HELP!!! Hen is Limping and breathing with mouth open

[froggyphore]

Idk how to help her

unfortunately you need a diagnosis of whats going on to be able to treat her, her symptoms are kind of vague so it can’t be narrowed down to something with a clear treatment plan like ascites or eggbinding. for now just do your best to treat her symptoms to reduce her suffering and see if she improves. i hope she starts perking up soon

 

[Annalyse]

yep thats fine! wrap her in an old towel and offer her some high value treats and water.

She's nice and warm up. Wha kin of high-value treats? we caught her eating a little bit but water is still an issue with her. She seems to be just sitting on the floor of the cage. Were still on and off trying to figure out if we should take her to the vet or wait and see if shell start drinking.

 

[froggyphore]

She's nice and warm up. Wha kin of high-value treats? we caught her eating a little bit but water is still an issue with her. She seems to be just sitting on the floor of the cage. Were still on and off trying to figure out if we should take her to the vet or wait and see if shell start drinking.

what ever she likes most, basically. when my hen was egg bound i fed her cherries, mealworms and black sunflower seeds. fruit will help hydrate her. maybe see if she’ll eat some corn based food (warms them up)

i can’t really say since i’m not seeing her on a day to day basis like you are but since she was lethargic and lame, had a squishy abdomen with atypical poop and is still refusing water and food, i think its a good idea to take her in. it could just end up being that shes a dramatic molter but you could also find a time sensitive health issue. some people would rather have their hens pass naturally with the flock than interfere, so its really up to you how you want to treat her, but if you can afford to and want to do all you can (which it definitely seems you do based off this thread) its a good idea to get her checked out. the other thing is that an apparent recovery doesn’t equal healthy, sometimes they’ll seem recovered and do fine for months and then suddenly pass away because the actual issue causing the symptoms was still there.

 

[Annalyse]

what ever she likes most, basically. when my hen was egg bound i fed her cherries, mealworms and black sunflower seeds. fruit will help hydrate her. maybe see if she’ll eat some corn based food (warms them up)

i can’t really say since i’m not seeing her on a day to day basis like you are but since she was lethargic and lame, had a squishy abdomen with atypical poop and is still refusing water and food, i think its a good idea to take her in. it could just end up being that shes a dramatic molter but you could also find a time sensitive health issue. some people would rather have their hens pass naturally with the flock than interfere, so its really up to you how you want to treat her, but if you can afford to and want to do all you can (which it definitely seems you do based off this thread) its a good idea to get her checked out. the other thing is that an apparent recovery doesn’t equal healthy, sometimes they’ll seem recovered and do fine for months and then suddenly pass away because the actual issue causing the symptoms was still there.

Thank you. What kind of fruits could I give her and what are corn based foods?

 

[froggyphore]

Thank you. What kind of fruits could I give her and what are corn based foods?

any fruit that isn’t toxic to chickens really, apples, berries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, and squash are all good. offer her a little piece of what ever chicken-safe fruit you have to see if she likes it. corn based would be cracked corn, chicken feed that has corn as a main ingredient, corn on the cob.

 

[Annalyse]

any fruit that isn’t toxic to chickens really, apples, berries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, and squash are all good. offer her a little piece of what ever chicken-safe fruit you have to see if she likes it. corn based would be cracked corn, chicken feed that has corn as a main ingredient, corn on the cob.

I have some cut cantaloupe can she eat the seeds?

 

[froggyphore]

I have some cut cantaloupe can she eat the seeds?

sorry for the late response. the seeds are safe

 

[Annalyse]

Gave her some cantaloupe this morning checked her crop. I can feel a peice of cantaloupe in her crop just one. Like her crop is empty until u hit the little piece of cantaloupe. Is that good or bad? Shes been eating but why isnt her crop getting full? Still not drinking. She keeps stretching her neck and opening her mouth like a yawn. But it's sometimes normal for them to do that. Is this a crop issue?

 

[Annalyse]

I put her back out bc it was warmer but today it's raining so idk how shell do. She has no feathers under her wings. And my BO keeps packing her in the bald areas so can I get her a chicken saddle? To cover up with maybe itll keep her warm as well.

 

[Annalyse]

She seems to be getting better. She isn't hiding from the flock. Her crop is semi-full it's still soft and squishy but you can kind of feel food in there. barely. She still doesn't seem to be drinking. Could her molting be the reason she's not eating/drinking?