I'm worried about my 2 yr old red star

[yesfantina]

My (almost) 2 year old red star has been acting funky the last couple of days. She hasn't been laying lately,.. it's been a couple weeks since her last egg I think. I wasn't terribly worried about THAT because her sister red star stopped for about a month in february and then started again no problem.

But the last couple days she seems lethargic. She's kind of hunched over and puffed out. During free range time, she just kind of stands around, not pecking alot or running after her sisters. We brought her in a couple nights ago to look at her good and she looks Fine.. Her comb is bright red, her nose is clear, there's no panting going on.

I don't think she's eating much. Her crop seems empty. And her poop looks like egg whites. runny.

I haven't done much other than watch her.. fed them all oatmeal and scrambled eggs this morning with some electrolytes in it.

I don't know what to do. Should i call a vet? (i don't even know if any would see her!) Could it be parasites? Egg bound? (i'm thinking it's NOT egg bound, because it's been over 48 hrs and I suspect she'd be in worse shape by now if that was the deal)

She sat on my lap and closed her eyes and fell asleep this afternoon for like 15 minutes, which is NOT normal behavior for her at all.

Help!

 

[etammy]

This does not sound good. The watery white diarrhea I have seen and it is a poor sign in my experience. I did try a few things to try and save mine, but they all got worst with time, it took a few weeks then I knew it was the end. My vet says the hatchery chicks are not breed to live a long life, so 2-3 years is old for them. It could also be a symptom of Merke's disease, again something you can not cure. Try to give her some electrolyte solution in her water for some energy, I have found that if I could get some water in them in about a 1/2 hour later they would eat a bit, but within days I could not get them to eat at all and decided to have my vet put her down, it was quick a injection into the heart, he is an old farm vet so he knows what he is doing. I am not trying to sound mean or insensitive, but I have learned that with a certain combo of symptoms ie..watery diarrhea, not eating, excessive thirst in the begining, eyes closed, puffed up, head tucked in, not able to range with the others, staying by themselves, sometimes their crop stops working from not eating I guess and fills with fluid, these hens have not survived and I did everything to try and save them. I have found that chickens can break your heart too. Good luck with your girl

 

[yesfantina]

:-( oh no, i hope not. I love my Lucy.
I will attempt to find a vet tomorrow.

Thanks for answering

 

[amnich]

I'm hoping for you that it is something treatable. I'm going to say it might be mites or parasites - they can cause runny poo, lethargy, puffed out feathers, and lack of desire to eat and leave the coop. Parasites and mites can also cause a drop in egg production. However, if her comb looks decent then mites or parasites are a stretch, especially if it is just this one chicken.

I agree with you that she isn't egg bound. Usually an egg bound hen will die within the first 48 hours, so has surpassed that time frame.

Try and see if a vet will see her, if it is something treatable they will probably be able to help you. Hope she ends up ok

 

[yesfantina]

So I took Lucy to the vet today. He did an x-ray and it turns out she does have a broken egg inside her. We can see pieces of the shell on the xray (in the upper right corner near her tail)
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hpho...x403/543114_10200414807406806_830648025_n.jpg

He hydrated her, gave her a shot of antibiotics and started her on it. The price kept getting higher for things he wanted to do. *sigh* but he seemed to know what he was talking about. He tried to feel inside her to hook it out, but the hole was too small for his finger. He could only get into the colon. Doing anything else would have required anestesia (and more $100s) NOw it's just sit and wait and pray I guess. He also wanted to give her a hormone to shut off her reproductive system for awhile, but that also was a lot more money and there was no stockpile of eggs behind this, so her system IS shut off right now.

It was a long day. She was a very good girl at the vet. It's hard to know with these guys how far to go. They're *just* chickens, but I love them. I did what I think is right. I think.

 

[amnich]

You did the right thing! I would do that for any of my chickens.