Hen who can't seem to stand and puffy

[Mommysongbird]

I found one of my hens yesterday at lock up time laying under the coop ramp.

I thought she was egg bound, but she is pooping, very watery. She's alert, cleaned her vent area and everything looks ok.

What else could cause this?? Last night her breathing was rapid, today she's calmed down. I've put water in her cage, but she's not touching it. The other 3 chickens seem fine.

And before anyone asks, I don't know of any cases of avian flu near us.

 

[coach723]

Does her abdomen feel bloated? How is her crop, empty, full, hard, soft & squishy? How is her weight/body condition, is her keel bone very prominent, or well muscled? How old is she, and do you know when she last laid?

 

[Mommysongbird]

Does her abdomen feel bloated? How is her crop, empty, full, hard, soft & squishy? How is her weight/body condition, is her keel bone very prominent, or well muscled? How old is she, and do you know when she last laid?

She doesn't feel bloated, but she is a heavier bird, dual purpose I assume. Crop seems fine. She's probably 3-4 years old. Have no idea when she last laid an egg. I haven't had eggs in a while.

I had a raccoon get in the pen about a week ago, still have no idea how and why he was in there before nightfall, but he killed one of my smaller hens. So maybe he did something to this one and I didn't know???

 

[coach723]

Give her a good going over, check in feathers for any injuries hiding in feathers, punctures in particular can be hard to find. Check for any broken bones. I would crate her in a warm place so you can keep an eye on her. See if she will eat or drink. Try offering a scrambled egg if she isn't eating, see if that will tempt her.

 

[Mommysongbird]

Give her a good going over, check in feathers for any injuries hiding in feathers, punctures in particular can be hard to find. Check for any broken bones. I would crate her in a warm place so you can keep an eye on her. See if she will eat or drink. Try offering a scrambled egg if she isn't eating, see if that will tempt her.

She passed away just a few minutes ago.

 

[coach723]

I'm so sorry.
You can still go over the body to see if there are any obvious injuries.
If she were shaken or squeezed then she could have had internal injuries. They can even die of shock in some cases, chickens can really be "scared to death".

 

[Mommysongbird]

Thank you. I felt of her body buts couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Went and check on my 3 other birds, they seem fine.

I've got them in their small pen, thinking it would keep out any critters, but birds and that raccoon still got in. In all the years I've raised chickens, I've never had issues like I have had I'm the last 3 years.

 

[coach723]

If you can post some pictures of your coop and run, might help with suggestions of how to make it more secure.

 

[Mommysongbird]

I don't have any current photos, but the coop is like Ft. Knox, and the run has hardware cloth all the way around it. The top is small gauge chicken wire.

 

[coach723]

Do you know how the predators got in? I don't trust chicken wire of any gauge, it's too easy to rip through it. If you can replace that with hardware cloth, or roof it, that would be more secure. Some predators will dig under, so a buried apron of hardware cloth can stop that. I have also buried concrete blocks (I had extras that needed to go away) around my perimeter in places, to stop digging. Most predators will dig one hole, and if they are stopped they move along as long as they aren't successful. Many predators will go over fence like it's not even there, foxes and martins or weasels can be extremely clever getting in and will come back. Many predators will keep coming back once they've had success, so it's important to get it secure.