chicken not pooping

[mmarx]

So, this has been quite the adventure with this sick hen. She is approximately 8 months old and I recently got her from an organic farm. About 3 weeks ago I saw that she had a prolapsed cloaca so I gently pushed it back in, but after a few days she still wasn't seeming healthy. I took her to the vet where she got meds for worms and colitis (or somthing like that). After receiving the round of medication her vent is crusty and scabbed over (she keeps pecking at it causing some bleeding) and she is now unable to poop. Her vent looks like it has poop stuck in it and she is unable to get it all out. She is making this pitiful wheezing cluck and looks like she is trying to poop but nothing but a tiny bit of dark poop drips out. There is no white cap. I have been giving her epsom salt soaks trying to soften her vent up and deal with any possible inflamation so that she can poop but it doesn't seem to be helping. She is not eating or drinking very much either. I am at my whit's end and have no idea how to help her. Could someone please give me some insight? Can I give her an enema?

P.S. She has been living in my kitchen this entire time so that I can monitor this and she has an incredibly strong odor about her which is unusual. Our other hens have never smelled like that...

 

[seminolewind]

Your chicken sounds real sick. I think the vet covered the most frequent reason for illness. I would def. put some oily cream on her cloaca, soften up that crust. I think I would also give her some bread cubes soaked in olive oil. That might get things moving. I hope she's drinking enough. You might also want to make a mush out of her feed. Add water to the feed. It might go down easier.

I would also check her for an impacted egg. Internally. With a well oiled finger.

 

[mmarx]

I'll try that. Thanks for the help. Hopefully something works...