Chicken unable to stand and lethargic

[Joannaz]

Hey!

I’ve got a 20 week old Buff Orpington who is struggling to stand and is fluffed up. She also has laboured breathing (like she’s panting) and we only noticed it this morning.

We thought she might be egg bound and tried to see if there was an egg stuck in her. We felt a hard lump at the bottom left of her vent which could be an egg? I’m not sure as I thought eggs come from the top?

Anyway, we’ve put her in a warm bath for now and hopefully if she is egg bound she’ll pass the egg. Otherwise do you know if there could be another cause?

 

[Joannaz]

Here’s another picture of her

 

[Aapomp831]

Is she pooping and if so what does it look like?

 

[Eggcessive]

You can insert a clean or gloved finger into the vent 1-2 inches to feel for an obstruction or stuck egg. At her age egg binding may be possible. Eggbound hens cannot pass droppings, so check if she is having any. If eggbinding is suspected, you can give some extra calcium in tablet form or a Tums antacid. An egg and shell can be processed in a blender or food processor and fed if you have no calcium. Get her in a warm and humid area. Some soak in warm water inna shallow bath to help them lay, but make sure that she is strong enough for that.

 

[Joannaz]

It’s been an hour since her warm bath and she hasn’t pooped anything I’ll let you know if anything changes.

We tried to insert a finger but we didn’t feel anything apart from a lump in the bottom left of her vent. Maybe we didn’t stick the finger too far but we didn’t want to hurt her.

I’ll try and blend an egg for her as we have no calcium. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Joannaz]

We checked after a few hours and her condition seems to have improved and she has also pooped!

We’ve put her back in the main run with her friends and while she seems a bit sleepy, at least she can walk a bit better now. Lets hope she feels better soon

 

[Joannaz]

She can walk now but is still looking pretty lethargic compared to our other hens. Almost like she’s dozing off whilst standing up.
She’s also still gasping every now and then and my partner went to pick her up today and a lot of fluid came out of her beak.

what could this be? Could it be gapeworm? Or something else?

We use Verm-X in their water for the past few weeks. But maybe it’s not working? Any advice would be great

 

[Eggcessive]

Check her crop to feel if it is full and puffy or hard. Check again in early morning when it should be empty and flat. If not, she may be suffering a crop disorder. Can you get her drinking some electrolytes or sugar water?

 

[Peas4Ducks]

I was reading about coccidiosis in chickens just a few hours ago and remembered this article’s description: “It will come from nowhere in the form of a once healthy nice little bird suddenly looking as though they’ve ruffled their feathers. They may already be sulking in a corner. Then comes the bloody diarrhea or the oozing of clear fluid from the mouth when you pick them up.”

If it is coccidiosis, you’ll want to treat your whole flock with Corid ASAP. I really hope your chicken gets better.

 

[Peas4Ducks]

A quick google search showed me that there are lots of other things that can cause clear liquid coming from the beak, as well, though—I’m sorry, I know how stressful it is to have a sick chicken and be unable to figure out the cause .