Hen not right, comb purplish, less active, etc

[1dog1cat6chicks]

Let the hens out this morning and noticed that Rhoda, our 3-4 years old RIR, had tinges of purple around the tips of her comb. Odd. Later on I went to check her and the comb was looking better but she was just roosted in the yard, which isn’t terribly normal for her at that hour of the day. Also she hasn’t laid an egg for several days which is not like her either...she usually lays more often than not, she is the most reliable of the three hens. This is the same hen who’s been favoring her left leg, reluctant to jump off the roost in the morning (hubby even made her a ramp); and she still seems to favor that leg.
Also noted the last couple of mornings that there’s a lot of liquidy stuff on the poop hammock when I go to clean it each day.
I attributed her lack of laying to the fact that I just integrated the new chicks into the big girls area—I realize changes can throw them off. but now I am getting worried. She’s just not herself. Any ideas?

 

[azygous]

Is her butt covered in runny poop? Does she spend unproductive time in a nest? Is she drinking water excessively? How is her appetite?

Has she ever had egg quality issues?

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

She has some white poo on her butt.
Has not been on the nest much the last few days if at all.
Water—don’t know.

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

Well my daughter was here and we just checked to see if we (or should I say my daughter) could feel an egg. She went in up to her second knuckle and couldn’t feel an egg, so we don’t think she’s eggbound. At least not from our completely inexperienced perspective.
When we put her down inside the coop she did start to eat.
And no, she’s never had egg quality issues. They’ve always been perfect and frequent.

 

[azygous]

The finger up the butt egg test usually fails unless an egg is already crowding the gate.

Egg binding, whether verified or not, can be treated. Infection can be treated with an antibiotic. Cancer cannot be treated. We cannot diagnose your hen. We only make educated guesses. Of those three possibilities, the first two can be treated. By treating what is treatable, you have a two in three chance of being right and the hen recovering.

To treat for egg binding, give the hen one calcium tablet by mouth whole right in the beak. If you have an antibiotic on hand, use it. It can treat bacterial infection from eating the wrong thing or from a ruptured egg in the oviduct.

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

A calcium tablet such as what I take? She will actually eat that?

I have no antibiotics.

 

[azygous]

No she will not choke. It will go down like magic. Use what you take for strong bones. This will help her contractions if she has an obstruction.

Call around to pet stores and ask for fish amoxicillin 250mg. You will give one a day for ten days.

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

Thanks , I’ll try getting a calcium tablet into her. I assume I’ll have to “force it”?
I did switch them to flock raiser feed when we were integrating the young chicks but there is always oyster shell available.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Thanks , I’ll try getting a calcium tablet into her. I assume I’ll have to “force it”?
I did switch them to flock raiser feed when we were integrating the young chicks but there is always oyster shell available.

You can hold both sides of the beak (where it parts) and squeeze gently. She will probably try and jerk away. How I do it is I wrap the hen firmly in a towel and hold her between my knees, one person opens her beak while the other drops the tablet in. It’s best done with two people, although you can do it on your own.

 

[1dog1cat6chicks]

Well the calcium tablet went down easily.
Now to call around about the antibiotic...