Emergency - Sick Limping Chicken! Please Help!

[agrace117]

Please help!! I am a new chicken owner and very concerned by one of my layers being sick.

Symptoms:

-Very swollen abdomen with feathers gone/sparse
-Red raw patch on bottom of abdomen (may be caused by swelling and rubbing on ground)
-Green watery poop
-Limping with left foot toes closing up and not standing well on that leg
-Very bony (I can feel her chest bone when I pick her up)
-Still loves food (food aggressive) and drinks well
-Wants to roam around but has difficult taking more than 5 steps now

She has been like this almost 2 1/2 weeks now.

I have been doing research every day. Thought she might be egg bound at first - soaked her and tried to feel for an egg but didn't feel anything. Thought maybe bumble foot with an infection spreading that might cause the swollen belly but no signs of wound on her feet.

Internal laying? Peritonitis? Maybe peritonitis causing nerve damage thus the limping and curling of toes?

I don't know what to do and am afraid to wait to long and make her suffer but also afraid to take her life if there is an easy fix.

Please help!!

 

[Nike]

From what I've read my best guess would be internal laying... I don't know how you treat that but if it were me I'd find a vet. I hope someone else comes along with more information and I hope your bird gets better!

 

[agrace117]

Thank you for your input! That's what I was reading about too and figured it could be. Vets are just so expensive and because I share the chickens with 3 other house mates that don't want to spend a lot on one chicken, I think we may end up having to let her go.

 

[Nike]

Oh :/ I know they are very expensive. It sucks but when I had to bring my hen to a vet I can look back and say it was worth it.

 

[Missa Chickabee]

I saw on another thread that "Speckled Hen" knows about this issue.