HELP! Sick chicken

[duckluver110]

Hi, I recently purchased a hen at a bird swap. She got very sick. The first thing I noticed was that she wouldn't open her eyes and she seemed very quiet and would lie down and not move. The seller told me she was about 4-5 months and she seems okay weight. She is always very sleepy and puts her head down and sleeps. I only got her yesterday, and today she got worse. She now has a large swollen lump on her butt. (I attached an image) Sometimes she'll stand up straight weirdly and it looks like she's trying to poop? I've only had her for two days so I don't know how long this has been happening. I have her isolated from my other chickens. She has been eating and drinking normally without any problem. Her poop has been mostly diarrhea but since the lump developed it has been mostly pee. I have so far given her medicated strong eye drops in her eyes and her nose. I had a chicken before who was very sick and it seemed to help her. I would only like to treat her myself. The bedding she is in now is a box with cedar chips in a small cage. I hope this is enough information to help. I hope she can make it through.

 

[Loudawg11]

Looks like a bad one. Do you live somewhere where infections in chickens are common? Because if so your chicken could have caught a disease from another chicken at the place where you bought her from. I would call the person and ask about it. Also since you joined today,

 

[duckluver110]

Looks like a bad one. Do you live somewhere where infections in chickens are common? Because if so your chicken could have caught a disease from another chicken at the place where you bought her from. I would call the person and ask about it. Also since you joined today,

No, I have had all my chickens for about 4-5 years now and none of them have had a sickness this bad before. I have purchased many chickens from the swap before and all of them turned out awesome and I still have some of them now. I wish I could contact the man I bought her from but I never got his information.
Thank you! I have always browsed on this site and decided I needed to make an account to post about my girl. ): I really hope she gets better.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
I'm sorry to hear you bought a sick chicken.
That looks like a hernia or perhaps egg bound. Does the lump feel hard like there is an egg in it or softer, like it is a section of bowel. It's hard to see where the vent is in relation to the swelling, which would help to narrow it down to one or the other.
The best that I can suggest is to give her a warm Epsom salt bath and massage it and see if you can lubricate her and get it out if it feels like an egg or gently push it back into her abdominal cavity if it feels like bowel. A better photo showing the location of the vent in relation to the lump might help the diagnosis.

 

[Glenda Heywoodo]

Well in my opinion
the man sold her knowing she can't lay.
It looks like a stuck egg there.
Did you investigate her vent as that I what would have the stuck egg in?
I surely would remember the guy and never buy chickens from him again.
Sad people try to make a buck off people,
instead of disposing of sick chickens.
You will have to do some investigation literally to see what that obtrusion is all about.
come back and tell us about what you find.

 

[Eggcessive]

Does the area feel hard or soft or firm? She may have a hernia of her lower belly or possibly, ascites, a build up of fluid in her lower belly from heart or liver failure. This can also happen in egg yolk peritonitis. If the bulge is hard, it might be a stuck egg. Sometimes hens can have swollen pouches like this with internal laying or cysts, but I have only seen it in an older hen, around 2. I wish I could be of more help in identifying what exactly this is.

 

[duckluver110]

Hi
I'm sorry to hear you bought a sick chicken.
That looks like a hernia or perhaps egg bound. Does the lump feel hard like there is an egg in it or softer, like it is a section of bowel. It's hard to see where the vent is in relation to the swelling, which would help to narrow it down to one or the other.
The best that I can suggest is to give her a warm Epsom salt bath and massage it and see if you can lubricate her and get it out if it feels like an egg or gently push it back into her abdominal cavity if it feels like bowel. A better photo showing the location of the vent in relation to the lump might help the diagnosis.

Does the area feel hard or soft or firm? She may have a hernia of her lower belly or possibly, ascites, a build up of fluid in her lower belly from heart or liver failure. This can also happen in egg yolk peritonitis. If the bulge is hard, it might be a stuck egg. Sometimes hens can have swollen pouches like this with internal laying or cysts, but I have only seen it in an older hen, around 2. I wish I could be of more help in identifying what exactly this is.

Well in my opinion
the man sold her knowing she can't lay.
It looks like a stuck egg there.
Did you investigate her vent as that I what would have the stuck egg in?
I surely would remember the guy and never buy chickens from him again.
Sad people try to make a buck off people,
instead of disposing of sick chickens.
You will have to do some investigation literally to see what that obtrusion is all about.
come back and tell us about what you find.

Urgent!! I believe she is egg bound. I was sitting with her and the swelling looked like it went down. But then within 5 minutes, the swelling returned and was egg shaped. It is hard. She was straining and groaning. I tried pushing on it a little bit but it didn't help. I'm giving her a epsom salt bath right now to see if that helps. Anything else I can do? Could this be the source of her sickness?

 

[duckluver110]

Hi
I'm sorry to hear you bought a sick chicken.
That looks like a hernia or perhaps egg bound. Does the lump feel hard like there is an egg in it or softer, like it is a section of bowel. It's hard to see where the vent is in relation to the swelling, which would help to narrow it down to one or the other.
The best that I can suggest is to give her a warm Epsom salt bath and massage it and see if you can lubricate her and get it out if it feels like an egg or gently push it back into her abdominal cavity if it feels like bowel. A better photo showing the location of the vent in relation to the lump might help the diagnosis.

Here is a picture of the vent location. As you can see it is messy and backed up. The swelling is located all around. Is it an egg?

 

[rebrascora]

It is good news that it is an egg. A hernia would be a much more difficult thing to fix.
The warm water should help to relax her. The egg needs to come out so don't push it inwards. Get some lubricant and apply it around and into her vent and gently massage it being careful not to break the egg. Giving her a calcium supplement will help her to push it out... a half a Tums tablet if you have nothing else. Being egg bound will certainly make her ill and can kill her if she doesn't get it out or it breaks inside her and causes an infection.

 

[rebrascora]

Just seen your most recent post and photo. You need to clean up that vent and use a lubricated finger to help open it up for the (hopefully) egg to come out. If the swelling was below the vent, then it would be more likely be a hernia. The position of that suggests it is an egg. Be prepared for her to prolapse when it (hopefully) does come out. If she does prolapse, you need to clean her up again, apply haemorrhoid cream or honey and gently push the prolapse back inside and then keep her in a dark place for a few days, like a cardboard box to discourage further laying until she heals....

....But first you have to help her expel that egg.