Dragging behind

The Farmers' Daughter

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Aug 2, 2017
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Darwell Alberta
Hi
I have a buckeye hen that's been going through a rough molt. She's been sleeping in a nest box lately instead of roosting with the others, and has been acting a bit lethargic. I chalked it up to the molt.

Today she's moving around, loudly clucking, eating and drinking, but can't lift up her tail end.

Mareks? Something else? I've got her quarantined now.
 
I felt around and can't find an egg. Right after I felt in her vent she had a really runny poop. I've lubed up inside of her vent & given her some crushed up egg shells. Unfortunately I have to work tonight, but if she's still not doing well when I get home, I'll give her a warm soak.

Thanks for your help.
 
Well, she's still not walking well. Her breathing became somewhat laboured and bubbly sounding. She's been getting tetracycline for a few days now, and her breathing has improved, as has her comb colour, but she's still walking like she's egg bound. She's pooping normally. Any other ideas?
 
Hi
I have a buckeye hen that's been going through a rough molt. She's been sleeping in a nest box lately instead of roosting with the others, and has been acting a bit lethargic. I chalked it up to the molt.

Today she's moving around, loudly clucking, eating and drinking, but can't lift up her tail end.

Mareks? Something else? I've got her quarantined now.

I felt around and can't find an egg. Right after I felt in her vent she had a really runny poop. I've lubed up inside of her vent & given her some crushed up egg shells. Unfortunately I have to work tonight, but if she's still not doing well when I get home, I'll give her a warm soak.

Thanks for your help.

Well, she's still not walking well. Her breathing became somewhat laboured and bubbly sounding. She's been getting tetracycline for a few days now, and her breathing has improved, as has her comb colour, but she's still walking like she's egg bound. She's pooping normally. Any other ideas?
Photos would be helpful.

Feel the abdomen for bloat/swelling or fluid and check the crop - what does that feel like?

Walking around like she's egg bound, I would suspect that she has a reproductive disorder. Egg Yolk Peritonitis, Ascites, Internal laying, cancer, tumors, etc. can have similar symptoms which include loss of weight in the breast, swelling or fluid from egg masses/tumors, difficulty walking, labored breathing, loose dropping and crop issues.

IF there is fluid in the abdomen, that can sometimes be drained to give relief and help breathing.
Antibiotics can also help with infection and give short term relief as well.

Sometimes the only thing you can do is offer supportive care and see how it goes.
 
I couldn't get her to walk, but here's a quick video
20181203_113731.jpg 20181203_113738.jpg 20181203_113703.jpg
As stated before, she's still molting.
No swelling anywhere, she's actually really skinny. She's eating and drinking.
 
Thanks for the video!
Bless her heart:hugs
She is not feeling well at all is she.
What dosage of Tetracycline are you giving her? (do you have powder or liquid)

I would try to continue with what you are doing. Think about testing for worms.
Her stance, sadly I have seen that a few times and it turned out to be reproductive problems.
Check her crop again first thing in the morning to see that it's empty. And do what you can to encourage her to eat/drink.
 
I'm giving her powder dissolved in her drinking water and a few little pieces of bread soaked in it to make sure that she's getting some in her. 1/4 tsp per gallon.

I sure hope that it's not reproductive, as she's my main breeder.
 

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