Droopy comb, runny bottom and depressed?

[PippaTheChick]

Hi all,
Recently my chicken Pippa, a 3 or 4 year old highlander has been a little off. Her comb has begun to flop over, and turn a little purple on the ends? Her bottom is a little dirty, and her poop is slightly runny, but the strangest thing of all, is that she has lost a lot of weight. Normally Pippa is about the size of a basketball, and pretty heavy too, but now she is lighter, and just sits wherever you put her down. She's never done this before??

 

[Cragg Klefor]

Has she been wormed? How are the rest of the flock?
I suspect you will get more help if you post in the illness/disease section!

 

[aart]

I asked to have your thread moved to the health forum.
Need to know what all and how exactly are you feeding.
Hylander is a high egg production breed?
They can be prone to reproductive ailments.
Is her belly, from under her vent to down between her legs, swollen?
Might be squishy or hard.

Pics of her and her poops would help.

 

[PippaTheChick]

We don't have a flock, she's on her own (I'm working on getting another chicken). I will try to check for lumps and will upload some pics as soon as possible. Also, how do I confirm to move it into the other category?

 

[PippaTheChick]

We give her porridge, wheat, corn and anything else leftover from our meals. On another thread, we agreed that she needs more protein, which I will start giving her now.

 

[aart]

Kind of duplicate thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-seems-to-never-lay.1283131/

 

[PippaTheChick]

She seems to have gotten worse. We just let her out, and she's standing by the entrance of the coop, closing her eyes. We bought some worming medicine, which we plan to give her this afternoon. She isn't really eating, but she is drinking quite a lot.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

3 or 4 year old highlander has been a little off. Her comb has begun to flop over, and turn a little purple on the ends? Her bottom is a little dirty, and her poop is slightly runny, but the strangest thing of all, is that she has lost a lot of weight. Normally Pippa is about the size of a basketball, and pretty heavy too, but now she is lighter, and just sits wherever you put her down.

She seems to have gotten worse. We just let her out, and she's standing by the entrance of the coop, closing her eyes. We bought some worming medicine, which we plan to give her this afternoon. She isn't really eating, but she is drinking quite a lot.

I'm sorry that she is getting worse
If you have photos of your hen and of her poop those would be helpful.
Can you feel between her legs under her vent to see if she feels like she is swollen, bloated or if it feels like a water balloon?
Is her crop empty in the morning before she has had anything to eat/drink?

I quickly looked at your other thread but may have missed some details, but I saw you mention that she has not laid an egg in about 3 months? Is that right?

With her being an older hen, not laying eggs and is feeling poorly, then she may have a reproductive problem like internal laying, peritonitis or similar. Symptoms include weight loss in the breast area, loose droppings, sometimes swelling/bloat in the abdomen, difficulty walking, labored breathing, holding the tail down and lethargy.

I do agree if you can tweak what you are feeding that would be good. You received good advice from chickencanoe on the other thread, I would follow his recommendations.
Look forward to your photos and more information, hopefully we can give you more suggestions.

 

[PippaTheChick]

I'm sorry that she is getting worse
If you have photos of your hen and of her poop those would be helpful.
Can you feel between her legs under her vent to see if she feels like she is swollen, bloated or if it feels like a water balloon?
Is her crop empty in the morning before she has had anything to eat/drink?

I quickly looked at your other thread but may have missed some details, but I saw you mention that she has not laid an egg in about 3 months? Is that right?

With her being an older hen, not laying eggs and is feeling poorly, then she may have a reproductive problem like internal laying, peritonitis or similar. Symptoms include weight loss in the breast area, loose droppings, sometimes swelling/bloat in the abdomen, difficulty walking, labored breathing, holding the tail down and lethargy.

I do agree if you can tweak what you are feeding that would be good. You received good advice from chickencanoe on the other thread, I would follow his recommendations.
Look forward to your photos and more information, hopefully we can give you more suggestions.

Hi, I'm at school right now. I'll do this all as soon as possible. Thank you for replying.