Does my chicken have worms? Neck shaking, white blobs in droppings, lethargic.

[elkies-coop]

My approximately 1 year old Ameraucana, Nettle, hasn't been her usual self this week.

I let all my hens (6 total) out of their coop/run every morning, but yesterday and the day before Nettle had little energy. She would come out and just plop down in the grass while everyone else scratched around. Today when I let them out, Nettle had a little more energy and kept up with the other girls, but keeps pausing to stretch and twist her neck and shake her head (and looks rather odd while doing so).

She has also had runny poop on and off for about a week, her vent area has gotten a bit messy because of this. I assumed the loose stool was just due to the insufferable heatwave we've been experiencing (the other chickens sometimes have runny poop in the afternoon too). But today I took a closer look at one of her (runny) droppings and there were a lot of some sort of white blobs.

My other hens seem normal. My chickens are keep in their run most of the day but let out in the morning to a grassy area for at least an hour and again when it cools off a bit in the evening for at least an hour (I don't leave them out unsupervised as there are too many hawks, eagles, owls). I have 2 hens that are about a year old (Nettle being one), 2 that are 4.5 months old, and two that are 10 weeks old that I keep in an enclosure within the run (so they can't get picked on by the big girls).

Nettle is eating and drinking normally. She hasn't laid in two days, which again I thought was due to the heat.

Does this sound like worms? What would you recommend for treatment, if so? From what I understand, there are different treatments for different types of worms. I should also mention Nettle is a rescue chicken and is really hard to catch. I don't think it'd be possible to give her an injection or oral medication. Is there something that can be put in their water? Do I need to treat them all or just Nettle?

Photos of Nettle, her droppings, and my chicken's area are included below. Is there a way to attach video? I have video of her neck stretching/head shaking too.

I'm a new chicken keeper, so any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[elkies-coop]

Here's video of Nettle this morning, sorry it's vertical.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's adjusting her crop. Check to make sure her crop is emptying completely overnight. If it's not, then start addressing the issue according to this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

The white blobs in the poop are oyster shell. It's been through the gizzard and polished smooth.

 

[elkies-coop]

She's adjusting her crop. Check to make sure her crop is emptying completely overnight. If it's not, then start addressing the issue according to this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

The white blobs in the poop are oyster shell. It's been through the gizzard and polished smooth.

Thanks so much for the quick reply!

The blobs are oyster shell sized, so that makes sense. I've never seen them in their droppings before! Just out of curiosity, do you know how long oyster shells stay in their digestive system? I recently started to give them their own egg shells instead.

Her crop does look quite large today. She's been eating a lot of grass when out of their run lately, so perhaps that is causing a back-up. I'm thinking of leaving them in tonight (no grass eating) and taking their food out overnight so I can check if her crop has emptied tomorrow morning.

Thanks again!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't know how long they stay in the digestive system.

Good idea about removing food/water. It's hard to gauge crop function if the birds get up and eat before you check it

 

[elkies-coop]

I don't know how long they stay in the digestive system.

Good idea about removing food/water. It's hard to gauge crop function if the birds get up and eat before you check it

I removed their food and water overnight and this morning when I checked on them Nettle seemed completely normal! I wasn't able to catch her to feel her crop (she got super flighty when I tried and I was worried about her hurting herself), but it appeared empty just by visual inspection. She was also full of energy and acting like herself.

I did notice a lot of the droppings in the run were basically just clumps of grass. Maybe her crop/digestive system was moving slowly trying to digest all that grass. I'm going to limit her outside time for a bit so she doesn't overeat grass again right away, and just keep my eye on her to make sure her crop is functioning normally today.

Thanks again for your help!

A slightly related question, in case I do need to inspect her further: Know of any tips for safely catching a flighty, escape artist bird?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

If you go in and grab her from the roost, right before first light, you'll have less trouble. Once she's able to get down off the roost, she'll do as she pleases. If you go in during the middle of the night, you won't be able to gauge her crop function. It needs to be first thing in the morning, but right before it's light enough for her to see. She sure is a beauty!

 

[elkies-coop]

If you go in and grab her from the roost, right before first light, you'll have less trouble. Once she's able to get down off the roost, she'll do as she pleases. If you go in during the middle of the night, you won't be able to gauge her crop function. It needs to be first thing in the morning, but right before it's light enough for her to see. She sure is a beauty!

I'll try this, thank you!