hen spewing dark brown liquid from beak

[USMChicks]

One of my Reds was laying apart from other hens and rooster in the coop. I noticed drops on her beak. When i picked her up she opened her beak and spewed a puddle of dark brown liquid. Her chest area seems full of liquid. She is lethargic. What is it? And is it contagious?
The weather here has changed dramatically from summer heat to very cold nights already. 6 other hens are molting but seem fine...today.
any ideas?

 

[Suzie]

It sounds as if she may have sour crop...is there a nasty smell to her breath ? If so she will need that liquid to come up...there is a lot of information on how to treat sour crop...

At the beginning of "Emergencies/Diseases etc is a header....Helpful references and links...click on that and scroll down to "Medical treatment and dosage", again scroll down to crop issues...helpful information there...you can induce vomiting in her by holding her at a 60 degree angle to the floor..massage the crop in an upward direction for a few seconds...she should vomit...bring her back immediately into an upright position...you can do this several times a day...