Hen not moving and looks severely bloated, help!

[amandaterillo]

Hello, one of my girls is not moving and looks very bloated - like she has no neck. She isn't necessarily 'laying' down but is on her feet just standing there. I noticed this when I got home from work this evening to let them out. I took her inside and placed her in a tub full of warm water for about 20 minutes. She just sat there. I tried feeding her some yogurt from a spoon, which she took some when I put it on her beak. I put oil on her behind, because I read that she may be 'backed up'. I also tried to massage her crop, but nothing came up but I am also not sure if I did it correct (new time chicken owner). Currently she is sitting in an enclosed space with some towels. She has not taken any water. What else can I do?! I have NO idea what happened, she looked fine yesterday. I live in central VA, so it gets cold in the morning around 25, but then heats up to 40s later afternoon. I give them layer pellets, veggie scraps and sunflower seeds. I only have 6 chickens and they have a pretty big coop.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she dry from the bath? I would hope that she is inside where it is warm until she is fully dry. It would do her good to probably remain inside overnight or until you can figure out what might be wrong. Has she eaten or drunk any water? How old is she? She could be cold, but she obviously doesn't feel well. I would check inside her vent with one finger (wear a rubber glove and lubricate it) an inch or so inside to feel for a stuck egg. Her crop should be mostly empty by morning after she sleeps, but if it is not there may be a problem with her crop or something slowing it down. She may look bloated because she is puffed up which is how they look when they feel bad. Look over her skin for signs of lice or mites, especially near the vent. Offer her some water with electrolytes, some chopped egg or tuna to tempt her to eat, and her normal feed. If she is young, and having runny droppings or blood in them, she could be suffering from coccidiosis. That is treated with Corid.

 

[Janice123456]

That looks exactly like what happened to my this week she had a bloated belly and I had to tap her belly for a large amount of fluid she hadn't laid an egg and a long time I think it was internal laying but it could be ascites also. I put her on antibiotics and make sure she got lots of protein she actually really likes cat food so she got some of that for extra protein.

 

[amandaterillo]

Thanks for your reply. Yes I brought her in overnight. She did not eat or drink anything. There was some liquid whitish diarrhea, but when I was just attending to her she had some brown in her poo. She is 10 months old. Would it be helpful to feed her keifer with an eye dropper?

 

[Eggcessive]

Kefir is very good for probiotics, so yes that would be good. Did you check her vent for an egg? How does her crop feel, and can you feel of her lower belly as well for any swelling? If you would be interested in trying to tube or crop feed her, here is a good link for that:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding

Crop feeding tubes can be obtained from a local vet that can be used with catheter tipped syringes (60cc/ml)
You can also fashion some aquarium tubing into a feeding tube by rounding off the sharp edge with a lighter, and connecting it to a regula-tipped syringe. The tubing can be found in pet aisles in a lot of stores.