Ill chicken

[zaapoole]

My chicken looks really ill, I went down to check on the chickens this afternoon and she was sitting on the ground and when I picked her up then put her back down again she was very unsteady and basically fell onto her side.

I checked around her vent and there was loads of caked poo, so I put her in a warm bath and tried to get most of it off.
I looked it up and thought maybe there was an egg stuck in there but I pretty sure there isn’t as I tried to feel her abdomen and it was really soft and felt as if there was a lot of liquid in there, and I couldn’t really tell by checking the vent if anything was there
We then dried her off and she’s currently sitting in a box of straw with a blanket over her but she seems to keep dropping off as if she’s falling asleep...
She does move her head from time to time almost a twitch
I gave her some of those iodine nutrient drop things and she’s had lots of water and she managed to eat a bit of grain.

Any advice would be so helpful

 

[Eggcessive]

Has she been laying lately? It sounds as though she might have ascites (fluid in her belly) or possibly internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis. Chickens can suffer from many different reproductive disorders. How does her crop feel—is it full and firm or puffy. Check it first thing in the morning to see if it is emptying overnight.

You may want to separate her in a dog crate with food and water to watch her poops. Place it inside the coop with the others if possible. Offer her some chopped cooked egg, and make sure that she is drinking. Poultry NutriDrench for a few days may be helpful. Poop pictures if odd lokking are good to post.

 

[zaapoole]

Ok thank you.
We kept her in a separate crate - unfortunately having woken up this morning she seems worse, not opening her eyes at all now and also some brown fluid came out of her mouth
We’re taking her to the vet later today though so hopefully she can get better soon

 

[zaapoole]

Ok unfortunately she died this morning she seemed to be quite peaceful though out in the sun

Thanks for your help anyway

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry that you lost her. Was her crop full and puffy when you checked her yesterday? It sounds like she may have had a blocked crop or gizzard. I have had a couple of hens recently with sour or impacted crop who have died. Most times there is something else going on to cause the crop to not work.

Chickens frequently hide symptoms until they are almost dead. Then it is usually too late.

 

[zaapoole]

Thank you
I think it might have been sour crop or something like that as you say, her crop felt quite full but soft, and she was getting worse and more brown fluid was dripping out her mouth by the end

Thanks for all your help

 

[Eggcessive]

You’re very welcome.