Hunched and lethargic hen - help!

[ThePotterChooks]

Hey everyone.
I have a Speckled Sussex hen around 2 years old that around a week and a half ago presented as hunched over, tail down, a little pale and droopy. She was lethargic and not really joining in with the others throughout the day.
She was eating and drinking fine, and when they were free ranging seemed normal (someone has since told me she was likely just hiding her illness from potential predators, which makes sense!)

She had been wormed about 2 weeks prior to that but I have re-wormed her. She had slightly smelly poops and I trimmed her butt feathers and gave her a bit of a wash. She’s had probiotics in her water for a week straight and she did pick up quite a lot, even laid an egg one day which she hadn’t done for a while (in Australia though so just coming out of winter and only just getting back into it).

However the last few days she has been pale again, hunched, lethargic. I’m not sure what to do to help her because I don’t know what’s wrong!
She’s not coughing or sneezing. No discharge anywhere. Not egg bound, no abnormalities in her crop. She’s lost a little bit of weight but not significantly. I’m really stumped! Any ideas would be hugely appreciated!
I’m keeping up her probiotics - reluctant to worm her again as I don’t believe that’s the problem. Any suggestions would be wonderful!

 

[All Ball]

You might want to clarify for folks when she looks this way - if they free range all day, does she just look this way in the a.m. and p.m., etc.?

This could be a lot of different things, including a reproductive problem such as a stuck shellless egg, an illness.

If she has poops that smell bad, it would be helpful to post a picture of those poops - the ones that are not cecal poops which always smell horrible. If you can't tell the difference, there is a thread here with pics of poops - I think if you search for poop pictures it will come up, it is easy to find.

You might want to bring her indoors in a dog/cat crate, with food and water, so she is warm/in the dark and you can track her behavior and give her a low-stress environment.

I haven't had disease in my flock, but others may be able to ask more questions/offer more advice. I'd suggest you do another post answering by number the emergency forum questions, just to ensure all the info is available for folks.

Good luck!

 

[alexa009]

Can you post a picture of her so we can we the structure of her? I have had chickens that sound very similar to yours and they ended up dying from prolapse of uterus right before I could even treat it.

 

[ThePotterChooks]

This is typically how she’s standing. This was before she perked up in the middle stages, I’d say now she’s not quite as hunched over but certainly not herself.

She free ranges for the afternoon every second day - I have to alternate which pen is out on which day. Haven’t found any specific time that she displays this behaviour - most of the time when she’s in the coop. I have separated her since noticing, then rejoined her with the flock when she picked up again. Since I noticed she has gone downhill again, she is back in her own cage with food and water.

I have checked her vent and there doesn’t appear to be any stuck egg, shell or anything of the sort.

 

[Saaniya]

Have u checked her for egg bound or internal laying or worms ?

 

[rebrascora]

What did you use to worm her? Is it a broad spectrum wormer? I would certainly not give her another dose of the same medicine, unless you believe she may not have had enough of it on both occasions. Do you have problems with worms where you are or do you just routinely worm your flock, just in case? I'm not advocating you worm her again but just trying to get an overall picture of her situation.

That hunched back, tail down posture is often indicative of a soft shelled egg in the system and if she is just starting to ovulate again after winter, she may be having minor glitches on the production line. What was the shell quality like on the egg she laid? Did she appear more comfortable for a short period after the egg was laid?

Have you checked her for any abdominal swelling.... this is done by cupping your hand between her legs and comparing to a healthy hen of similar breed..... easiest done when they are roosting side by side at night. There should no feeling of fullness between the legs and below the vent. If butt feathers are getting soiled, it usually indicates that there is some swelling.

I might be inclined to give her an Epsom salts bath soak and perhaps a calcium supplement boost like a human calcium with vit D or if you have nothing else an indigestion remedy that contains calcium like a Tums.

What do you feed your flock..... main feed and treats? Heavier breeds like Sussex and Orps can be prone to laying down fatty deposits during the winter and that can lead to problems passing an egg when their system starts up again in the Spring. I appreciate that she is hunched up but her overall shape is very round so assessing her for abdominal swelling below her vent may be very relevant. Can you take a close up photo of her vent after her bath. Sometimes the skin will appear yellow if there is a build up of fat beneath.

 

[ThePotterChooks]

What did you use to worm her? Is it a broad spectrum wormer? I would certainly not give her another dose of the same medicine, unless you believe she may not have had enough of it on both occasions. Do you have problems with worms where you are or do you just routinely worm your flock, just in case? I'm not advocating you worm her again but just trying to get an overall picture of her situation.

That hunched back, tail down posture is often indicative of a soft shelled egg in the system and if she is just starting to ovulate again after winter, she may be having minor glitches on the production line. What was the shell quality like on the egg she laid? Did she appear more comfortable for a short period after the egg was laid?

Have you checked her for any abdominal swelling.... this is done by cupping your hand between her legs and comparing to a healthy hen of similar breed..... easiest done when they are roosting side by side at night. There should no feeling of fullness between the legs and below the vent. If butt feathers are getting soiled, it usually indicates that there is some swelling.

I might be inclined to give her an Epsom salts bath soak and perhaps a calcium supplement boost like a human calcium with vit D or if you have nothing else an indigestion remedy that contains calcium like a Tums.

What do you feed your flock..... main feed and treats? Heavier breeds like Sussex and Orps can be prone to laying down fatty deposits during the winter and that can lead to problems passing an egg when their system starts up again in the Spring. I appreciate that she is hunched up but her overall shape is very round so assessing her for abdominal swelling below her vent may be very relevant. Can you take a close up photo of her vent after her bath. Sometimes the skin will appear yellow if there is a build up of fat beneath.

Avitrol Plus is what I use for worming. Praziquantel. Worms aren’t a particular problem where I am, I only really worm them as needed. The initial dose I don’t believe she got enough, but the second time around she definitely did.

The egg that she laid was completely normal. Shell quality was great and there was nothing abnormal about it at all. She did seem brighter that day - it was right in the middle of her “up” period before she resumed looking ill again. I haven’t been able to feel any obvious swelling, but I will bathe her and give her another examination.

Their main feed is a breeding micronised pellet, supplemented with hemp seed hulls for protein, calcium and Omegas. And they get vegetable scraps and fresh fruit as treats as well as free ranging several hours a day.

This has all been very helpful, thank you! I will definitely look for anything indicating abnormalities around her abdomen, but I certainly didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary earlier as my first thought was egg bound. This gives me a lot to go on, thank you!

 

[rebrascora]

Well her diet sounds good. And it doesn't sound like it could be worms.
I find it much easier to assess/identify swelling if I "feel up" and compare one bird to the next on the roost at night, to get a better sense of what is normal/abnormal.
How is she today? I hope she is feeling more comfortable.

 

[ThePotterChooks]

I have just compared her with another Speckled hen that I have, and while she’s a little bit lighter on as she’s lost some weight from this illness (whatever it is!) she doesn’t appear to have any swelling. Her butt feathers were soiled again with a slightly green tinged poop with a bit of a stink to it. The best way I can describe the smell was old urine. It wasn’t runny poop, just slightly green.
I am preparing her a warm bath as we speak and have trimmed back her butt feathers. Going to give her a good soak, a calcium dose, keep the probiotics up to her and hope that she starts to pick up again.

 

[rebrascora]

I know poop never has a nice smell but bad smelling poop could indicate an infection. Is she eating much/at all? The green colour may just be bile.... maybe it is just bile that you are smelling.