Is my "Betty" sick or jus` gettin` old? (*Pictures*)

[Chicos Mama]

Hi all!

I am new here to backyard chickens

And also new to any problems with my Rhode Island Red Chickens.

I have had my girls, 12 of them and a Handsome Rooster named "Thor" for about 2 years now. Never so much as a sneeze... but then... My favorite hen "Betty" took to looking sick.
She has no injuries, and appears to be in no pain but...
About 1 week ago now, she became very puffed-up, lethargic, seemed depressed, sleeps all the time and stands for very short periods of time only.
So i dusted her and her friends with Seven (cuz i saw a few little creepy-crawlies

) and I also wormed her and all the others just in case.

No eggs in a week now from her. I dont think she is egg-bound cuz I actually did the UNTHINKABLE...Gave her a very warm sitz bath for about 20 mins. to relax her, soft massage and then....I "Violated her" with a little Olive oil and alot of sweet talk

and felt nothing. My husband couldnt watch!

She wasnt allowed to eat or drink with the others, poor ol` gal, cuz they all would gang up on her and bully her away.
So I brought her in the house where she is safe & warm.

At first her poo was like black water and smelly...BAD! But as of today, it looks normal and no smell.

She is eating scrambled eggs w/ovo, ACV in her water, and she loves vanilla yogurt. Along with her scratch and layer crumble.
She is eating all of the above, but only in very small incriments. Then is back to her nesting box to sleep.

No walking around at all, just seems very tired all the time. Her spirits seem to be picking up some today though!

I checked her crop, and I can feel all the crumble and seeds still in there from last night, and it is soft and mushy.
She did however, spit up some today after drinking.

And she is not molting...

*WHEW*...did I miss anything?

"Betty" is approx. 6 years old and Top of the pecking order in my little clutch.

I have no idea what could be the problem and I feel like I`ve covered all my bases...could it be she`s just ready to go to the Big Chicken Coop in the sky?

I am open to ANY suggestions or help with her...Please?

My "Betty"

"Bettys" Poop (kind of blurry)

 

[Chicos Mama]

Oh Ya!....

She did gobble a few worms today also that I dug up for her!

There... NOW Im done and waiting for any help

 

[jjthink]

Hi. It's really hard to say what's going on because the symptoms could describe many different ailments. She is definitely sick, not just aging. 1 week is an eternity in chickendom in the realm of illnesses so you may have a very time sensitive situation on your hands. Though it sounds like she might be a tad better than she was? She could have a crop issue from what you're describing. Do a search here (search tab is up above) for sour crop and impacted crop and see what you think.

I had a hen (Ellie) get lextremely lethargic 2 years ago and blood work taken same day revealed she had infection and/or inflammation of unknown origin, meds fixed her up nicely and she is well and happy today (w/o the meds, I am pretty certain I would have lost her).

Your Betty and my Betty (RIP) look alike.......(my Betty unfortunately succumbed to internal laying)

I hope she will get well

JJ

 

[Chicos Mama]

Thank you jj for your quick response!

Before I wrote that verrry long-winded message, I did read as many posts as i could on sour-crop and others. It did sound some what familiar but she is not swollen at all and there is no foul smell (no pun intended)

Im going to try some bread soaked in ovo in a few minutes and see what happens.

There are No Avian Vets anywhere within 100 miles of me so Im on my own here

Any suggestions on meds. I can get my hands on?

My Dog/Goat Vet wont touch her and told me it would be cheaper to cook her!!!

What a ninkumpoop!

 

[zoo2u]

Baytril is what i typically use. i had two 10 week old chicks last week all puffed up, one was sneezing. i had some baytril tabs on hand and gave it to these two daily for about 3-4 days and they perked right up and are now back to normal. Baytril has always been a great antibiotic for me for chickens. Good luck!!

 

[jjthink]

Don't know what meds to suggest because what ails her is a mystery at the moment.

Given that she's been eating very little, you might add 3 drops liquid Polyvisol children's vitamins (without added iron) daily for now to try to bolster her strength while all this is being sorted out. I administer via dropper gently along the beak line so they swallow on their own and don't choke. The stuff appears to taste wretched so I follow with a good tasting treat like cut up blueberries or whatever they really like.
(Most times when they are okay and drinking water normally I have Avia Charge 2000 in that water to provide daily nutrition boost).

A resource out there who may be able to help you ID the problem is Peter Brown at First State Vet Supply (google and it comes right up). He will chat with folks via phone and has many remedies on hand that can be directly sent out to folks. There is a nominal fee for a consult with him (way less than a vet visit and amount can be applied to cost of meds in many cases).

Keep us posted!

JJ