Help Hen acting slugish i think she may have frostbite.

[andreanar]

Does she feel very thin? Feel her chest, keel bone is straight down the front of her chest going all the way down. Can you feel meat on both sides of this bone? Feel her belly, between her legs. Is it swollen or hard, smushy like a water balloon?

 

[Noah Porter Md]

i'll check

 

[Noah Porter Md]

There is no meat you could say on the keel bone that your talking about

I's it possible that she was bullied and starved?

 

[andreanar]

It could be, but I would think you notice her being VERY thin. Get her in a warm room, give some Nutri Drench, and electrolyte water, also try giving her some scrambled egg. This is the best advice I can give at this point.

 

[Noah Porter Md]

Ok thank you i think im going to see how shes like later and with a full belly. thank you for your help guys!

 

[HoopyFrood]

@Noah Porter Md Of course! Please give her all she wants to eat and drink and keep us updated.

A point of clarification, though: Andreanar was talking about breast meat on the sides of the keel, not over the bone itself. It's expected for the keel to bone to be just under the skin. I just wanted to be clear on that point

Lastly can you do this other check when convenient?

...Feel her belly, between her legs. Is it swollen or hard, smushy like a water balloon?

I have zero experience with internal laying, egg binding, ascites, or worms. Hopefully the more experienced folk can help walk us through this.

And to those more experienced folk: Would it be reasonable to say a healthy appetite would indicate we do not have crop issues here? Likewise if the poops are normal, can we say coccidiosis is not likely a culprit?

 

[Noah Porter Md]

No there isn't really any meat there at all, so that's why I think she was bullied and starved and acting without alot of energy.

 

[Chickens_4Life]

I have chickens and have seen them like this before. They were shivering and had their eyes closed. You could try moving her somewhere warmer, and see if she gets better. She might also be sick. Another thing is that chickens could kill another flock member if it has a disease, I think. Her nails look like they need clipping. If you would like to do it yourself, cut the nails so that she can walk normally. The farthest you can cut is up to the vein. Don't cut the vein. One last thing, if she had frostbite she would already be dead. I do hope that she really gets better!

 

[HoopyFrood]

No there isn't really any meat there at all, so that's why I think she was bullied and starved and acting without alot of energy.

Okay, good to know.

Please just keep feeding and watering and observing and let us know how it goes!

I don't think the toe is any item of big concern, by the way. When I said "internal bleeding" earlier I didn't mean it was continuing to bleed. I just meant it was injured and if you tried to straighten it or trim the nail, it might be painful to her and she might squirm. What ever it is it's not that serious. Just monitor it for infection.

 

[Eggcessive]

Since she had an empty crop ea rlier roday, I would think there is no crop problem. It may well be a pecking order problem, but chickens with reproductive problems may not eat enough. Symptoms vary with each hen with internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis, and may include loss of appetite, sleepiness, waddling, upright posture or preferring to sit or lie down, separating oneself, and usually not laying normal eggs. It is good that she is accepting food. I have multiple water and feed stations inside and outside my coop and run during daylight hours to let the meek ones get a chance.