Hen Lethargic and panting

[Sarcasm-ftw]

Hi friends! Hoping you can help me diagnose my beloved backyard pet's illness.
For the last week, I've noticed she's been sitting by herself, facing away, and thought it strange...but she looks perfectly fine. Red comb, nice feathers, clean butt, bright eyes. She makes it up to her perch in the coop every night, but has been several minutes behind everyone else in the morning. The last two days I've noticed she's been panting visibly, and the temperature here is only about 50°F.
This morning I went out to grab her so I can quarantine her, and despite being my most skittish hen, she didn't put up a fight. She seemed to be a bit lopsided when she walked and favoring her right foot, but when I examined it, it seemed perfectly fine.
She's a 4 year old Barred Rock, who lives in my fenced backyard with her three sisters, who are all acting totally normal. They free range all day and get a supplementary layer mix, grit, clean water, etc.
She's been eating and drinking a little, but not foraging. Her poop is more dry and crumbly than anything.
She's never been sick before so I've never tried examining or palpitating her to see a difference, but nothing seems obviously wrong. I don't think she's egg bound since it's been over a week, but none of them are laying regularly yet after the winter, so I can't totally say for sure if she's laying.

Any ideas on what's wrong, or suggestions on how to make her more comfortable? Unfortunately, I don't live in an area with any vets that will treat chickens, so that's not an option.

 

[Purelychicks]

Is she lethargic? That’s a telltale sign something is wrong. Or if she sleeps during the day. We had this happen to our hen and she had impacted crop. Is her crop hard and full? Does her breath give off odor? Is she getting enough nutrients? Ex. Vitamins, laying pellets, oyster shells, etc. is her stool normal? (No blood, discoloration, or diarrhea?)

 

[Eggcessive]

I have seen that type of behavior when one of my older hens is suffering from a reproductive disorder or ascites. It can be hard to pinpoint what is wrong, so we have to rule out things first. Is she holding her tail up or down? What do her poops look like, and pictures are helpful? How does her crop feel, and is it emptying overnight by the next morning before she eats or drinks? Is she eating anything? Is there any enlargement in her lower belly between her legs? Have you wormed her, or checked for lice or mites?

 

[Sarcasm-ftw]

Is she lethargic? That’s a telltale sign something is wrong. Or if she sleeps during the day. We had this happen to our hen and she had impacted crop. Is her crop hard and full? Does her breath give off odor? Is she getting enough nutrients? Ex. Vitamins, laying pellets, oyster shells, etc. is her stool normal? (No blood, discoloration, or diarrhea?)

She's not moving around or foraging, but she seems alert. Every time I check on her, she's awake. Her crop doesn't feel hard, she doesn't smell. In addition to letting them free range the fenced in back yard all day, we buy fancy organic feed with calcium and vitamins, give them mealworms for treats, and have grit available.
Her stool isn't normal, but I think she might be dehydrated from not getting up to eat/drink much. It's more dry and crumbly than anything.

 

[Sarcasm-ftw]

I have seen that type of behavior when one of my older hens is suffering from a reproductive disorder or ascites. It can be hard to pinpoint what is wrong, so we have to rule out things first. Is she holding her tail up or down? What do her poops look like, and pictures are helpful? How does her crop feel, and is it emptying overnight by the next morning before she eats or drinks? Is she eating anything? Is there any enlargement in her lower belly between her legs? Have you wormed her, or checked for lice or mites?

She's holding her tail up.
Her poop is dry and crumbly, slightly greenish. (Grass-green, so probably fine color) I'll try to get a picture.
Her crop seems normal, but I just brought her in for quarantine today so I haven't had a chance to check it overnight.
I felt her belly, it felt large but no obvious lumps or hard spots.
I haven't wormed her or given her anything special yet, just her normal food & water in her quarantine room. Her feathers look clean and shiny, she did attempt to groom herself a bit after I brought her inside. I'll check for mites/skin issues when I get a chance.

 

[Sarcasm-ftw]

Here's a picture of her... Just sitting. Constant sitting.

 

[KatherineMcGinn]

I have seen that type of behavior when one of my older hens is suffering from a reproductive disorder or ascites. It can be hard to pinpoint what is wrong, so we have to rule out things first. Is she holding her tail up or down? What do her poops look like, and pictures are helpful? How does her crop feel, and is it emptying overnight by the next morning before she eats or drinks? Is she eating anything? Is there any enlargement in her lower belly between her legs? Have you wormed her, or checked for lice or mites?

Hello! Something you asked sparked my interest as we have a hen who all of sudden has a lot of inflammation under vent. We assumed it could be she was egg bound and after first cleaning her up we ruled out vent obstruction. Today we have her an epsom salt bath and she had a very normal looking poop. We took her to our chicken vet and they tested her poop and even did an X-ray. No egg just inflammation. Not sure what else to think but if you’ve had any experience with enlargement below the vent (also pretty red there from inflammation). She is 5yrs old and other wise been very healthy.

 

[KatherineMcGinn]

Hello! Something you asked sparked my interest as we have a hen who all of sudden has a lot of inflammation under vent. We assumed it could be she was egg bound and after first cleaning her up we ruled out vent obstruction. Today we have her an epsom salt bath and she had a very normal looking poop. We took her to our chicken vet and they tested her poop and even did an X-ray. No egg just inflammation. Not sure what else to think but if you’ve had any experience with enlargement below the vent (also pretty red there from inflammation). She is 5yrs old and other wise been very healthy.