Hunched back, poopy butt - what is it?

[tteeple]

Hi all. I have a 2.5 year old Plymouth Rock hen (Peep Peep) who I noticed yesterday has her tail feathers down and is sort of crouching. She is still eating and drinking, and her poop looked somewhat normal. She hasn't laid an egg in over a year but has been healthy and active. About 2 weeks ago I noticed she had a poopy back end so I brought her in for baths a few nights in a row, put monistat on her vent because folks suggested it was likely a yeast infection, and she seemed to get better. I also gave her probiotics for a few days in her water. I've been away for the last week, but the chicken sitter who visited daily says she was totally normal. I kept her inside last night, gave another bath, and have been giving probiotics again. Her belly isn't squishy, her comb is red, and none of the other chickens are acting abnormal. Any thoughts on what could be going on?

-- added a picture of her poop from being in the crate inside all day. Very stinky.

 

[Debbie292d]

A 2.5 year old hen that quit laying a year ago and never showed problems until lately is rather a curious thing.

Had she just stopped a week or two ago, with that tail down, I'd think she was having a reproductive issue. That also could be what the poopy butt was, although you said it cleared up with monistat and probiotics.

I would try calcium therapy and see if that gets her to expel anything as it'll cause contractions. Give her one whole 300 mg of calcium citrate + D3 per day, right in her beak. Give her that for about a week and see if that doesn't help.

Have you ever wormed her/them? That's another consideration as worms can really mess a hen up.

 

[tteeple]

Thanks for your reply! She's 2.5, but yes, strange. She's never shown any signs of illness until a couple of weeks ago.

Nope have never wormed them. Is that something I should be doing regularly?

Hadn't heard of the calcium therapy. Can I put it in her water? She seems to be drinking very well while in the crate. They have oyster shells in their coop at all times, and eat Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve 17% Protein which has some calcium in it.

Added pic of her poop above too in case that is helpful.