Hen standing with tail tucked

[dreamer5577]

i have a 4 year old leghorn hen that stopped laying a year ago. She has been completely fine until about two days ago. When I let everyone out of the coop in the morning she justt stands there with her tail tucked. She lays down on occasion but she mostly stand in a spot for an hour or so and then wonders off somewhere else to stand. She walks around fine, with her tail up. She seems to be breathing differently than the other chickens. It's like she's hot but she's not panting. She eats normally I would say, but I've only really seen her eat treats like corn. I never stay there and watched to see if she'd eat her regular food. I have been researching what this could be for some time now, but can't seem to find a straight answer. Please help the darling!

 

[dreamer5577]

Update: she has an extremely swollen belly and vent. I just gave her a warm bath and she seems to be worse. I had her in a towel for a while and tried to get her to hang with her flock but she's just laying on one side under a tree. Does anyone have any advise? Please!

 

[emmaie892000]

She could be an internal layer unfortunately. She may have stopped laying normally, but the yolks inside could still be accumulating. These will get infected, and cause egg yolk peritonitis.Here are some threads.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/639749/timeline-of-internal-laying-update
https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/2...nd-clucking-but-dont-read-this-before-eating/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...and-other-egg-issues-will-this-never-end-long
I hope for her and your sake that it isn't internal laying, but it sounds like a possibility.

 

[dreamer5577]

I really hope she doesn't have this. Thanks for the help.

Does anyone else have any opinions on what this could be?

 

[dreamer5577]

Update: She is back to walking around, but standing with her tail tucked still. I waited and watched to see if she was eating and the answer is yes. She has an appetite. Also, her poop looks normal.

 

[emmaie892000]

Is her abdomen still swollen?

 

[dreamer5577]

Is her abdomen still swollen?

Unfortunately, yes.

I can see this being an internal laying problem, but at the same time I don't. She just acts fine. Other than the standing and the swollen belly. I've noticed a few times she perks up and walks/stands regular with her tail up. Also, she quit laying over a year ago, why is it now that she is showing symptoms? *sigh I don't get it. Have your chickens ever had this problem?

I thought maybe it could be the egg bound thing, but like I said, she hasn't laid in so long.

 

[emmaie892000]

Well, she can have a prolonged problem. She may have bad spells on and off, but she still should have a decent life for as long as she feels okay. Just pamper her, for as long as she goes on.

 

[skjoller97]

What do you mean by her vent it swollen is it prolapsed? Also you can tell she egg bound if you feel inside her vent (in know it's awkward) and feel a broken egg in there

 

[emmaie892000]

What do you mean by her vent it swollen is it prolapsed? Also you can tell she egg bound if you feel inside her vent (in know it's awkward) and feel a broken egg in there

The chicken hasn't laid in a long time. It's most likely internal laying.