blocking the way. Fortunately, I managed to get a bit in, but probably not enough.

She's not trying to push and has completely let go of herself, her head dangling side to side and she continuously keeps on sleeping. She also continues to drink loads of water and is now refusing to eat. She's lost balance and seems disoriented.

I'm overwhelmed and extremely confused on what to do next, I want to be as gentle as possible due to how small and delicate she can be.

 

[AidKD]

I did feel her vent before I posted that, and didn't feel anything, but later on I started to feel an egg, so I gave her a warm Epsom salt bath and attempted to move it towards her vent using a massage. I'm not sure if the egg moved though, it seems quite large.

She was also very eager to drink the water I was pouring into her tub, so I put a full glass of water to her mouth and to my surprise she nearly finished the whole thing in such a short amount of time. And even then, while she was emerged in the water, she was drinking the bath water, until she started gurgling the water. I became slightly concerned so I stopped her from drinking too much.

I'm not sure if what I just said had to do with anything, I'm providing them just in case.

I'm glad it's now diagnosed! You're doing good! I'm not super sure on the whole water thing, though. Feesing her crushed up Tums will help to encourage contractions. You should also rub a little vaseline or soms sort of oil on her vent so she can more easily pass the egg. After you've done all of that, put her in a dark, quiet, and warm place so she can try to lay the egg. You may have to repeat everything a few times over the next few hours if she hasn't passed it.

 

[coach723]

How old is your hen? Is she pooping? If she's pooping then she's likely not egg bound.
If you have inserted a finger and cannot feel an egg, then there may be something else going on. Since she hasn't laid in a year, she may have a reproductive problem, a cancer, an infection, those are not uncommon. What you are feeling may be a mass rather than an egg. You can give calcium to try to help her pass anything if she's trying. A calcium citrate +D is best, and better absorbed (since she's a bantam I would give a petite, Citracal or equivalent) if you can't get that then you can use a tums. Once a day, see if she lays anything. If she has a mass, that could also contribute to balance issues, if it's pressing on nerves. You can give a super B complex daily (human ones, 1/2 a tablet or capsule) daily to see if it helps any, vitamin deficiencies can also cause balance issues.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She was also very eager to drink the water I was pouring into her tub, so I put a full glass of water to her mouth and to my surprise she nearly finished the whole thing in such a short amount of time. And even then, while she was emerged in the water, she was drinking the bath water, until she started gurgling the water. I became slightly concerned so I stopped her from drinking too much.

She was also recently shifted with her japanese bantam rooster with our isa browns. She doesn't get attacked as frequent as I thought but maybe this could have something to do with it?

Good advice from @coach723 I would work on getting the vitamins and calcium into her as she posted previously (and below for your convenience.

You mention that she was very eager to drink. Check to see if her crop is emptying overnight. Often when there's reproductive problems, the crop can slow as well. Chickens will drink a lot when they have crop problems.
It could be that since she's recently been moved and is getting picked on a bit, she's not been eating/drinking very well or is being kept from food/water. Once she's better and you put her back, observe closely to see if the Isa are letting her drink/eat. If not, provide more feed/water stations and see if this helps resolve the issue.

How old is your hen? Is she pooping? If she's pooping then she's likely not egg bound.
If you have inserted a finger and cannot feel an egg, then there may be something else going on. Since she hasn't laid in a year, she may have a reproductive problem, a cancer, an infection, those are not uncommon. What you are feeling may be a mass rather than an egg. You can give calcium to try to help her pass anything if she's trying. A calcium citrate +D is best, and better absorbed (since she's a bantam I would give a petite, Citracal or equivalent) if you can't get that then you can use a tums. Once a day, see if she lays anything. If she has a mass, that could also contribute to balance issues, if it's pressing on nerves. You can give a super B complex daily (human ones, 1/2 a tablet or capsule) daily to see if it helps any, vitamin deficiencies can also cause balance issues.

 

[ILuvChooks]

How old is your hen? Is she pooping? If she's pooping then she's likely not egg bound.
If you have inserted a finger and cannot feel an egg, then there may be something else going on. Since she hasn't laid in a year, she may have a reproductive problem, a cancer, an infection, those are not uncommon. What you are feeling may be a mass rather than an egg. You can give calcium to try to help her pass anything if she's trying. A calcium citrate +D is best, and better absorbed (since she's a bantam I would give a petite, Citracal or equivalent) if you can't get that then you can use a tums. Once a day, see if she lays anything. If she has a mass, that could also contribute to balance issues, if it's pressing on nerves. You can give a super B complex daily (human ones, 1/2 a tablet or capsule) daily to see if it helps any, vitamin deficiencies can also cause balance issues.

She's around 3 years old and I've never seen her get this sick before, she was usually quite healthy. I did see one poop, but it seemed watery, and she didn't poop overnight compared to how much she would poop before. I'll try giving her some calcium citrate and see how that helps, thanks for the advice.

 

[ILuvChooks]

I

Good advice from @coach723 I would work on getting the vitamins and calcium into her as she posted previously (and below for your convenience.

You mention that she was very eager to drink. Check to see if her crop is emptying overnight. Often when there's reproductive problems, the crop can slow as well. Chickens will drink a lot when they have crop problems.
It could be that since she's recently been moved and is getting picked on a bit, she's not been eating/drinking very well or is being kept from food/water. Once she's better and you put her back, observe closely to see if the Isa are letting her drink/eat. If not, provide more feed/water stations and see if this helps resolve the issue.

When she woke up, her crop did feel empty, but it could also be the fact that she hadn't eaten much before sleeping too.
She was again very eager to drink the moment she woke up, so I'll keep an eye on her behaviour today.

Just wanted to ask, will adding Epsom salts to her water be beneficial or should I just focus on providing her the calcium?