Help!! Is my chicken sick???!!

[Ilovefarming]

Hey,
My yellow mix breed hen Sunny, has been acting strange all morning. I did not know until around 8:30ish, when someone told me that she looked really bad. She would not eat or drink. Her eyes look dull and glazed over. She acts hypnotized, and her posture is awful. Her tail is slumped over almost to the ground, and she acts very sad and depressed. I was outside with her for 5 hours this morning, trying to get her to eat and drink, and I finally got her to drink some water, eat some dandelion leaves, and eat a little laying mash. But she won't eat or drink by herself. All that she has eaten, I have given to her out of my hand. She acts very strange, will not interact with the flock, and lays in the shade for hours with her eyes closed. When she walks, (which she only did twice at a very short distance today,) she walks very slow and almost painfully, dragging her feet. She is usually a very wild and frisky hen, and does not like to be held by anyone. But she laid in my lap for 45 minutes today this morning, with her eyes closed, acting very weak. When she was well, she hardly EVER sat down, only to soak up a bit of sunshine on the grass for a minute. This is not my normal Sunny. I do know my coop was messy for a couple of days, do you think that could have something to do with it? My other 10 chickens act totaly fine. Do you think she is dying?


Thanks so much!!!

 

[Ilovefarming]

The other members of the flock are happily scratching in the woods, and she isolated herself in a dark corner under my trailer... she definetly acts more alert and looks better..

 

[toynutz]

If she's isolating herself, she is not feeling well. How old is she? Is she laying? What color is her comb? What does her poop look like? Is she breathing okay? If she gets worse, you might want to bring her inside and get some vitamin and electrolite water in her and maybe some scrambled egg for extra protein. Definitely keep an eye on her for a while.

 

[Toddrick]

be prepared for the worst. My hen did almost the same thing one day, and was dead within hours. If I had it to do all over again, I'd have taken her inside, pumped electrolytes into her crop through a tube and monitored her closely. Chances are it wouldn't have helped, but at least I would've felt like I did my best.

 

[Ilovefarming]

Her comb used to be bright red and beautiful, but it is becoming paler. It is not shrinking. Last time I saw her poop it was white and runny. Like lyquid. She was inside the coop laying an egg for about half an hour today.... have not checked to see it yet. I gave her electrolytes in water. She drank half a cup. She is a full grown hen, maybe three and a half years old. A very good layer. Her breathing kinda sounded noisy when I was holding her just then... l do not think she is having trouble or anything. Thanks so much for your help!!! She acts a lot better, but she still acts like she is feeling bad, stays away from the flock, she clucks a little when she sees me, and walks a little faster. She even tried to get away from me twice....

If she's isolating herself, she is not feeling well. How old is she? Is she laying? What color is her comb? What does her poop look like? Is she breathing okay? If she gets worse, you might want to bring her inside and get some vitamin and electrolite water in her and maybe some scrambled egg for extra protein. Definitely keep an eye on her for a while.

 

[Ilovefarming]

Should I go ahead and give her scrambled eggs? She doesn't act like she wants to eat, tho, and her crop is less than halfway full and is squishy. Bad sighn?

 

[toynutz]

You might want to wait on giving her food now. It could be a crop problem, but if she just drank a bunch of water, that could explain the full squishy feeling. See if her crop empties overnight... if it does, then give her a nice scrambled egg breakfast in the morning.

 

[Ilovefarming]

Thanks so much!! So, what is this sickness called, do you know? What caused it, or what could I have done to prevent it?

Thanks, I appreciate it!!

 

[toynutz]

Impacted crop is when the crop doesn't empty properly for some reason... long grasses are a common cause, they can get balled up and stuck in the crop. Sour crop can develop from an impacted crop... the food sits and rots in the crop. Her crop should empty overnight and should not feel full or squishy in the morning. You can search for more details and cures if that's what it turns out to be. Let us know how she's doing.

 

[Ilovefarming]

GOOD NEWS!!!!!

Sunny has fully recovered this morning. Her crop was empty, she was her frisky, mishchiecousus old self, and she is outside devouring a delicious gourmet egg and yogurt breakfast. Special thanks to toynutz for everlasting answers to my everlasting questions!!

Thank you,
Ilovefarming