Help my sick hen

[FlyingC]

Ya'll, this is one sick little hen. Her feathers are fluffed out, her comb is shriveled, and her feet look bloodshot. I could use some suggestions.

I brought her inside today because she is not eating or drinking, and its too cold to force feed a chicken in the coop. I got two ounce of water down her, and a tiny bit of food. Will have to repeat several times today.

IDK what's going on with her, its the second time she's been sick with diarrhea. It is almost all white, and has a sweet, rotted smell. Any ideas on what it might be?

I have her on corrid, and ordered a broad spectrum antibiotic. It won't be here for three days, hoping she survives long enough to take it.

The other issue is that in a few months, I'll have young pullets ready to go into the yard, and I'm concerned about having her in the flock if she is colonized with something that will make them all sick. I guess if she gets sick again before then she will have to be culled

 

[Sally PB]

Can you give us some more information? Like:
Have you checked for egg binding, if she hasn't laid recently?
What do you feed, including treats?
Has she been exposed to anything that might be poisonous (mold, spoiled food)?
Is she making any abnormal noises when she breathes?
Have you checked her crop?
Any more information on her poop would be helpful, as would a picture.

Tagging people to help.
@azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock

 

[coach723]

How old is she? Do you know when she last laid?
Her crop seems large in the picture, but it may be her posture making it look that way. Feel her crop and let us know if it's full, empty, hard, squishy, etc.
Her posture makes me think reproductive problem. Feel her abdomen, below vent and between legs for any bloat.

 

[rayrose]

Do you think she's egg bound? I'd give her some calcium and another antibiotic, until the one you ordered gets here. TS usually keeps them in stock.

 

[coach723]

If she's pooping then she isn't egg bound. It's possible she's having trouble laying a soft shelled or shell-less egg, those are hard to pass and can make them feel awful, if that's the case they hopefully the calcium will help. Calcium citrate +D is what I use. But answers to the questions already asked may help.

 

[FlyingC]

She is 18ish months old, has not been laying since she was sick with this about 3 months the ago. Her crop is empty and soft; all I could feel was a little bit of gravel. I irrigated it today and what came back out smelled bad.

All my hens eat are crumbles, scratch, meal worms, and the occasional veggie treat like peas or a chopped up cuke.

She has her neck pulled in, but it extends easily and she can turn her head, so I don't think she has wry neck.

She doesn't make any noise when breathing, No open mouth breathing. Eyes are clear no discharge.

I can't send a poop pic right now because I cleaned her all up this morning, and discarded all the bedding where I had her in the coop. She is in the house now in a large dog crate with fresh bedding. I can send a poop pic tonight when I get home from work. I will check her abdomen thoroughly when I get home as well.


Thank you so much for responding, I really appreciate it!

 

[FlyingC]

Do you think she's egg bound? I'd give her some calcium and another antibiotic, until the one you ordered gets here. TS usually keeps them in stock.

Which antibiotic? I didn't see any in the chicken section, just in the horse section.

 

[coach723]

Most commonly it would be amoxicillin, which is usually gotten as Fish-Mox, a fish antibiotic. Some tractor supplies may carry it, most of us get it online. Depending on what state you are in, you should be able to get that. Since she has not laid in 3 months, it seems more like a reproductive problem, though she is a bit young. Sick birds will stop laying also. If you can find the fish mox then dosing is usually 57mg per pound of bird weight twice a day (every 12 hours). Some reproductive problems do not respond very well to any treatment, so it just depends on what's going on. Amoxicillin is usually very well tolerated.

 

[Aunt Angus]

You can also get Baytril online without a prescription, but you'll have to wait got shipping.

I'm sorry she's so sick. She doesn't look well...

 

[FlyingC]

Yes, Baytril is what I ordered. Wont be here until Weds.