Chicken wobbling and fading away.

[PuddleEndChicken]

I wonder if anyone can advise me as I'm quite new to chickens....

We have a hybrid hen ("Blue angel" white with a few blue feathers). She is about 30 weeks old and I think she's been laying although difficult to tell with 14 all laying in the same nest boxes.

She is in a mixed flock of 14 bantams/chickens living in a large barn with woodchips on the floor free access to outside yard.

In the last 3 days we've noticed that she doesn't go up high (8ft in barn) to roost any more (she's always been one of the highest) and preferred a perch about 2 ft off the ground. We found her sleeping in a nest box yesterday but not laying. Then yesterday night she roosted on the bottom rung of a bench about 4 inches off the ground and now she's permanently there under the bench, day and night. Not coming out into the yard with the others, refusing food. She's not even chasing pigeons that get into the yard any more !

We carried her out into the yard and she seems a bit wobbly on her feet and tried to go straight back inside. Her comb has gone from red to almost white but otherwise not unhealthy looking. Feathers fluffy. No respiratory issues that I can see and eye looks normal. Haven't seen any poop recently. The other 13 birds all seem active and healthy.

The only recent thing is that we had rain and wind and she insisted in going outside during the rain and wind for quite a lot of the day instead of returning to the barn, but some of the others did too, she was back in the barn overnight with the others.

I'd appreciate any advice as she seems to just be fading away with no real symptoms ? Is there anything else I should be checking for as I can report back ?

Many thanks

 

[azygous]

You need to take a look at her vent and the area below.

Is there a runny discharge? Can you feel swelling under the vent just behind the legs? Is her vent pulsating?

Two clues indicate she's likely eggbound. Sitting in the nest and not pooping. Does she stand in one spot with her tail held low and flat? That indicates pain.

If you answer yes to any of my questions, Give her a calcium tablet and a warm soak in Epsom salts. Then place her in a crate in a quiet place with moist heat. You can dampen a bath towel and slip a heating pad under it.

The pale comb concerns me. That indicates a chronic illness that could be cancer, likely of the reproductive system.

 

[PuddleEndChicken]

Thank you for your reply.

I've just checked her again, she was in the dark in the barn. She feels a bit thin but otherwise no swelling/pulsating of the vent and no discharge, feathers all fluffy.

I put her on the ground and she pooped and it seemed normal although a bit yellow in colour. She then drank quite a lot of water. She just seemed to have an uneven gait and be almost zigzagging when she walks.

I looked at her feet - on the underside of the feet chickens have a pad in the middle of the toes and on one of her feet there seems to be a few small cracks in the pad. Could this be causing her pain ? Maybe causing her to limp and also why she isn't roosting ? The other 13 don't seem to have cracks like that.

Could this be the cause and what could I do about it ? Many thanks

 

[PuddleEndChicken]

Just to update, I've taken your advice and given her a magnesium bath, don't have calcium tablets and put her in a box by our stove to keep warm.

She is now standing (not sitting) in the warm box, holding her tail about horizontal rather than down as it was before. She is breathing quite deeply. Her cheeks suck in on the in breath with a tiny slight noise and her chest rises then she seems to push down at the vent on the out breath and it sounds like air coming out of the vent sometimes ?

She is about to drop off to sleep when she suddenly opens her beak and wakes up again, not sure why.

I examined the vent - no egg visible or swelling or discharge but she does feel thin and a slight funny smell. She pooped a few hours ago which seemed normal.

Do you think it's the vent or her breathing that is the problem ?

Thank you