Dark red comb and cheeks

[chickieandchookie]

My girl has a very dark red comb with noticeably red cheeks. She has been hunched over for some time with ruffled feathers. I thought she may have been egg bound and gave her a good 20 minute soak in warm water with epsom salts. I could not feel any eggs and it has not made any difference in her behaviour. She is not moving and I am very worried. She has not laid eggs for quite some time now. I thought she was being lazy and ignored it. She is only about three years old.

 

[Eggcessive]

Have you dried her with a hairdryer to get her warm and dry? The bath can sometimes be a stressful thing when they are ill. Do you have pictures of her and her dark comb? She may be very sick. Do you have some Poultry NutriDrench, electrolytes, or can you give her some sugar water? How does her crop feel—empty, full, hard, doughy, or puffy? Is she breathing okay, or is it labored or noisy? Once you get her taking some fluids then try offering some bits of scrambled egg and a little wet chicken feed mixed with a lot of water. Has she been laying eggs recently, and were they normal?

 

[chickieandchookie]

She is not laying. She liked the bath and dry, she had one before when she was egg bound and it worked well. This time, did not make any difference to her. Her comb is now purple on the edges and when I picked her up, some fluid came out of her mouth......it also looks like she is not poo-ing. Her comb is upright and firm but really deep red. Initially she had lots of poo around the bum, I trimmed them off and checked for mites but she was all good. All vets are closed atm....very worried about my girl. She only one of two so I am stressed about the whole damn thing...

 

[electrycmonk]

I can only offer well as my "training wheels" are still on.... Keep reading about hydration as I just saw that's what your doing. Study, study, study.
I hope she comes around.
Always ask questions.
There is a lot of wisdom here in this forum.
Be proactive and patient at the same time.
We are only human, do try to relax.
Whenever possible upload as many pictures (that are clear and focused) as possible; 'tis true that a picture is truly worth a 1000 words. And honestly, could solve your situation much faster then this reply or any other reply for that matter.

Peace be with you.

I think @casportpony might know who to get advice from if you can get pics uploaded tomorrow?

 

[chickieandchookie]

ok, will put some pics up. She appears to be vomiting - a clear yellow fluid comes out. I have been trying to give her some sugar water via a syringe but not as easy as it sounds. I think she has consumed some but wouldn't surprise me if she is covered in ants before too long with the amount that dribbled on her feathers! She has also just pooed out a clear fluid with a bit of yellow centre, not unlike an egg to be honest but it isn't - its clearly a poo of some description

 

[electrycmonk]

I want to advise you about how careful one needs to be with a syringe. I learned the hard/sad way that you can cause them to asperate - the liquid can super-easily go down the windpipe.
I then changed to putting a few drops on the outside of the beak and the chicken would drink it in as it reached the tip of their beak.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like your hen may be having a crop disorder. Does she have a bad odor from her beak when she vomits up fluid? Does she lay eggs anymore? Can you look at her lower belly to see if her abdomen is enlarged or full? Has she passed any droppings since yesterday? I would try giving some fluids to drink, and a spoonful of plain yogurt.

 

[chickieandchookie]

She hasnt laid eggs for some time now. I thought she was just 'off' the lay for a while. The only droppings she has had is clear fluid with a little bit of yellow in the middle - she has done that twice. It doesn't appear to be odorous but I could be wrong. But every time I pick her up she expels the liquid from her beak. I have put a few drops of sugar water on her beak to help her drink which although a long process, she took. I have offered her yoghurt which she didn't eat. I then gave her some bread soaked in water but she hasn't touched that either. Today, her head is almost buried underneath her feathers, she is so puffed up. I didn't think she would last the night but she has. I put her into a separate crate yesterday to give her a rest but nothing seems to make any difference.

 

[Sally PB]

@Wyorp Rock Can you help?

 

[electrycmonk]

I would think soaking the bread in a healthy oil like coconut or olive oil..... That's been told to me to help keep the crop lubricated and so stuff doesn't get stopped up right now.... (This was advice I had been given from a crisp issue and told to not use water soaking the bread) so hopefully we will have some others with more wisdom help out later today.