Hen is lethargic and mopey

[DeniseG]

Help! One of my 2 hens as of yesterday is really slow, mopey and just whatever-y. She normally comes barrelling out of the coop and is always chatting and happy. I came home from work yesterday and let them out of their run to their larger fenced area and she just kind of slowly came out. Her tail stays down and her comb is flopped over rather than its normal standing up. I noticed her poop is watery and has just the white stuff. I'm not sure if she's been eating, because I don't usually see them eat during the day, but when I gave out some scratch yesterday evening, she didn't have any interest at all. Given her normal garbage-can capacity and style of eating, this is most worrysome. She just looks miserable.
She just turned 4 years old as of Feb 28th.
They are pretty spoiled and well taken care of. I feed them layers pellets and they get grass when they are out and about several times a week. Neither of them have laid an egg in about 2 weeks. The last couple she did lay were noticably smaller than ususal.
The other hen is her normal self so it isn't something that is affecting both of them. I did call a local vet that handles exotics and birds so I can take her in tomorrow morning is necessary. I've never transported a chicken before so that should prove to be interesting.
My poor Ginger. Is there anything I can do to figure out what's wrong?
Thank you in advance!!

 

[ranchhand]

Hi Denise, sorry your debut on BYC is a sad occasion.

If you do have a vet who can see her, make it happen. After a while you'll start to recognize symptoms, but learning comes first.

Take a stool sample in a baggie, transport in a ventilated box or cat size carrier. Take in samples of food too, you never know. Also, check for anything she might have sampled as a treat, make notes about laying habits and patterns.... is egg bound a possibility? In other words, amass all the info you can for the vet. And be prepared to take notes when the doctor talks.

I would be looking into why neither has been laying recently? One eggbound at 4 years, I can see. But two at the same time? Nope.

Four is not really old for a hen. I have had many who layed much longer.

Hope it works out for you and Ginger!

 

[DeniseG]

Update - I did take Ginger in to the vet today. The doc said her tummy felt really bloated and kind of like a pillow. So I said ok to x-rays and it showed she's full of fluid in her abdomen. The doc said it's an infection most likely caused by egg peritonitis. There was a small chance of something else causing in (like a blockage) but she was going to do tests on the fluid sample she took and call me back in the morning. I put out $305 for a farm animal. I must be nuts. I didn't give my hubby the exact amount knowing he would blow a gromit. But there was no way I was going to just do nothing and let her suffer. They gave me antibiotics that I started when we got home. There's nothing like giving a chicken a pill!
She's definitely worse this evening though. She decided not to even try to get up on the perch and is sleeping on the floor. I'm sure the trip to the vet was pretty stressful for her. Being poked and prodded and riding in a box in a car isn't something she's ever dealt with before. Poor thing. She was a real trooper about the entire thing and the gals and the vet's office really enjoyed her. They don't get chickens in there often. No surprise there

The vet did say I may wake up one morning in the next few days and find that she passed in the night. I'm just gonna cross my fingers and hope she will get better.

 

[DeniseG]

Got a call from the vet this morning and confirmed the egg peritonitis. I brought her back in and they kept her for a few hours to try and work her in since they were booked up solid today. When I picked her up she told me they drained (get this) a full pound of fluid from her. Good grief. So she now actually weighs a pound less than she did yesterday. Amazing. They gave me an anti-inflammatory to give her in addition to the antibiotic so I hope it will knock down the swelling and the infection. She was such a trooper about all of this especially while there at the vet's office. She never put up a fuss and just dealt with everything so well. They just loved having her there since they don't get chickens very often. When I went out to giver he the meds, she was falling asleep standing up. She's had a rough couple of days. Poor baby.
This $5 chick just costed me an insane $400 in the past two days. Just wow.