Help! Hen is still sick and I’m out of ideas!

[Tookie]

Would a crushed up Tums work? It’s what I have on hand and could give her right away

That'll work!

 

[Lbittner]

That'll work!

Great! I will give her that and not worry about putting Vaseline on a chicken.
Could this all be caused by a crop issue? The lump I’m feeling I think is too far down to be her crop but I’m not exactly sure where that part of her body is located. This is why I’m thinking egg.

 

[Tookie]

Great! I will give her that and not worry about putting Vaseline on a chicken.

Sounds good!

Could this all be caused by a crop issue? The lump I’m feeling I think is too far down to be her crop but I’m not exactly sure where that part of her body is located. This is why I’m thinking egg.

I doubt this is all from a crop issue.
The lump is where you're pointing in the picture correct?

 

[Lbittner]

Sounds good!

I doubt this is all from a crop issue.
The lump is where you're pointing in the picture correct?

Correct

 

[Sussex19]

From your description and the photos, I think something reproductive would be the most likely cause.
It could be cancer, or an infection.
Sadly, almost always untreatable. I'm wondering if an antibiotic could help @Wyorp Rock might have a better idea.
The calcium can't hurt.
But you might have do think about her quality of life, and whether it might be better for her to put her down.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She was barely moving, walking like a penguin. So I brought her inside and gave her an epsom salt soak. No egg. Then noticed she has horrible smelling poops and keeps getting it all over her butt.

It's been too long for her to be eggbound, she would've passed away by now.
Does she have bloating in between the legs underneath the vent?
When was her last egg that you know of?
She probably has a reproduction issue going on.

I'd get some calcium citrate +D3 and give her one tablet once a day. It'll help her expel an egg or shell-less egg if that's the problem, but I don't think it is. Give it just incase though.

Good suggestions from @Tookie

I'd work on getting the Calcium into her, see that she's eating/drinking well.

 

[Lbittner]

I just found a different hen dead in the run. She was stretched out on her stomach. She was acting fine yesterday. She also had some blood on her lower abdomen but I believe one of the girls started pecking at her. Am I in big trouble here with one hen ill and another that appears to have just dropped dead?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is the one in this thread getting any better?

I'm sorry that you lost another one.
Hard to know if it's related or just one of those things that happen.

You mention the one that died had blood on the lower abdomen - was this at the vent lower like between the legs?
Could she have been attacked by a predator?

 

[Lbittner]

Is the one in this thread getting any better?

I'm sorry that you lost another one.
Hard to know if it's related or just one of those things that happen.

You mention the one that died had blood on the lower abdomen - was this at the vent lower like between the legs?
Could she have been attacked by a predator?

The hen in the thread is doing slightly better. Based on what everyone has said and everything I have read, it doesn't sound like she is contagious, so I let her go back with her flock today. I'm trying Monistat orally just because it's the last thing I haven't tried, she is on day two with that treatment. I saw her walking around and scratching in leaves today.

Where the blood was on the deceased hen is a little hard to tell because she was so stretched out. Almost like a rubber chicken, if that makes sense. The blood was more so between her legs in that position. I'm wondering if she died and then one of the other hens started pecking at her. This hen also has a history of laying eggs with very thin or weak shells. She was on a layer feed that contained extra calcium and given oyster shell. So I'm wondering if an egg broke inside of her and didn't cause her to walk differently??

Our coop was made with predators in mind. We have hardwire cloth on the entire run, vents, and window. We also have in running under ground.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Have you given the one the thread was originally about Extra Calcium as suggested?
The way she stands in the photo reminds me of hens that are having trouble expelling an egg or other material like lash. Sometimes they can have laid internally and also stand like that for a while until they start to feel a bit better.
Monistat is used to treat sour crop which can often accompany reproductive problems dues to inflammation in the body which slows the whole system down.

The only way to really know why a hen has died is to examine further through necropsy. Each state has a lab that will perform the service. Depending on where you live it may be a nominal cost, but some states are expensive. If you lose another in a short period of time, refrigerate the body and have the lab give you a diagnosis.
Alternatively, doing your own informal necropsy sometimes may reveal something obvious like cancer, a reproductive problem, stuck egg, etc.