chicken not eating,not pooping,just stands. woke up to this. Help

duffy01

In the Brooder
10 Years
Jan 10, 2010
15
0
22
We live in Scottsdale AZ. Ruby has been a healthy nine month old road Island red laying 5 eggs a week for the last 2 months. Is fed aprox. 1/2 cup of scratch and 1 cup lay 2 to 3 times a day (doves and sparrows share with her) She gets oyster shell too. She loves corn on cob, lettus, yogurt, rice and leftovers. We do not feed her egg or chicken. This morning I went out back to find her standing in her small coop which is left open, next to her nesting box. She has full run of the back yard. Possible hazards are: amdro left under rocks a couple months ago, (only used a little), a raised garden that has turned into a cat litter box. She just within the last 3 months has gotten into really digging everywhere in the yard. Again shes not pooping and just stands. her poops were sometimes black or a brown/grayish but mostly normal. Comb seems not as read and a little clammy. she is drinking a little water. does anyone have any Idea what could be wrong? Thanks, Worried chicken owner:(
 
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You need to keep her eating & drinking. You can put liquid childrens vitamins in her beak or water to help get something in her. Try canned dog food (warm) and smear on her beak or in her mouth.
Has she been wormed?
Has she lost weight?
What does her croup feel like?
Is she having any trouble breathing, any nasel discharge?
 
An exam might help narrow down what could be wrong.

Have you felt of her crop? You said she's not eating, right? Then her crop should be empty. If it isn't, then you know there's a blockage in her crop.

If her crop is empty, the next thought i have is that an egg has gotten hung up (technical term
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) somewhere. Take a look at her vent and see if it is prolapsed. Feel her abdomen (very gently) and see if you feel an egg.

If you conclude there's an egg problem, definitely bring her inside if you can - or at least isolate her in a dark warm place to slow down her egg making machinery so she has a chance to recover. A warm shallow bath might also be in order.

If she's prolapsed, there are other instructions.

That's at least a place to start.
 
THANKS CHICKENZOO she hasn't been wormed. she hasn't lost weight. crop feels thin and light in color. she is breathing fine with no naisel discharge. we have her in our utelity room .door closed with her nesting box next to her. she has slept here for about a week and a half when the temps were in the low to mid 30s but has been in her coop for about 2 weeks now the room is lightly heated there has been no change in her behavior. My husband just checked her and she is laying down. He just did as you advised and got some hamburger and mashed potatos and milk warmed. she ate what he offered her and then started eating from the bowl. she ate about 2 full tablespoons and then took 2 or 3 sips of water. Earlier we check her vent. It was clear and I gently felt her bottom area and didn't feel an egg. So should I check her chest area too? I have a cockatiel and she became egg bound and I was advised to give her glyserin which help her so i gave Ruby about 2 ccs of it around 4 hours ago. She did finally poop and it was white and very liquidy. I've looked at her poop many times when cleaning her sleeping area and haven't noticed any worms. what do ya think? and thanks for your responce!
 
THANK PUMKINPEEPS- I just went out and felt her all over again and she now feel hard around the back on either side of her and she definetly doesn't like it. shes in pain. and pants after the examination. I'm going to set her in a shallow container in warm water and see if it helps. I'll let ya know. thanks again. Also she get her scratch and lay and loves the scratch and doesn't really like the lay. From reading other blogs I've gathered i should probably stop the scratch. I haven't bought her worms from a fishing store. what are your Ideas on that and what are other nutritious foods I can feed her? thanks again.
 
Yeah, i try to think of scratch like candy or dessert. It's good in moderation, but shouldn't be the main course. I also imagine that if she has been eating that high a percentage of scratch - that her protein intake is probably really depleted. I would take her off the scratch and start offering her scrambled eggs and yogurt. Too little protein can mess up the egg-making business. Worms and crickets are a good idea too. And be sure she has a calcium supplement available.
 
I thought we weren't suppost to feed them eggs or chicken? were going out to give her a bath right now so I'll check again in about 1/2 hour. thanks
 
Ruby was good with her bath. got real relaxed. took her out after about 10 min, we just got the water deep enough to where it covered her bottom and chest. Its way past dark here so we've turned out the lights and I will check her in a bit. Come tomarrow I'll have to go someware to use a computer. Our monitor went out and is in texas being fixed so my husband has been bringing his monitor at work home on weekends. I can check and post early tomarrow morning. hope this works and Ms Purdy is as good as new too! Thanks all for help. Great advise.
Little insight on me I'm a 30 year groomer. and a really good one. I have major back issues which has made me semi-retired. Just do a few small dogs now. We have a cockatiel that barks like a dog named Nick. Flower, a boarder collie from the pound who acts like a cat. My son named her after the skunk on bambi. a pond with large gold fish and a big frog. And of course Ruby who gets along well with Flower. I find them laying close to each other in the yard. And the cockatiel just loves Flower. Goes up to her and sarinades her. Nick has carblanch of the house when hes out of his cage. He also says "What ya do'n" Were a happy, lots of loveing kind of family where the animals are all cuishin and cream and spoiled wonderfully. I've enjoyed talking with you all. again thank for the help. Duffy was my westies name. I'm Jen
 

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