Deathly Ill

[High Rail-62]

Hello and thank you for this Forum.
I have a hen thats about 3 yrs. old who has been sick a month or 5 weeks.
She is emaciated and very week.
I tried force feeding with very limited success.
She will drink water.
I thought maybe she had Sour Crop but her Craw is mostly empty.
I thought I would make a small incision and clean it out as a last resort but now I think she's to weak to do this.
Any Thoughts of what might be wrong with her and a last ditch idea how to save her life ?
She is starving to death and I don't know why.
I thought of just ending it for her but she seems comfortable under the heat lamp so I'm going to just let her go on her own if I can't somehow help her.
Please,any help would be appreciated.
Thank You!

 

[azygous]

She likely has an underlying health issue such as cancer or a terminal reproductive infection.

If you've been treating her for sour crop, she may have a clogged gizzard. You could try a molasses flush to see it that improves her condition. It can't hurt anything. It will stimulate her to poop and it can produce loose stools so make preparations for that.

One fourth cup of warm water with one teaspoon of molasses mixed in. Try to urge her to drink it all.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would agree that she may have a serious disease such as cancer. There are many diseases that it could be. You could try tube feeding her, but it sounds like she has lost so much weight that the best thing for her may be to put her down in case she is suffering. Then if you send her or take her in to the state vet they could do a necropsy to look for what was wrong with her. Here is a list of most state poultry vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[High Rail-62]

She likely has an underlying health issue such as cancer or a terminal reproductive infection.

If you've been treating her for sour crop, she may have a clogged gizzard. You could try a molasses flush to see it that improves her condition. It can't hurt anything. It will stimulate her to poop and it can produce loose stools so make preparations for that.

One fourth cup of warm water with one teaspoon of molasses mixed in. Try to urge her to drink it all.

Thank You. She has now stopped drinking and is to weak to raise her head. Her feet are folded and her eyes mostly shut like she's sleeping but can barely open them. She's dying and I can't stop it. She seems to be comfortable nested in her Isolation cage under the heat lamp. I suppose she'll not make it through the night.
I've never had one sick this long,they either get better in a few days or dead.
This girl is entering into her 6th week and has gone down hill every day of it.
Thank You again for your help.
I will try and let everyone know when she's gone.
God Bless!

 

[ChickNanny13]

 

[High Rail-62]

I would agree that she may have a serious disease such as cancer. There are many diseases that it could be. You could try tube feeding her, but it sounds like she has lost so much weight that the best thing for her may be to put her down in case she is suffering. Then if you send her or take her in to the state vet they could do a necropsy to look for what was wrong with her. Here is a list of most state poultry vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

Thank You for the list.
Tho curious as to what has happened to her,I'm not much on sending her body to be tested.
I do plan to check 2 things myself when she's gone.
1st,her craw and 2nd her breastbone.
I have just a dozen hens and have enjoyed raising them this past 8 years but thinking I will not continue with it after these have lived their days out in a happy and comfortable way.
Thanks Again for your time,interest and caring!

 

[Eggcessive]

Certain states have low priced necropsies. Some do not. Where are you located? If you do perform a home necropsy, sometimes people post pictures of them here, and some more experienced people can help to identify some more obvious abnormalities. Pics of liver, intestines, the oviduct, heart, crop and gizzard contents are helpful. Here is a necrospy video that has organs labeled:

 

[ChickNanny13]

Thank you @Eggcessive for sharing, very helpful.

 

[High Rail-62]

Certain states have low priced necropsies. Some do not. Where are you located? If you do perform a home necropsy, sometimes people post pictures of them here, and some more experienced people can help to identify some more obvious abnormalities. Pics of liver, intestines, the oviduct, heart, crop and gizzard contents are helpful. Here is a necrospy video that has organs labeled:

Thank You for posting this.
I will keep it in my favorites for future ref.
She died early this morning,quite and comfortable nested in straw and under a heat lamp.
I opened her up in hopes of finding something that didn't look right.
I found 2 things but not sure if it was anything out of the norm.
First,I found an organ that I believe was her stomach (Not Sure) anyway,it was completely filled with a Yellow mustard like substance.
secondly,I found what I'm guessing was her bladder that was full of water. Looked clean and fresh.
Other than that everything seemed normal.
I've not plucked a chicken to be eaten in years.
I remember watching my mom do this and don't remember coming across anything like I described.
I would like to know for future illnesses if any relating to this.
Remember,she slowly went down hill for 6 weeks and was completely emaciated.
Nothing but bone and feather.
I hardly even encountered any blood except my own from slicing my thumb while performing her autopsy.
Thank You for your past response.
Please don't feel obligated to respond back but should you have any ideas after what I described it would be appreciated.
Thank You!

 

[Henry&Friends]

Thank You for posting this.
I will keep it in my favorites for future ref.
She died early this morning,quite and comfortable nested in straw and under a heat lamp.
I opened her up in hopes of finding something that didn't look right.
I found 2 things but not sure if it was anything out of the norm.
First,I found an organ that I believe was her stomach (Not Sure) anyway,it was completely filled with a Yellow mustard like substance.
secondly,I found what I'm guessing was her bladder that was full of water. Looked clean and fresh.
Other than that everything seemed normal.
I've not plucked a chicken to be eaten in years.
I remember watching my mom do this and don't remember coming across anything like I described.
I would like to know for future illnesses if any relating to this.
Remember,she slowly went down hill for 6 weeks and was completely emaciated.
Nothing but bone and feather.
I hardly even encountered any blood except my own from slicing my thumb while performing her autopsy.
Thank You for your past response.
Please don't feel obligated to respond back but should you have any ideas after what I described it would be appreciated.
Thank You!

Sorry for your hen

Im not sure how I could help, since I’ve never necropsied a chicken, but could you send the yellow fluids to someone for analysis? Was anything out of the normal going on with her reproductive tract? That seems to be where most problems occur in chickens, especially laying breeds.