I have a poorly chicken

[hilyn]

I inherited my chickens from a friend who was moving away They are hybrids and are around three years old. One of my chickens is unwell. Since last week I have seen that she has become fat, almost bloated and has a dirty rear. She is not walking properly and 'waddles' it is now difficult for her to even get out of the coop in the mornings and her comb is getting dry and lays over to one side. I have picked her up and washed her rear with warm water whilst massaging her tummy gently but to no avail. What do you think is happening, is she unlikely to make it?

 

[OwO]

My chicken is three years old. Since last week I have seen that she has become fat, almost bloated and has a dirty rear. She is not walking properly and 'waddles' it is now difficult for her to even get out of the coop in the mornings and her comb is getting dry and lays over to one side. What do you think is happening?

ascites fluid in the abdomen which can be caused by a number of things. When I have had chickens with this condition my vet said it is most likely caused by a reproductive issue causing the eggs not to pass through the reproductive system correctly and instead end up in the abdomen. He mentioned egg yolk peritonitis to me, as a possibility

 

[sourland]

Sorry for the problem. It sounds as if she may be suffering from reproductive tract problems. Is she from a high production breed?

 

[hilyn]

I have tried a warm water bath and gentle massage but this has not helped although she is walking as if egg bound.

 

[hilyn]

Sorry for the problem. It sounds as if she may be suffering from reproductive tract problems. Is she from a high production breed?

 

[hilyn]

I don't know as I inherited them from a previous owner who moved away. I have three, none of whom have laid for a while now, but I was told this is not unusual in cold winter months , and they are over three years old now.

 

[OwO]

I have tried a warm water bath and gentle massage but this has not helped although she is walking as if egg bound.

If they haven't laid in a while then my guess would be the warming of the weather now that spring has started is causing her to try to produce eggs again, but they are ending up in her abdomen... That is similar to what happened to one of my hens a few years ago, as confirmed by my vet when he extracted eggy fluid from her abdomen

What are you feeding them? Do they have access to the feed as well as grit and oyster shell 24/7? If you have a vet nearby who will look at chickens I highly recommend taking her... with mine who have had this, fluid extraction has helped temporarily with comfort but it doesn't solve the underlying issue. Maybe they can prescribe medicine to help her

 

[hilyn]

I took over six aged hybrid chickens from a friend who was moving away. They were three years old when I had them and laid eggs for a while before settling on my getting about two each day. I lost three over the course of last year and have just lost two more in quick succession yesterday and this morning. I’ m devastated, plus I only have one girl left in the run now. Do chickens get lonely? Would you suggest that I bring in four new girls soon to keep her company and what age would you suggest as she is now getting on a bit?

 

[OwO]

I took over six aged hybrid chickens from a friend who was moving away. They were three years old when I had them and laid eggs for a while before settling on my getting about two each day. I lost three over the course of last year and have just lost two more in quick succession yesterday and this morning. I’ m devastated, plus I only have one girl left in the run now. Do chickens get lonely? Would you suggest that I bring in four new girls soon to keep her company and what age would you suggest as she is now getting on a bit?

What do you feed them and do they have unlimited access to it, as well as grit and oyster shell?

Chickens are flock animals so they shouldn't really be alone, but it's worth finding out what could be causing this first. If there's anywhere nearby that could do an necropsy as well, that will be helpful.

 

[hilyn]

I am part of a chicken keepers group in a small village who all have separate runs and coops on our land. We all feed our chickens the same foods and greens, they all have grit and oystershell as paert of their diets. The whole village helps us and come to visit them with their kids. I will have four more hens joining her tomorrow morning that I am collecting from our local rehoming centre.