Gasping, sick hen

[mountaingirl196]

I came home yesterday to find one of my black sex-link hens soaking wet, staggering and gasping for air. It’s 30-degrees out, poor thing. It looked like she tried to get a drink of water and somehow fell in, she was about 10 feet from the water dish. Not sure how she could have managed it, she might also have been standing under an eave when a big sluff of wet slush came down.

I brought her in the house, dried her off, kicked out the cats so she could have some peace and quiet, and let her warm up and dry out. By evening she was warm and dry again, standing, but still very slow and occasionally gasping and shaking her head. Occasionally closing her eyes for a length of time. Comb flopped over. Pooped once. Poop looked normal.

I let her roost in the warm garage and checked her this am. No change and no poop. She has not pooped since the one time yesterday. Not at all interested in food or water.

I can’t help but think she must have aspirated some water during her adventure but don’t know why that would have her off her feed and not pooping.

Hen info: 3 y.o., member of a flock of 75, normal size/weight and feather quality, no signs of ill health in other flock members.

Ideas? Suggestions?

 

[mountaingirl196]

Update- just gave her some mealworms, figured if anything could tempt her into eating it’d be that. No dice. Not interested in water either.

 

[christwodog]

Does she like hard boiled egg? Mine go crazy for that. When my hen Kalani was recuperating from an illness, I got her some small crickets (live) from the pet store and that got her interested in eating again.

 

[mountaingirl196]

I’ll give it a try. Thanks.

 

[abitaman633]

Any other symptoms? Pupils changing/dilating? Shaking? Etc.

 

[casportpony]

Try placing her in a room or cage that's 80-85 degrees

 

[mountaingirl196]

Her pupils are normal sized, although she does on occasion close her lower eyelid for several seconds at a time. She is not shaking anything other than her head, and that only after a gasping episode.

I scrambled an egg and gave it to her with a splat of water, hoping she'd get some water into herself while eating. She gave it one peck and then went back to standing there.

I do have her confined in a plastic tub with a screen top and heating pad, just to keep her quiet (and to let the cats back in the house, it's cold out.)

 

[Eggcessive]

The cold and wet may have made her act the way she is doing, but she also may have been sick which caused her to be outside getting wet and cold.
Can she stand and walk around if you prompt her? As said prefiously, keep her warm, offer water, wet chicken feed, chopped egg, tuna, liver or other foods to tempt her. You can try to tube feed her if it is something temporary, but she will eventually need to eat and drink on her own to survive.
Check her crop to see if it is empty, full, firm or puffy. Feel of her breast bone or keel area for weight loss, feel of her lower belly for fullness, look her over for lice or mites or other problems that may have caused her illness. Egg laying disorders can be common in hens who are a few years old. Wet and cold conditions can bring out illness in compromised chickens. Hopefully, she will perk up with some TLC.

 

[mountaingirl196]

Thanks, all.

Keel and lower belly feel normal for hen of her age and breed, no evidence of weight loss. Crop is empty. Hard to tell re: mites/lice, I don't want to stress her out looking in her vent area, but others in her flock appear clear of them. I'll look again tonight when a flashlight would be effective.

She can stand and walk around if I let her out of the tub, she doesn't walk quickly but can get around easily. I just have her confined to keep her in with the heating pad and out of the way of the cats and Roomba.

 

[Eggcessive]

Keep us posted on how she gets along.