French black copper maran hen not laying eggs and passing undigested food

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

We are fairly new to chickens and haven’t had very many health problems, but we are stumped by the behavior that this 8 month old French black copper maran hen is exhibiting. She was our first pullet to start laying this year with beautiful dark chocolate brown eggs. Her eggs were beautiful on the outside, but when cracked the yolk was very pale. I thought maybe it would get better as she matured , but instead her eggs started coming fewer and farther between. The last one she laid was about 3 weeks ago and the shell was so thin that when I rubbed my thumb across it, the shell cracked. I dewormed her with Valbazen 5 or 6 weeks ago and gave her a dose of toltrazuril over a week ago. She is now very thin and only eating feed that has been soaked. She won’t eat dry food or scraps. She will eat plain yogurt and is still drinking some water. Her poop is awful, she isn’t digesting anything and all of her food passes through semi-whole. I am attaching pictures of her eggs and a picture of her poop. There are large grass pieces and grain in it. I don’t think she has a crop problem, but I could be wrong. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. I have put electrolytes in her water. She is in a coop with her best Orpington hen buddy who is healthy as a hen can be She just sits hunched in the corner of the coop run.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

Thank you for putting pics. That helps a lot!

@azygous @Wyorp Rock @R2elk @TheOddOneOut

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Crop is emptying overnight?
I would speculate that she has some type of reproductive disorder. Which one, hard to know unless you lose her and have a necropsy.

Enteritis comes to mind for some reason, but I could be way off, getting your vet to do some tests may reveal the right course of treatment. If that's not an option, then you can try an antibiotic to see if she improves. Amoxicillin would be a good choice.

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

Crop is emptying overnight?
I would speculate that she has some type of reproductive disorder. Which one, hard to know unless you lose her and have a necropsy.

Enteritis comes to mind for some reason, but I could be way off, getting your vet to do some tests may reveal the right course of treatment. If that's not an option, then you can try an antibiotic to see if she improves. Amoxicillin would be a good choice.

Thanks for your response I have penicillin g 300,000, what dosage should I give her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for your response I have penicillin g 300,000, what dosage should I give her?

Pen G dose is 100mg/kg injected into the breast muscle 1/4" deep for 4 days, alternating sides.

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

Pen G dose is 100mg/kg injected into the breast muscle 1/4" deep for 4 days, alternating sides.

Ok thanks! What could have caused enteritis if that is what it is? Also, I have checked her crop and it seems to be emptying over night. I also have grit and oyster shells with her.

 

[Happy Hill Farmstead]

Unfortunately she passed away last night. I am assuming that she had a digestion/intestinal problem from the beginning .

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear you lost her.

Getting a necropsy through your state lab will give you the best information about what was affecting her. If you still have the body, refrigerate it and call your lab. https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Alternatively, you could perform your own informal necropsy to see if there's anything obvious like liver disease, reproductive problems, etc. Sometimes you can tell, other times you are left with more questions. If you do this, you can share your photos here and we'll try to help you with what you see, no guarantees though.



You don't have to be as formal as this, I usually start with the abdomen/vent and move forward, but the video is fairly clear with anatomy and also has labels which is nice.