Egg bound

A thin layer of vaseline will help protect the skin, you can do that - all your looking to do is help the poop not to stick so bad and irritate the skin:)

Oh! Chicks! How fun is that?! What you may want to do is have a shirt you put on when you care for the hen, then change it out when you see to the chicks. Sort of change clothes, but very good idea not wanting to cross contaminate!
I have another question and update.
So for the update:
She is doing good today. Ate grower feed today and I got her to drink some water. The temperature cooled and she is now outdoors. No infestation of maggots. Gave her a butt bath, she hated it. And I have a photo of her vent. It’s no longer swollen and has no visible open wounds from what I see. The maggots definitely were not a good guest to have over. Less poop on her butt, but some dried and I tried to remove it, but it’s super hard to remove, even with water and trying to physically get it off. I also am switching her pad at least 1 time everyday and washing her entire brooder which I actually switched to a wire dog crate because it is better ventilated.

PROBLEM and ISSUE:
I noticed her joints are really damaged. It looks pretty bad and is swollen? It’s also a bit red. I am using dog pads as padding and it seems to not be working. Should I get better padding? She is sitting down on her joints for most of the day. I also took her off the electrolyte water, but am still hydrating her every few hours. She took water only once during the second session of the day. Should I still give electrolyte water? It just got me so frustrated that she kept spilling it everywhere and getting her feathers sticky and wet, because it had honey in it. Or should I only add garlic? I am using a magic water recipe for the electrolytes. It has honey and garlic. I also have a photo of her comb which remained quite red… Thanks, photos are below… :)
 

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Also, here is a vent picture, before and after a wash and cleaning. Some poop is still so stubborn! But not swollen! :) And the vent is way better! I am really just worried about her joints…first picture is “before” she spends a few hours with a dirty bum like that. Next 2 pictures are after. Some poop is still stuck. But she has been having solid poop. I will try to get a picture of an entire poop soon, it’s quite green.
 

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Here is her current set up, it’s not great, certainly not the best, but it works. It also does not keep flies away, but it was getting too hot to put her in the enclosed brooder. I also could not find Vaseline. It seems that the poop sticks more to the feathers…should I cut MORE feathers?
 

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Poor thing!
The sores on the back of the legs don't look all that good.
Can she walk at all? I wonder if she would be more active if she was with the flock and you tended to her a couple of days that way? That's IF the flock doesn't pick on her of course.
Another option if she's not mobile, would be to place her in a sling several times a day to get her upright and the pressure off her legs. The sling supports her, but you would have to monitor her, some birds can't tolerate a sling and they try to get out and may injure themselves. If you can get her more upright, then see if the legs start healing on their own in a couple of days. I would be hesitant to add moisture of an ointment to those scabs since they are dry right now, I fear they would really fester with her laying on them all the time (possibly attract flies).


 
Poor thing!
The sores on the back of the legs don't look all that good.
Can she walk at all?
Yep. She could walk, but she often just lays down. When she does walk, it is quite obvious that her legs are very wobbly.
I wonder if she would be more active if she was with the flock and you tended to her a couple of days that way? That's IF the flock doesn't pick on her of course.
What if she caught something contagious? Because we are still not sure exactly what caused this.
Another option if she's not mobile, would be to place her in a sling several times a day to get her upright and the pressure off her legs. The sling supports her, but you would have to monitor her, some birds can't tolerate a sling and they try to get out and may injure themselves. If you can get her more upright, then see if the legs start healing on their own in a couple of days. I would be hesitant to add moisture of an ointment to those scabs since they are dry right now, I fear they would really fester with her laying on them all the time (possibly attract flies).


Thanks a bunch! :thumbsup
 
Poor thing!
The sores on the back of the legs don't look all that good.
Can she walk at all? I wonder if she would be more active if she was with the flock and you tended to her a couple of days that way? That's IF the flock doesn't pick on her of course.
Another option if she's not mobile, would be to place her in a sling several times a day to get her upright and the pressure off her legs. The sling supports her, but you would have to monitor her, some birds can't tolerate a sling and they try to get out and may injure themselves. If you can get her more upright, then see if the legs start healing on their own in a couple of days. I would be hesitant to add moisture of an ointment to those scabs since they are dry right now, I fear they would really fester with her laying on them all the time (possibly attract flies).


Likely there's nothing contagious. It's common for laying hens to have reproductive disorders, but if that's a worry, then it's completely understandable to keep her separated out.
Could it be she has not enough padding? She walked about 25 feet today at night. I brought her out to play and not sit on her joints. She walked all the way back to the crate. I was there when she did so. She wobbled a little, but mostly she was stable.
 
Could be not enough padding, but you want those sores to heal up. Even with more padding, she's still putting pressure on them when she's laying down all the time. She needs to be more upright/off those areas in order for them to heal.

The joints are swollen and this is likely one reason why she's having difficulty getting around.
You may need to get her on an antibiotic to help promote healing. Amoxicillin would be something you can use.
 
Could be not enough padding, but you want those sores to heal up. Even with more padding, she's still putting pressure on them when she's laying down all the time. She needs to be more upright/off those areas in order for them to heal.

The joints are swollen and this is likely one reason why she's having difficulty getting around.
You may need to get her on an antibiotic to help promote healing. Amoxicillin would be something you can use.
Before I could even think about making the sling, we just got another sick chicken. This morning, she just stood in the corner. Not bloated, not walking like a penguin, but had a little bit of poop of her butt. I gave her a 20 minute warm water soak. Put her back in the flock and she has not passed an egg. I don’t know what to do at this point. It seems that she is getting worse also. Not eating as much not drinking. She can walk, but prefers not to. She is a golden comet and is 1-2 years old. Should I deworm her? I already dewormed the first chicken who got sick. :( I feel so bad for the new sick chicken. She was getting over mated (the only one this severe), we got her a chicken apron months ago, but still, she lost the feathers on her back. No egg clusters, no maggots. I feel so awful 😞
 

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