Hen hiding in dark corner...not sure what is wrong?

[RockyVanRhodes]

I just came home from work and found one of my hens hiding in the dark corner of the coop with her head in the corner and her eyes closed. She is a RIR mix with game hen, she is maybe 6-7 months old, and she was fine yesterday. I did see water and some white liquid on her backend, i dont know whst could be happening? The weather has been hot, but my othrr hens havent been acting this way, and ive never encounterd this. She is also lifting her backend very high...is she egg bound?

 

[RockyVanRhodes]

I just came home from work and found one of my hens hiding in the dark corner of the coop with her head in the corner and her eyes closed. She is a RIR mix with game hen, she is maybe 6-7 months old, and she was fine yesterday. I did see water and some white liquid on her backend, i dont know whst could be happening? The weather has been hot, but my othrr hens havent been acting this way, and ive never encounterd this. She is also lifting her backend very high...is she egg bound?View attachment 1324995View attachment 1324997

So i ruled out egg bound, i ddint feel an egg in her vent area, her crop os very hard, maybe she is crop bound?

 

[kissezmychicken]

I just spent $430 on surgery for an impacted crop on one of my hens..hope you don't have that.

 

[Trellinius]

Wow! I would have asked the vet the price before the surgery....and I would not consider any of my hens worth $430. But then again, I don't keep them as pets, I keep them for bug control and a few eggs, so above a certain price they are all expendable.

 

[Eggcessive]

Check her crop first thing in the morning when it should have emptied. If not there may be a problem. If the crop is still full and hard or doughy, confine her with water and try to massage the crop several times a day to get it emptying. Look for some threads about crop problems by Azygous “Sour Crop and Impacted Crop Treatment” and Two Crows “Impacted-sour and pendulous crop,” by doing a search at the top of this page under search forums.

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

It does sound like she may be dealing with the start of laying...poor girl. I hope she is okay. Hopefully, one of our more experienced peeps on here will have encountered something similar and post more helpful info for you. I will keep her in my prayers. <3

 

[RockyVanRhodes]

Thank you all for your replies, i appreciate them. I am tempted to take her to the vet, but the vets around me dont do poultry, but i thought it might be worth a try...i did some reading on hard and sour crop, and some people made their chickem throw up what was in their crop, and they stopped feeding the hen for a day or two, but Lala isnt even drinking water. I did try to massage her crop and see if she would throw up too, but she didnt. Should i try again? She lays down and leans her beak on the ground. I guess i will wait until morning, and see if she is ok.

 

[HenniesInMyHeart]

Poor lil lady. Will she drink? Can you give her some Nutri-Drench or Sav-A-Chick or something to boost her overnight? I would recommend calling an avian vet. They will often see chickens. Good luck, I hope she makes it! Please keep us posted.

 

[RockyVanRhodes]

I am not sure how to get her to injest any type of liquid, as she doesn't respond to me except when i carry her around (she is in my house now), and even then she doesnt even open her eyes... I hope she gets better, and I will definitely update in the morning

 

[micstrachan]

Does she lay eggs yet? She could be bound with a soft shelled egg, especially if she is just starting up. Now that you have her inside, you can monitor her. Is she pooping? If so, is it normal poop? Feel her body over, more than just her crop. Is her breast muscle wasting away? Is her abdomen bloated with fluid?
If she is unresponsive, this is pretty urgent. Can she get around on her own? As long as she is strong enough to get off it, if needed, she may enjoy a damp towel laid over a heating pad. Do you have a heating pad? Do you have oyster shell you can offer her? If not, you might try crushing a calcium pill over scrambled egg and see if she’ll take some bites. You can also crush a calcium pill or tums into a raw egg yolk to get her to ingest some calcium. I hope your poor girl gets through this! Please keep us posted.