Hen acting strange/confused

[3speckled3]

When I went out to feed my chickens I noticed one of them did not run up to get food. I found her standing alone in the yard as if she was confused or dazed. She was standing in one place, slightly poofed up, and her head was bobbing around back and forth and her eyes kept closing as if she was dozing off before jerking them back open. Along with that, she occasionally stumbled as though she'd lost her balance. I gently picked her up and moved her into the bottom of the coop so she wouldn't just be standing in the yard, and she immediately laid down for a little over 10 minutes before she stood up and left the coop just to stand in one spot again. At first I thought she wasn't interested in eating, but it appears she unable. She can peck a few pieces before she loses coordination and has to catch her balance again. Then she waits a little bit before trying to eat again.

I've never seen anything like this before. She was completely fine before. Does anybody know what this is or how to fix it?

She does have a few mild frostbite spots after it became unexpectedly cold after a thunderstorm.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you offer her some electrolytes or Gatorade at room temperature? How does her crop feel? It looks a bit full in the picture, but hard to tell with a lot of poof. Is she overweight? How old is she, and has she laid eggs recently? What do her poops look like?

 

[3speckled3]

Can you offer her some electrolytes or Gatorade at room temperature? How does her crop feel? It looks a bit full in the picture, but hard to tell with a lot of poof. Is she overweight? How old is she, and has she laid eggs recently? What do her poops look like?

I use the Durvet vitamins and electrolytes in their water. Is that enough or should I try some pedialyte? She is a little over a year old. I was missing an egg in the nesting boxes yesterday, so that could possibly be her. And her crop does feel a bit firm. Do you think she could be egg bound? I didn't consider that option because I've never heard of it causing unsteadiness and confusion.

 

[Eggcessive]

The Durvet vitamins with electrolytes are fine to use. Is her tail position up or down? You can check for egg binding by inserting a clean finger into her vent about 2 inches to feel for an egg or obstruction. What do her poops look like? Pictures are welcome. Is she keeping her eyes closed a lot? If she has not eaten or drunk anything today, the crop should be empty. I would offer some chilled solid coconut oil (about a tsp) cut into small pieces and offer them to her. Massage her crop several times today, and feel her crop tomorrow am after she goes 10-12 hours without food and water. It is routine to check the skin for lice or mites, and note if her lower belly is enlarged or fuller than other’s.

 

[3speckled3]

The Durvet vitamins with electrolytes are fine to use. Is her tail position up or down? You can check for egg binding by inserting a clean finger into her vent about 2 inches to feel for an egg or obstruction. What do her poops look like? Pictures are welcome. Is she keeping her eyes closed a lot? If she has not eaten or drunk anything today, the crop should be empty. I would offer some chilled solid coconut oil (about a tsp) cut into small pieces and offer them to her. Massage her crop several times today, and feel her crop tomorrow am after she goes 10-12 hours without food and water. It is routine to check the skin for lice or mites, and note if her lower belly is enlarged or fuller than other’s.

I just got home from work so I haven't had the chance to feel for an egg yet, but I'm doubting that's what this is. When I went to check on her, I noticed another one of the hens hiding away from the rest with her tail downwards, also appearing weak (attached photo). I'm now afraid that this is contagious.

I did notice the first hens rear side being very messy when I checked on her, and this pile of poo (photo) was under her.

I have nowhere to isolate the two of them as my only open pen is being used up right now. Is there anyway I can keep this from spreading if I don't know what the cause is?

 

[Eggcessive]

I would continue to check crops to see if they are emptying overnight. What does the other hen’s crop feel like now? Will they eat scrambled egg or moistened chicken feed? Have you wormed them recently? Since they are more comfortable with their flocks, and I would try to get them back soon.

 

[Killyhawker]

It’s always good to isolate when you are not sure. It also remove them from the stress of any other chickens and then you can zero in on treatment and symptoms. Like yesterday, one of my light Brahma hens was just wandering around after sunset/dusk after all the chickens had gone in. That’s unusual. Today, she was doing the same thing and seemed kind of lethargic but alert if that makes any sense… But she definitely had some diarrhea. She has not laid an egg for two days, but that’s not life-changing. Her feet seemed a little puffy, but not like AI symptoms. It could be that she ate something weird, but I’m going to keep her alone for a couple of days.

That’s why it’s good to know your chickens. She’s always sticking with the chicken that she was raised with, but not for the past two days. I think she will be OK. Tonight when I get a chance, I’m going to clean up her feet a little bit better and maybe trim her “nails”. One of them is like a freaking samurai sword

GOOD LUCK GWEN!

 

[3speckled3]

I would continue to check crops to see if they are emptying overnight. What does the other hen’s crop feel like now? Will they eat scrambled egg or moistened chicken feed? Have you wormed them recently? Since they are more comfortable with their flocks, and I would try to get them back soon.

Both of their crops seem empty right now. The second hen dropped a very yellow runny poo right in front of me. It's been a few months since I wormed the flock, so I'm gonna go ahead and worm everyone. I'm also going exchange the water and put corid in it. I'm going to place them into a large dog kennel together away from everybody. Hopefully they won't mind the lack of space, but they're not too active anyways. They love eating scrambled eggs, so I'm going to make them some and hope they want to eat it.

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow in the poop could be possibly related to a reproductive infection. Hard to know for sure.

 

[3speckled3]

Update:

Since I'm not 100% sure what's going on, I'm taking preventative measures. The two hens have been isolated from the rest of the flock and are going to be watched/treated carefully. The entire flock has been wormed and corid has been added to their water, and I have disinfected the coop and replaced the dirt on the bottom. I'm just going to pray that this hasn't spread around to anybody else.

Good news: the two hens seem to be enjoying their meal of scrambled eggs very much