I have a chicken of 3 years that is sick

[patrickfoy1]

She is pooping a watery, white foamy poo and it looks like there is blood in it. Her crop is never full, but is watery and soft. She has stopped laying and is having a hard time getting up on her roost at night. She is excited to see worm treats and runs to them, looks like she is eating, but then stops and walks away. She is drinking a lot of water. Anyone have a thought on this..?
Thank you for your help
Patrick

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Greetings patrickfoy1,

Being that your hen is 3 years of age, there may be more than one thing ailing her.
At three years, some hens will experience reproductive changes that can cause illness, infections, or problems with digestion.

First, the symptoms you describe (watery stools, excessive thirst, soft watery or doughy crop, and lack of appetite), are indicating a crop problem. Open her beak and smell her breath. If it is foul smelling, she has a sour crop. The contents are decaying and yeasty.

If the hen has a pendulous crop, that is another condition that can cause problems. A crop bra may benefit her.

The Crop:
She needs an anti-fungal such as Nystatin, Miconazole Nitrate or Copper Sulfate in the water. Great care must be taken when using copper sulfate, no metal containers can be used, and it must be measured properly, as it can be toxic to chickens. These meds can be purchased at a farm/feed store.

Even if she doesn't have a foul odor, she may have a condition called crop stasis. This occurs when a hen is ill from something else, such as infection. The crop muscle does not push the food out into the proventriculus in a timely manner. Thus, the contents will ferment. If this is the case, she may need an additional medication from a vet.

I would first try to treat the crop with an anti-fungal, and massage. Don't feed her for the first 12-24 hours to allow the crop to empty. Her stools should improve as the digestion is restored. Then, she should have some scramble egg to start with. Small soft meals for the first day, and plenty of fresh water. There should be improvement in 24 hours.

The blood and foam in stool:
The blood in the stool can be symptomatic of an intestinal infection, or it can be shed intestinal lining which is not unusual. A photo would help the members know if it was blood or shed lining.

Foamy stools can indicate intestinal worms. A fecal float test is really needed. It can be done by any vet for a nominal fee. The fecal float will rule out intestinal parasites, such as worms or coccidia. Even an older chicken can suffer with coccidia.

If the hen is having trouble getting up on the perch, you also need to check her abdomen, between her legs and around the cloaca, for swelling. If she feels like a water balloon, she has ascite build up. Ascites fluid is produced by the body when there is infection, tumors or other internal problems.

If the chicken has an infection, an antibiotic may be needed.

If the help of a vet is not possible, the members here at BYC may be able to guide you.

These are my thoughts on your hens issue. I hope you have been helped.
Other members will have advice, please consider these too.

God Bless

 

[patrickfoy1]

Thanks so much Hen Pen .. her crop is not smelly, so I'm going to try the antibiotics... I appreciate your time and thoughtfulness. My wife and I really are working to find the problem if anyone else has thoughts, thank you again.

 

[patrickfoy1]

Thanks so much Hen Pen .. her crop is not smelly, so I'm going to try the antibiotics... I appreciate your time and thoughtfulness. My wife and I really are working to find the problem if anyone else has thoughts, thank you again.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you take some fresh droppings into your local vet tomorrow for a fecal test to look for worms, coccidiosis, and ask about getting a gram stain to look for enteritis? You can call ahead to check if one will perform the test. My nornal vet will do favors like that for me, though he doesn’t normally see chickens. Could she have swallowed any glass or hardware that might have cut her insides? She may well have a crop problem, or the beginnings of one, but it would be good to know the results of a fecal test. Crop stasis or slowdown can be a sign of other illness. The longer that happens, then sour crop may occur. Most chickens I have treated with crop problems were suffering from internal laying, cancer, or egg yolk peritonitis, and did not get better.

 

[patrickfoy1]

thank you Eggcessive...