Easter egger lethargic, refusing to be held, flopping on her side.

[ArthurFrane]

Hi Everyone,

We have a 1yo Easter Egger, our coop's resident "boss hen". She's healthy weight and size, appears normal. She laid this morning, normal egg. But just starting today she's been flopping onto her side, closing her eyes often, and acting lethargic. Refuses to be held so I haven't been able to examine her very closely. She makes all sorts of fuss and I'm new at this chicken thing.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?

Other birds are fine and acting normal.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.

None I can see.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

Possible heat-exhaustion/dehydration as we've only just hit our first stretch of high-80s temperatures. But they have plenty of shade, food (layer pellets/crumble), and water. I refreshed it about two hours ago, adding ACV and ice in case it is an overheating issue.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

She ate from her feed this morning, and went for scratch grains I offered two hours ago. Took water then as well, and gobbled up an earthworm I'd dug up for her.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

Seems normal but a bit runny (pic attached - I managed to be there in the moment, so I know this is hers).

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

Provided plenty of shade, fresh water, scratch.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

We'd prefer to treat at home, doing our best to minimize stress on the bird. If necessary, we have vets in town who might be able to help.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

They have a large run with sand/fine gravel, and dirt. We also let them out into the garden to forage and feed on borage, grasses, and other plants (chicken-friendly ones).

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Can you add a picture of your girl? Is she able to walk at all or just lying on her side?

 

[ArthurFrane]

She does walk, slower than normal, sometimes standing with one leg raised. But she has plenty of mobility when I've tried to get hold of her to examine her vent. No luck there, as she scoots like a rabbit, which is really odd for her. It makes me think she's in some kind of pain, but I can't see any indication of what it might be.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

You might need to scoop her up off the roost tonight if she is that skittish. She should be calmer once you've got her wrapped securely in towel. Then you can check her over for any signs of injury, lumps, swelling, bumblefoot, etc. If you can't find anything obvious she may have strained something jumping down from a roost or sometimes limping can be caused by internal pressure on nerves from an egg, cyst, tumor, etc. If her limp seems bad you might want to keep her in a crate with food and water for a few days to force her to rest the leg.

 

[ArthurFrane]

You might need to scoop her up tonight off the roost tonight if she is that skittish. She should be calmer once you've got her wrapped securely in towel. Then you can check her over for any signs of injury, lumps, swelling, bumblefoot, etc. If you can't find anything obvious she may have strained something jumping down from a roost or sometimes limping can be caused by internal pressure on nerves from an egg, cyst, tumor, etc. If her limp seems bad you might want to keep her in a crate with food and water for a few days to force her to rest the leg.

Thanks for the tips She's upright now, and still quite mobile if I try to get near. I'll try later tonight when they've gone to roost. I'm thinking possibly it's impacted crop that is slowly clearing up. They've been mowing down some grasses in the garden lately. Wish I could get her wrapped up so I could palpate and help move things along for her.

Here she is, giving me that wary eye of hers.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Always a bit worrisome when they start acting funny, but as long as they remain hard to catch you know they can't be that sick Good to see her alert and on her feet. Let us know if she has any more problems or if she just had an off day.

 

[ArthurFrane]

She's looking good this morning! Guessing it was just a weird day, possibly the heat, maybe impacted crop. I haven't tried to nab her for an examination yet, but she's eating fine, alert, and mobile.

She's in the back here, because her sister, Gytha, is a camera hog

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

She's looking good this morning! Guessing it was just a weird day, possibly the heat, maybe impacted crop. I haven't tried to nab her for an examination yet, but she's eating fine, alert, and mobile.

She's in the back here, because her sister, Gytha, is a camera hog

Glad she is looking better, but if you see her limping again I'd definitely get a hold of her and check her for bumblefoot. I had a girl with a bad case that I didn't catch quickly because she only rarely limped... by the time I found her in the coop panting and completely unable to walk her feet were a mess . Live and learn, I guess, but it was a tough lesson for both of us.

 

[ArthurFrane]

@Razzlefrazzle oh, your poor girl Sorry that happened.