Help with my hen

[JCunha]

I'm new here! Having a serious issue with our hen. Ok, long story...
Our hen is 3, she's an Australorp. She's always been healthy and a great layer. About 6 weeks ago she went broody (first time) and stopped eating and drinking. I locked her out of the coop and she started getting picked on by another of our hens. She's been in a tailspin since. After three weeks she stopped the broody behavior but never really went back to eating. She would eat here and there but mostly she slept all day. She seemed to get weaker daily. Last Sunday she stopped eating altogether and I thought she wasnt going to live to see the next morning. She did! So I decided to see if I could get her feeling better. Her comb/wattles was light pink with some purple in it. I fed her mash with yogurt and egg yolk. Water with electrolytes, all she does is sleep. I noticed Wednesday her head kept turning and I thought she might be getting wry neck. If I hold her head she will instantly fall asleep. I just noticed that it seems she has a continuous rythmic muscle spasm in her neck. I'm guessing that's why she's so tired. Can anyone help here?!

 

[azygous]

She's dying of starvation is my guess. After all those weeks of being broody, she's now too weak to eat and likely dehydrated, as well. Normally, a broody will sit on eggs for 21 days, getting off once or twice a day to poop, drink and eat. She will also attend to her feather hygiene by dirt bathing. It's a set routine, and most survive the three week incubation just fine.

By trying to outsmart her, she didn't settle into a regular routine as normal broodies would. This is why we break a broody that isn't going to be hatching eggs. A broody cage accomplishes this in usually no more than three days. It's a practice that preserves the health of the hen, and she's back to normal soon after.

Now, you are faced with trying to save this hen from starvation, if I'm right in my guess. You will need to immediately boost her glucose with sugar water and vitamins. Poultry Nutri-drench is designed for this. It will get into her blood stream immediately without needing to go through the digestive tract and liver. I suggest, if she cannot drink on her own, to syringe the fluids directly into her crop two ounces every hour. See the photo attached to know where to put the syringe to avoid getting fluid into her airway which is the hole in the center of thr throat.

This may boost her energy level enough that she will then eat. If she doesn't you will need to tube feed her if you don't want her to die. But begin with the sugar water first, and let's see how she is tomorrow. But do that right away. She could be dead by morning if you wait that long.

 

[JCunha]

She's dying of starvation is my guess. After all those weeks of being broody, she's now too weak to eat and likely dehydrated, as well. Normally, a broody will sit on eggs for 21 days, getting off once or twice a day to poop, drink and eat. She will also attend to her feather hygiene by dirt bathing. It's a set routine, and most survive the three week incubation just fine.

By trying to outsmart her, she didn't settle into a regular routine as normal broodies would. This is why we break a broody that isn't going to be hatching eggs. A broody cage accomplishes this in usually no more than three days. It's a practice that preserves the health of the hen, and she's back to normal soon after.

Now, you are faced with trying to save this hen from starvation, if I'm right in my guess. You will need to immediately boost her glucose with sugar water and vitamins. Poultry Nutri-drench is designed for this. It will get into her blood stream immediately without needing to go through the digestive tract and liver. I suggest, if she cannot drink on her own, to syringe the fluids directly into her crop two ounces every hour. See the photo attached to know where to put the syringe to avoid getting fluid into her airway which is the hole in the center of thr throat.

This may boost her energy level enough that she will then eat. If she doesn't you will need to tube feed her if you don't want her to die. But begin with the sugar water first, and let's see how she is tomorrow. But do that right away. She could be dead by morning if you wait that long.View attachment 2359206

Thank you for this info! I've been giving her mash/water via syringe for the last week, today I've started to give her softened crumble mixed with egg yolk and some yogurt. I don't think she's starving as she's been pooping quite a lot. Most of it has been diarrhea/soft stool, some semi normal. I massage her crop to make sure it's emptying every morning. I was giving her an oz of the mash every three hours, I've cut back to every 4 hours with more solids.

 

[azygous]

If you're certain she isn't starving, then she could have a bacterial infection. The sleepiness is one symptom of that. We would benefit from seeing a photo of her poop and a photo of your hen, as well. It might tell us something.

It might be wise to start her on an oral antibiotic if you can find one. A leftover prescription you may have on hand would do in a pinch. Feed stores usually sell a selection, as do pet stores. You can get fish mox from an aquarium store. She should have 250mg per day for ten days.