Hi all.
We have an almost 7 month old buff orpington pullet, normal size and weight. It is a mixed age flock, we have some that are 2-1/2 years old and some that are 1-1/2, many of whom are molting. This girl and her sisters are not. Some of the young ones have recently started laying. They free range and have access to organic lay pellets with some organic cracked corn as treats. They sleep in a coop with pine shavings covering the floor which is kept quite clean according to others who have chickens. None of the other chickens seem to have any symptoms. We have had our first big rain of the season a couple of days ago and the chickens have been playing/scratching in the wet leaves and drinking from puddles, but they do this all winter, every winter.
Yesterday when I opened the coop door she was panting and her comb looked shriveled, so I put her in the "hospital pen" outside. She plopped herself next to the waterer and drank and drank. (There was water in the coop, but no one had gotten off the roost yet.) A little while later she looked better, but I left her there, just in case. Later DH checked on her and she was panting again. She has liquid poops. She spends most of the time sitting, and her feet look twisted, but then she'll get up to move and they look okay. She is not walking normally, but manages to get around in her space, even juped up to "roost" on the little kitty carrier I put in for her to nest in. She was eating a little, but I have removed food because she has sour breath, but it is not obnoxious smelling. Her tummy seems firm, her crop is large, full, and squishy (she drank and drank a ton this morning). She is vocalizing. DH likens it to coughing, but it's not a voiceless cough, just an abrupt "bwah" or "hah." She does not seem at all congested, her eyes are clear and bright. She is continuing to pant except for right after she has been drinking. Her feathers look fine, if you saw her sitting, you wouldn't think anything was wrong based on the appearance of her feathers. Her tail is droopy and she's holding her wings funny.
Mareks? She's a little old. Botulism? Her neck isn't droopy. Sour crop? Her breath is a little bad but not really bad. Egg bound? Maybe?
I put some corid in the water when I saw the watery poop, that was yesterday. No access to vets, I'll have to treat her myself.
Any ideas?
We have an almost 7 month old buff orpington pullet, normal size and weight. It is a mixed age flock, we have some that are 2-1/2 years old and some that are 1-1/2, many of whom are molting. This girl and her sisters are not. Some of the young ones have recently started laying. They free range and have access to organic lay pellets with some organic cracked corn as treats. They sleep in a coop with pine shavings covering the floor which is kept quite clean according to others who have chickens. None of the other chickens seem to have any symptoms. We have had our first big rain of the season a couple of days ago and the chickens have been playing/scratching in the wet leaves and drinking from puddles, but they do this all winter, every winter.
Yesterday when I opened the coop door she was panting and her comb looked shriveled, so I put her in the "hospital pen" outside. She plopped herself next to the waterer and drank and drank. (There was water in the coop, but no one had gotten off the roost yet.) A little while later she looked better, but I left her there, just in case. Later DH checked on her and she was panting again. She has liquid poops. She spends most of the time sitting, and her feet look twisted, but then she'll get up to move and they look okay. She is not walking normally, but manages to get around in her space, even juped up to "roost" on the little kitty carrier I put in for her to nest in. She was eating a little, but I have removed food because she has sour breath, but it is not obnoxious smelling. Her tummy seems firm, her crop is large, full, and squishy (she drank and drank a ton this morning). She is vocalizing. DH likens it to coughing, but it's not a voiceless cough, just an abrupt "bwah" or "hah." She does not seem at all congested, her eyes are clear and bright. She is continuing to pant except for right after she has been drinking. Her feathers look fine, if you saw her sitting, you wouldn't think anything was wrong based on the appearance of her feathers. Her tail is droopy and she's holding her wings funny.
Mareks? She's a little old. Botulism? Her neck isn't droopy. Sour crop? Her breath is a little bad but not really bad. Egg bound? Maybe?
I put some corid in the water when I saw the watery poop, that was yesterday. No access to vets, I'll have to treat her myself.
Any ideas?


Last edited: