HELP! Polish hen acting suddenly lethargic, wings dropping, can’t stand, panting, and white diarrhea coming out of vent!

[Raeganmh02]

my 1 year old polish hen was fine this morning, but when I got home this evening and picked her up I noticed she was acting but lifeless. Her head would slowly start to drop. When I set her down she just sits, wings out, legs tucked in. She is panting and has completely white diarrhea coming from her vent. She has never active like this before. She had a be minor case of infectious Coryza this past winter but other than that I give them apple cider vinegar and oregano oil as a norm and her and her sister are super healthy. Could she have eaten something poisonous free ranging? Please help, I’m so worried and heart broken!

 

[Raeganmh02]

She is egg bound! That is official now. I noticed her squatting and saw the tip of an egg, but it went back in. I’ve got her in a warm bath. She is just acting so weak. She can hardly hold up her head and keeps her eyes closed.

 

[micstrachan]

Oh goodness, I’m sorry. Can you give her some calcium? If you have calcium citrate plus D3, crush it, mix it into an egg yolk and offer it. Or any other human calcium pill if you have it. Even tums. And keep the space she is in warm. I wouldn’t bathe her again if she’s that weak. Can you also lubricate her vent?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi. Sorry you are having difficulties. I believe I have heard the experts on here say you can put a pill like Tums or calcium right in her beak and she will swallow it, no need to mix with food. You want to get it into her ASAP. I believe it was @Eggcessive or possibly @aart or @Wyorp Rock that gave that advice, just within the last few days. I hope this helps, and now that I've tagged these folks hopefully they will come on soon and give more advice. Good luck with her!

 

[micstrachan]

Yes, you can put it right into her beak. I have administered a whole capsule many times. But the bird has to be awake for that. Sometimes I find it less stressful for the bird if they will eat it. Plus, with your girl being so weak, egg yolk would give her an energy boost. Or a drop of straight poultry vitamins.

 

[Raeganmh02]

Thank you all for you quick help! She was able to pass the egg after 10 minutes of soaking in warm water, it was a soft one with no shell. I am just thankful she got it out. I put her in a crate in the barn where it’s quite. She is holding up her head now and drank some water. She seems to be doing a little better, though she is still pretty weak. I do have oyster shells for calcium but I feared to force her to eat or drink anything. I actually posted a thread on this hen a few days ago after noticing how she struggled to lay her eggs. She has always taken awhile to lay and the egg seems to have trouble coming out as it sits half way out of her vent for many minutes sometimes before finally passing. Could she have some sort of laying issue genetically? For polish her and her sister do lay frequently, although the other hen does not have any laying difficulty’s.

 

[micstrachan]

Poor girl. I’d give her calcium citrate for a few days snd see if it gets her back in track. I have a California White (which is 3/4 Leghorn and 1/4 Barred Rock) who has been having trouble making egg shells for quite some time. I used to be able to treat her with calcium fit a few days and it would get her back maki h shells for a month or so. This went on for months. Then last summer, the calcium therapy stopped helping, and I learned a manganese deficiency can cause brittle eggs. So I shredded some zucchini from the garden and it seemed to help. For the past several weeks, however, she’s dropping soft eggs from the roost. I’m concerned about the affects of all the calcium therapy on her kidneys, so have be not been treating her. However, at the advice of an avian vet, put her on a 14-day course of enrofloxacin, since “egg shell issues are almost always caused by an E. Coli infection ascending from the vent” per the avian vet. This hen does seem to be feeling better, but is still not making egg shells. I may try another round d of calcium, and may get her a hormone implant to give her reproductive system a break.

My point is, I think your hen might need some help to overcome this problem. Egg shell formation is a delicate balance of calcium, phosphorous and vitamin D3. I’d start with the calcium.

 

[Raeganmh02]

Thank you so much for the good advice! I will find some calcium citrate and start giving her some. She is better this morning. She is still having trouble standing and walking...is this Normal? Perhaps her abdomen is just still very sore. I was also thinking about finding some way to give her reproductive system a break. She and her sister lay an egg every day, which I thought odd since they aren’t suppose to lay that much. Maybe I could put them on a non-layer pellet feed instead of Nature Wise 16% pellet feed. I will look into a hormone implant. I did not know chickens could get those. I’m willing to do what it takes though.

 

[Raeganmh02]

I have also noticed that she has not pooped yet. I am going to mix some probiotics and electrolytes with water and give it to her. I don’t understand why she is not pooping if she passed the egg.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If she is still trying to lay eggs, I would keep her on the layer feed. This is just my opinion, so let's see what others think. The layer feed does not make them lay, it only supports them while they are laying. So it provides the protein and calcium that laying hens need during their laying cycle. Think of it as prenatal vitamins for a pregnant woman. They won't make her pregnant, but they will provide what a pregnant woman needs so she won't be deficient in anything. Hope this helps.