hen lethargic, limping, has poop stuck near vent, any help would be much appreciated

[Hungry Chicken]

1) What type of bird, age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
White leghorn hen, almost 4 years old. Seems lighter than other chickens, and also lighter than her usual self

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
Kind of lethargic, breathes in a weird gasping sort of way? Video below. Limping slightly. Has a lot of poop stuck near her vent. Eats and drinks, but less than normal. Hasn't been laying as often but we think that could also be from old age? Also comb is droopy and paler than normal

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
A few days? We've been busy lately so we haven't been able to keep a close eye on the flock in the last few days. However the poop has actually been there a little longer, we bathed her a few times but it keeps getting stuck. Didn't think much of it until she had other symptoms too, not sure if they're related?

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
No, all other birds healthy

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
No bleeding but limping a little

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
Not sure

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Layer feed, scratch, water (same as rest of flock)

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Slightly runny and sticks to vent

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Separated her from flock, was considering adding something to her water but unsure what to add

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
Would hope to treat her at home, we don't have a vet nearby

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
Pictures attached, couldn't figure out how to attach a video of weird breathing

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use
Fully enclosed run with wooden roosts, metal rolling nesting box because they eat their eggs otherwise...

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you make sure there are not maggot larvae moving around on her soiled vent area? This time of year when chickens have poopy vents, flies will lay eggs, and cause fly strike, a deadly problem. Treatment is soaking and the vent in warm soapy water, and removing any maggots.

Hens with reproductive disorders, water belly, or other illnesses may have trouble getting around, and the pressure inside their bellies may cause an enlarged belly. That leads to poop not clearing the vent. Diarrhea makes it worse. Keeping vents clean is important in warm weather.

Is she moving both legs normally, or is she doing a lot of sitting around? Is her lower belly larger than normal? Have you wormed her recently? Valbazen or SafeGuard liquid goat wormer are ones that I recommend and can give dosages. Poultry NutriDrench can be given orally 2 ml daily, or put into water. Is her crop filling up daily, and then emptying by early morning? What do her poops look like? Is she eating okay? Leghorns are such great layers, but they may not live long lives. Have the others picked on her?

 

[LaFleche]

Feel her crop, it looks bloated in your picture.
After cleaning her up and putting her separately, check her crop early in the morning to see if it empties properly overnight.

When did she last lay an egg?

 

[Hungry Chicken]

Thank you for the replies. She still gets up and walks when I approach her but she limps and is sitting around more than normal. Her belly doesn’t seem larger than normal and when I checked her crop this morning it was empty. She is definitely eating less than normal but is still eating. Her poops are kind of watery, I will take a picture when I get home. No we have not wormed her; where can I get the wormer from? I didn’t see any maggots when I checked her this morning, but I will rinse her when I get home. She’s actually the one that does the most bullying so they haven’t picked on her.

I don’t believe she has laid an egg for a week or two, our whole flock has been pretty slow on the egg producing. However it is possible they’ve fallen back on old ways and have been snacking on some eggs.

 

[Eggcessive]

Valbazen can be found online and in some feed stores. Dosage is 1/2 ml given orally and again in 10 days.SafeGuard liquid goat wormer is in most feed stores and online. Dosage is 1.25 ml given orally for 5 consecutive days. Those have to be shaken well before drawing up the dosage with a syringe. Since she is limping, she may have an injury or something internally pressing on a nerve in her leg. I would prop her on rolled towels or place in a sling 2-3 times a day near her food and water. Human B complex vitamins might help her leg somewhat.

 

[LaFleche]

In addition to @Eggcessive 's advice you could try and give one daily tablet of calcium citrate 600 + vitamin D3 in case she has problems passing shell-less eggs.
Give it for 7-10 days and it will help her with her legs as well in case she is suffering from calcium deficiency.

 

[Eggcessive]

The calcium would also help if she is egg bound. That can sometimes cause temporary lameness.

 

[Hungry Chicken]

Thanks for all the advice. I have already purchased some SafeGuard dewormer which should arrive tomorrow. Found some vitamins that I already had on hand, wondering if they will work? I have calcium carbonate & D3 (not calcium citrate). And since the B-Complex is a pill I was thinking about crushing it and feeding it to her/mixing in food or water.

Even after cleaning her vent poop is still getting stuck since it's so watery. Is there anything I could give her for that? I think I have some Corid lying around, would that help?