Hen in distress please help

[Fly 2006]

Ah, now that is not good, do you know if she is laying? If not it is possible she is an internal layer or she has ascites, either way it is not a good thing! Keep up the bathing if she is enjoying it and it will keep the poop off her as well, is there anymore info you can give? She will probably be sitting in the nest box at times as she will be feeling like she wants to lay an egg

 

[Mtnchickens]

My son says that she was cackling this morning. I see no change in her at this point. All of her feathers are fluffed out and she appears to be missing more around her vent area. Her poop in somewhat liquid. I don't know if she is laying. We have had a production decline over all lately or they are hiding the eggs. We have 10 hens and she is a Barred Plymouth Rock. She was attacked about 1 in a half months ago and had no injuries except that she lost a lot of feathers on her back, wings and tail feathers.

She is one of the dominant hens and this morning our most passive hen is picking on her. She did not even defend herself, she just ran off. This is not like her at all. She is still clucking non stop. I will check her out and give her another bath and if I have more info to share I will report. Is there something I should be looking for?

This hen is one that won't usually let me hold her but she stayed in her bath calmly and I held her and dried her. I think they know when you are trying to help.

 

[Fly 2006]

Are they shut up together at night? I would worry that she is going to get picked on and won't be able to run away as she is doing when they are out, is it possible to keep her seperated at night? To be honest, if you come to the conclusion that she has something that is not really treatable and she is going to be picked on and suffer then she would be better PTS, please forgive me if you are able to care for her needs and want to keep her going then thats great but it is not always practical for everyone

Hopefully someone will be along with some more help and you can have more idea what is going on

 

[Mtnchickens]

I do have more info. There is another hen that has a swollen abdomen with runny poop and is inflamed below the vent. For both chickens their skin is as red as their combs. The first chicken is over a year old the other is over 2. I have 5 Barred Rocks and 5 Americanas. Both hens mentioned are Barred Plymouth Rocks. I just separated them from the flock. They are only separated by a fence. Do I need to do more? Should I give antibiotics at this time? If I do, do I treat the whole flock? How do I know when to cull?


Thank you Fly 2006, I don't believe in continuing the suffering of my feathered friends. I will do what is best for them. Thank you for your kindness. If I knew that she isn't going to make it I would take care of things. But at this point I don't know much.

 

[Mtnchickens]

One more thing they are both still eating.

 

[Fly 2006]

Oh goodness I wish I could be of more help, do you have a vet that could diagnose? Now you have two like it I am unsure what is going on, just keep caring for them and hopefully some more help will come along...... Anyone?

 

[TeamChaos]

Yeah, that's not a normal broody thing. Darn, I was hoping it was that simple. Have a look at this vent fleet link and see if it applies.http://www.birdhealth.com.au/bird/chick-fowl/ventgleet.html

 

[Mtnchickens]

Thank you for the information. I think that is what the second hen has. She seems to be worse than the first. Her abdomen is larger than a softball and hard to the touch. She just rested in the sink during her bath. I will treat as the website says. I do hope she pulls through. The first hen passed a ragged piece of plastic. I am hoping that is the cause of her problems but am concerned it may have cut up her insides. She is much less swollen than yesterday and less inflamed. I think the advice of the baths made a big difference. She is still clucking all the time but it is less intense and her tail feathers go down once in a while.

 

[TeamChaos]

Whoa, one of the hens passed plastic? It wouldn't be a stretch to assume whatever it was, they both ate it. Do you have any antibiotics you can start them on in case it did rough up their innards? Maybe read some of the threads where a chicken has eaten something, well, non-digestable and see how others have advised to move the tract along!

 

[Mtnchickens]

I do have antibiotics. They are not what the site described but at least I have some. I am not sure if what I can get my hands on anyway. I will start them right away. Poor girls. I hate to see them suffering.