Help! First time trying to diagnose a sick chicken (photos attached)

[LovelaceQueen]

Hello everyone!

I've always been a lurker, reading posts and gather information, but at the moment I'm stumped and worried I may or may not be doing the right things.

I have a 6mo. Australorp hen who we found on November 30th acting pretty unusual in the coop the other day. We brought her inside and gave her a small dog cage with some bedding, water, and feed, and monitored her.

At first I thought what I think is everyone's first guess when having chickens. Maybe she's egg bound? My thought on this increased as the day went on and I saw no droppings from her. So we did an epsom salt soak for about 30 minutes in some warm water, followed by a blow dry, and a light massage.

Then I got a poop. It was a thick, dark, green consistency. Not a lot of it. She had had little to no appetite at all that day, so I kept an eye on her, and decided to let her go to watch her walk around to see if she had "the waddle". And I got another poo. This time it was a thick, watery, mucus-y consistency, clear with some urates in it, and a few small, dark green droppings scattered about. Mucus-y poop... I got concerned and we prepped the Corid, incase we had Cocci.

Next day came and she was the same. A bit of an appetite, still drinking a lot, nothing else... Husband thought maybe sour crop, so we did the ol' heave ho, and nothing. Mostly water came up, but nothing else. At this point I am feeling guilty that we've put this poor hen through this much without feeling like we've solved the issue. So I put a bit of corid in her water, syringe fed a bit to her, and left her be for the day.

TODAY, we have a running behind. Thick, yellow, pasty droppings. I have one dropping that I did not take a picture of - but it was hard and flesh colored. Not sticky at all, but a very, very weird consistency. Now my brain is whirring and I'm like... Vent gleet? So to the store, again, and I pick up some yogurt and molasses incase we need to do a flush.

SO... I am lost, someone PLEASE help me out here. I have the follow symptoms:

- Lethargy
- Loss of appetite
- Little to no energy
- inconsistent droppings including diarrhea
- pasty behind

We have no signs of blood in the droppings. Feet are fine. No signs of Mareks. Breathing is normal, no other strange discharges from the mouth/nose/eyes, only the behind.

Any ideas? I'm also terribly sorry for the long post.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Hello everyone!

I've always been a lurker, reading posts and gather information, but at the moment I'm stumped and worried I may or may not be doing the right things.

I have a 6mo. Australorp hen who we found on November 30th acting pretty unusual in the coop the other day. We brought her inside and gave her a small dog cage with some bedding, water, and feed, and monitored her.

At first I thought what I think is everyone's first guess when having chickens. Maybe she's egg bound? My thought on this increased as the day went on and I saw no droppings from her. So we did an epsom salt soak for about 30 minutes in some warm water, followed by a blow dry, and a light massage.

Then I got a poop. It was a thick, dark, green consistency. Not a lot of it. She had had little to no appetite at all that day, so I kept an eye on her, and decided to let her go to watch her walk around to see if she had "the waddle". And I got another poo. This time it was a thick, watery, mucus-y consistency, clear with some urates in it, and a few small, dark green droppings scattered about. Mucus-y poop... I got concerned and we prepped the Corid, incase we had Cocci.

Next day came and she was the same. A bit of an appetite, still drinking a lot, nothing else... Husband thought maybe sour crop, so we did the ol' heave ho, and nothing. Mostly water came up, but nothing else. At this point I am feeling guilty that we've put this poor hen through this much without feeling like we've solved the issue. So I put a bit of corid in her water, syringe fed a bit to her, and left her be for the day.

TODAY, we have a running behind. Thick, yellow, pasty droppings. I have one dropping that I did not take a picture of - but it was hard and flesh colored. Not sticky at all, but a very, very weird consistency. Now my brain is whirring and I'm like... Vent gleet? So to the store, again, and I pick up some yogurt and molasses incase we need to do a flush.

SO... I am lost, someone PLEASE help me out here. I have the follow symptoms:

- Lethargy
- Loss of appetite
- Little to no energy
- inconsistent droppings including diarrhea
- pasty behind

We have no signs of blood in the droppings. Feet are fine. No signs of Mareks. Breathing is normal, no other strange discharges from the mouth/nose/eyes, only the behind.

Any ideas? I'm also terribly sorry for the long post.

Maybe Vent Gleet?

@Wyorp Rock
@Eggcessive
@azygous

 

[Eggcessive]

It aounds possibly like she has a reproductive infection or disorder. The yellow droppings can be bile from ascites or liver problems, or broken eggs, and the flesh colored solid thing sounds like a possible lash egg. Is her lower belly enlarged, spongy or tight compared to others? Here is an article about salpingitis and lash eggs to see if that is what you saw:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

 

[LovelaceQueen]

It aounds possibly like she has a reproductive infection or disorder. The yellow droppings can be bile from ascites or liver problems, or broken eggs, and the flesh colored solid thing sounds like a possible lash egg. Is her lower belly enlarged, spongy or tight compared to others? Here is an article about salpingitis and lash eggs to see if that is what you saw:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

Compared to the rest of my hens, everything feels and seems normal. The lump I found was probably the size of the tip of a nickel, not very large, but I'm also not sure how large or small a lash egg may be.

If she does have vent gleet, can it cause these issues? I've done a little bit of research of Salpingitis, and it doesn't look good, so I'm trying to be positive and hope it's not this. Thank you for the information though, it's definitely something to keep in mind.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Without seeing the flesh colored thing, I would agree with @Eggcessive it does sound like lash material that you saw. If she passes anymore, try to get a photo of it.

You mention she's drinking a lot, I would re-check her crop first thing in the morning to make sure it's emptying. Crop issues often go hand in hand with reproductive disorders, so staying on top of that will make her more comfortable anyway.

 

[LovelaceQueen]

Without seeing the flesh colored thing, I would agree with @Eggcessive it does sound like lash material that you saw. If she passes anymore, try to get a photo of it.

You mention she's drinking a lot, I would re-check her crop first thing in the morning to make sure it's emptying. Crop issues often go hand in hand with reproductive disorders, so staying on top of that will make her more comfortable anyway.

We checked her crop the following morning after the first night in there. She had access to feed and water all night, so it was not entirely empty, but mostly empty. No significant squashiness, and no odor or smell from her beak.

 

[ackie]

I'm also terribly sorry for the long post.

Long posts are preferred! The more information you give, the faster you'll get advice and itll be more precise with less guesswork.