Is my hen dying?

[Chicken Girl1]

Hello fellow BYCers,

While letting the girls out this morning I noticed my oldest bird Samoa didn’t come out. She was lying on the floor of the coop. Her breathing sounds bad, like someone with a really bad cold. I picked her up and placed her in the run, she immediately just sagged down. She is my oldest girl (almost 7 years old) and has been rather slow of late. All of her fellow hatch mates are gone. Is she sick or is she dying? I’m not sure on what to do. I want to try and help her as much as possible. Here is a picture of her, I put her in a box with shavings and into my basement.

 

[Katy 430]

I just had something similar happen to one of mine . She may have a swollen crop . Water and other foodstuff is caught at her throat and needs to be manually expressed. See videos on you tube or vet can do this

 

[Chicken Girl1]

How can I tell if that’s it? I tried to get her to eat, no go. I used a straw to try and get her to drink some sugar water, most of it didn’t make it in but she did take very little. She keeps her beak slightly open as if she needs to breath through it instead of her nose.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I hope she gets better soon. But if it is her end or she is suffering look into a vet to give her a painless passing and love her until the end. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

I hope she gets better soon. But if it is her end or she is suffering look into a vet to give her a painless passing and love her until the end. Just my 2 cents.

I definitely don't want to make her suffer if this is really the end, but I don't want to end it if there still a chance for her. I have a special attachment towards her because she is the last of the first batch of chicks I've ever hatched.

 

[Chicken Girl1]

I felt her crop and it feels kind of like a water balloon, not empty nor full like my healthy girls.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry she is not doing well

Do you notice any swelling, bloat or feeling of fluid in her abdomen?

How does her crop feel?

At her age, she may be having some reproductive or internal laying issues.
Check her crop to see if it's hard, squishy or if her breath smell sour. Look her over for any lice/mites.

Try to encourage her to drink, hydration is important. Offer water with poultry vitamins if you have them. See if she will drink from a small container or cup. If not, you drop it beside the beak to see if she will take it in. Syringe or tube feeding is another option.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Totally understand. I found it really hard and emotional when I had to rehome my roosters, but when the health department comes knocking not much you can do.
Is she drinking/eating? Are her poops normal?

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

I felt her crop and it feels kind of like a water balloon, not empty nor full like my healthy girls.

She might have sour crop. My leghorn pullet has it once. I had read that mixing feed with yogurt helps. So I did that and gave her a couple spoon fulls a day for a week or 2 ( can’t remember how long) and then it cleared up.

 

[getaclue]

Open her mouth, and smell her breath. Does she have diarrhea? Those are symptoms of sour crop. From what you've described, it sounds more like a respiratory issue. She would benefit from antibiotics.