HELP! Sick Chicken possibly eggbound - UPDATED

[Chasley]

I have a 2-3 year old Araucana hen who isnt doing too well.

symptoms:

loss of balance
difficulty walking
does not keep wings tight to body
eyes not fully open
mouth does not fully close
diffculty drinking, water dribbles a bit, but she can swallow and has been drinking, no eating yet


thoughts:

my girlfriend say that she had thrown up a liquidy green susbstance. my first thought was that she had eaten oleanders - our yard is surrounded by them. but, she has been with us in this house for over 2 months. no problems with the oleanders.

maybe a bug sting/bite? most of the day today the girls were rummaging under the oleander bushes where all the bigs are. could she have gotten stung by something? a scorpion has never been seen here.

i checked here crop and all felt normal. i also looked down her throat/airway and did not see anything. also felt the throat - nothing out of the ordinary.

shes pooping like crazy but i think thats mostly from the stress of us inspecting her. normal looking poos, maybe a little watery.


please help, does this sound like anything? not a chicken expert here. need a little advice.

thanks guys

Chasley

 

[ranchhand]

Hi, you're not being ignored, just waiting on the pros from BYC. It's something I don't know about but someone will. Most everyone is between work and home right now. If it's possible, go ahead and isolate her from any others, just in case.

You have provided good info, but also tell where you are. If you have oleanders, it's somewhere southeast?

Welcome to BYC, you're in the right place!

 

[chickenannie]

She is definitely sick. Could she have gotten into rat poison or something? Could she have eaten bedding?

Is it sudden, or over a long period of time?

Do you supply her with grit? Maybe she has an obstructed crop -- check and see if the Crop is impacted -- I think if it's very hard and large it's a sign. If the crop is soft and squishy, then its fine. But IF that's the problem, I think people on here have suggestions for how to improve it.

I'm trying to help bump this up again.

 

[DuckLady]

How does her crop feel? hard and rigid? soft and squishy? It sounds like maybe she ate something that is clogging her crop.

How does her breastbone feel?

You can do a search for sour crop in this section for some answers.

Also see here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3569
for a questionairre to help us help you.

 

[Chasley]

thanks for responding everyone. i did feel her crop and it is normal. i dont use any kind of pesticides so we can rule that out. she seems to be walking a little better now and is eating.

i dont provide grit, i though that since they are all free range they could easily get enough from scratching in the dirt. she does have the little pebbles/grit in her crop.

im in phoenix, AZ.

she could have eaten bedding, but i dont think she was in the nest box today. she was the only girl that didnt lay - and she's and every-dayer.

im going to keep a close eye on her and see how she does through the night. any other hints before i turn out the lights on them for the night?

thanks again all, this place is very helpful.

C

 

[Chasley]

hi guys,

she seems to be going in cycles. when we first found her this afternoon, she wasnt looking good at all, basically she looked like she was half an hour away from death. then, miraculously she's up and walking around and eating and drinking. doing everything a chicken should do. she even went back and got on the roost as normal. i went out and checked again and she was back on the floor unable to stand and had no balance again. this time she was panting pretty hard and was VERY warm. her feet were hot and she was breathing fire. still pooping like crazy, looks fine just a little runny. couldnt take down much water, had to be hand watered and she still wasnt terribly interested.

dont know what to do. all the other giurls seem fine. im still thinking a bug bite/sting. if thatis the case, how long should something like that be expected to last given she makes it through??

thanks for the help

C

 

[Chasley]

Im now thinking that shes eggbound. she was the only one that didnt lay today. she has layed everyday for the last 2 weeks. i think i might be able to feel an egg in her belly but im not sure. i just dont know enough. it feels like it could be an egg but i cant feel much more than the first 1/4 of it so i dont know if its round.

i've read alot of the info on her and eggbound hens, i think i might try the warm water bath. i dont know if i should try to feel inside her vent first though. i dont think i would be able to feel that farm down if what im feeling is an egg.

can the distress of being eggbound progress that quickly? she was fine this morning and early afternoon when she usually lays and then all of a sudden, boom - very sick chicken.

help.

thanks

 

[chickenannie]

I think being eggbound can have those signs. I'm not familiar with treating it, but I know there's tons of info on here if you search "eggbound". Based on what you said about her trying to lay an egg and then being sick again, it might be egg trouble. It's not that uncommon. I know they strain and strain and walk funny if their egg is stuck. Anyone else know how to treat this?

 

[chickenannie]

How is your chicken?

 

[Chasley]

hello all, thanks for all your help with this. our little girl has pull through!!!! she passed her egg this afternoon and was delighted to tell the world about it - i think she squawked for half an hour. she seems to be doing fine now. doing all the normal chicken things. she is still a little tired but im sure a night sleep will put her back in the saddle again. thanks again all. this place rocks!!!