Foreign object?

[Dotty]

I have a 3 yr old EE hen who was found sitting/lying on the floor in the coop. (We've since moved her to the sick ward.) Her crop feels empty but I'm afraid she may have something stuck in her throat. She's alert, clear eyes & nose, no respiratory difficulties. Vent looks fine, other than the fact that she's pooping where she sits, so she's dirty. She'll eat and drink if we hand feed her, but she won't get up. When she does eat/drink, she lays her head down, and sticks out her neck on the coop floor. I'm afraid she may be getting dehydrated - her comb & wattles seem a little bit drier than normal. Help? Any ideas?

If there is something lodged in her esophagus, is there anything that can be done?

 

[sammi]

can you use a flashlight and look in her throat?
feel the neck for any lump...

could she have got into any rotten food, compost pile, dead rodent?
any motor oils, lawn/garden chemicals? any poisons?

what all do you feed?
do you give oyster shell?

when did she last lay an egg?
could she be egg bound?

describe her droppings..color and consistency..
has she been wormed?

will she walk if standing on her legs?
are her toes curled?
is she unable to walk? or could she be injured?
check her legs/back/hip area for any heat or swelling..
also check bottoms of feet for any sores, or scabs..
check for raised leg scales or any scaliness, or bumps.

get some Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand no iron..give 3 drops on beak, once a day for a week, then taper off for a week..in the meantime, try and get some poultry vitamins.
make up a mixture of layer feed, water cooked oatmeal, plain yogurt, cooked egg yolk..about 3 tablespoons..give 3 times a day.

hand feed and water by hand if necessary.
give water by drops on beak to make sure she is getting water..
keep food and water close by where she can get it..

hope she'll be ok.

others might have suggestions.

 

[sammi]

in case she might be egg bound..set her on a warmed towel in a dim quiet place..

 

[Dotty]

Thanks so much for responding, Sammi. I'm really inexperienced with sick chickens, so I appreciate your help in figuring out what's wrong.

can you use a flashlight and look in her throat?
feel the neck for any lump...

her throat looks clear to me, no lumps.

could she have got into any rotten food, compost pile, dead rodent?
any motor oils, lawn/garden chemicals? any poisons?

we have a chicken coop & run, with no access to the yard, compost or any chemicals. It's been dry and hot here, so their bedding isn't molding or rotting. (We use pine shavings, and there's a little bit of straw out there.) We try to keep all rodents and wild birds out of there, but there was a starling family nesting in the roof until a couple of weeks ago.

what all do you feed?
do you give oyster shell?

No oyster shell, just all purpose pellets or layer feed. We backed off on the layer feed earlier in the season because we have some young pullets in the flock. Treats are scratch grains, occasional yogurt or cottage cheese.

when did she last lay an egg?
could she be egg bound?

It's been four days since she's laid an egg. I considered that she might be egg bound, but I don't feel any mass in that area, no swelling of the vent, no mucous, no passing egg shell or yolk (that I know of, or that I was able to see.) When we found her, she was sitting on the floor, away from the nest boxes.

describe her droppings..color and consistency..
has she been wormed?

No on the worming. Droppings look firm, brown, a little bit harder than normal to me, but that might be from dehydration. We found her in the coop, far from the feed/water station, and I don't know how long she was there without water.

will she walk if standing on her legs? are her toes curled?
is she unable to walk? or could she be injured?
check her legs/back/hip area for any heat or swelling..
also check bottoms of feet for any sores, or scabs..
check for raised leg scales or any scaliness, or bumps.

She won't walk or stand at all. Actually, her legs are seeming more floppy today and yes, her toes are curled. I didn't feel any heat or swelling on her legs/hips, no sores or scaliness, nothing that looks unusual. She flapped her wings today, as if she were going to get up, but she didn't stand.

get some Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand no iron..give 3 drops on beak, once a day for a week, then taper off for a week..in the meantime, try and get some poultry vitamins.
make up a mixture of layer feed, water cooked oatmeal, plain yogurt, cooked egg yolk..about 3 tablespoons..give 3 times a day.

hand feed and water by hand if necessary.
give water by drops on beak to make sure she is getting water..
keep food and water close by where she can get it..

hope she'll be ok.


We're not giving vitamins, so I'll do that right away, thanks for the suggestion. We gave her water by syringe (into her beak) all day yesterday, and today she's drinking on her own. We're still hand feeding her and she'll peck on the ground for food. Yesterday, she wasn't eating or drinking at all, and sticking her neck out on the floor like that, which made me think something was in her throat. Today I'm suspicious that it might be something else, but I'm at a loss as to what.

We've only had chickens for a few years and this is our first experience with illness/injury. No avian vet in the area but I have a good lead on one in the next state, although they won't be open until tomorrow of course. I asked around at the local fair yesterday and got many different opinions, and just about everyone recommended cullling. This is so frustrating, not knowing what she has, or what to do for her. She's our oldest, and one of our favorites.

 

[Dotty]

One more thing I just remembered... she recently lost her beard & muffs, but I thought it was due to molting. Could that have anything to do with what's wrong now?