Lethargic 10 month old hen

[JenW]

My favorite 10 month old americauna hen, Blue, went missing yesterday. After searching through the chicken shack and neighborhood & counting the flock several times (and making 'lost pet chicken' signs for my neighborhood) my husband found her hiding behind the trashcan in the chicken shack. She just laid there & let me pick her up...which NEVER happens. I put her down on the ground & she seemed to be off balance. She stumbled over to a perch, managed to get on it, then fell off. I picked her up, noticed that she was breathing heavily & her comb & face were BRIGHT red. I decided to find a cat carrier to keep her in the ac overnight. This morning, she seemed ok until I took her back to the shack where she stumbled to the water. She drank for a good 10 min straight but almost fell in the water several times. Seems like she's using her wings to keep balanced. She won't eat, but she is desperate for water. Usually when I let them out to free roam the yard she's out there scratching & eating bugs. Right now she is huddled up by the ac unit drain.
It has been HOT here in Houston but I have 2 box fans in their "shack" which was a workshop behind the garage that my grandfather & I converted into the chicken house. It's about 30'x10'. I use pine shavings for the substrate in there & feed a 16% layer feed, hen scratch, cabbage, greens, watermelon & plain yogurt (occasionally), and of course all the bugs they can find. I wash out the water bin daily. None of the other 6 chickens in my flock are showing any signs like she is, and I'm concerned. I don't know if I should quarantine her from the rest of the flock. I have a local avian vet & don't know if I should take her in. Any advice would be useful!

 

[aoxa]

If you can afford and have the option of an avian vet, I would take her in.

Something is just not right...

 

[JenW]

I can't really afford it, but I will find a way for her! I'm missing those beautiful blue eggs! Thank you!

 

[aoxa]

I can't really afford it, but I will find a way for her! I'm missing those beautiful blue eggs! Thank you!

Just get her better! Let us know how it goes.

If I had the option, I would take the vet. Some medicines just can't be bought in a feed store.

She could just be dehydrated. She could have been attacked. She could be egg bound. She could be anything. It's so hard to say. If you can give us very detailed descriptions.

Like:
Her poop looks like _______ (picture is good idea)
She seems: Cold, Hot
Did she hurt her leg?
When is the last time you loused them for mites/lice
When is the last time you wormed them?
Have you added any new birds?

There is more.. I just can't think of any right now.

Add sugar to her water or gatorade if you have it handy.

 

[aoxa]

How is her crop? Is it full?

Is she thinner then you remember?

 

[JenW]

Ok the internet is running slooow on my phone so I'll have to wait til my husband to get home to upload poo pics. I did think it looked rather strange. Very runny & a lot of white. I picked her up a min ago & she spewed water all over the place. Her crop feels like a water balloon. She doesn't appear thinner. She does feel warm to me but I have no clue what a chicken's temp should run. I looked up egg binding, I felt around by her vent & there is nothing that feels like an egg. I have made a vet appointment but the only availability they had was for Friday morning. If its something serious I know there's a chance she won't make it that long. I am still fairly new to chickens & didn't know about mite or worm treatments. Do you have any recommendations?

 

[JenW]

Oh and yes, I have added 2 new hens to the flock about 2 weeks ago. I got them from my neighbors, they seemed healthy & I put them straight in with my flock. I really hope I didn't make her sick by not putting the new girls in quarantine first!

 

[aoxa]

Sounds very much like sour crop. I'm actually pretty sure it is. I have a RIR that suffered from sour crop in February. After treatment (crop massages) and a diet of crumble and yogurt (probiotic - plain) she pulled through. If she is lethargic now, you should separate, massage her crop and get her to eat what I had mentioned. Keep your appointment for Friday if nothing improves.

Did the water that she threw up - stink? With sour crop the contents in her crop ferment and won't pass through to provide adequate nutrition. The poop looking like that means that not much is getting through.

 

[JenW]

After doing some research I was thinking sour crop too. I massaged her crop earlier & what came out looked gross, but didn't stink. I put some Apple cider vinegar in the water & will have to get yogurt tomorrow. I'm not sure what you mean by crumbles, all I have is layer feed & scratch...would that work? I have to go to the feed store too in the morning & could pick up something different. Thanks a lot for your help! I hope this works! She looked a little more alert before they went to sleep for the night.

 

[aoxa]

After doing some research I was thinking sour crop too. I massaged her crop earlier & what came out looked gross, but didn't stink. I put some Apple cider vinegar in the water & will have to get yogurt tomorrow. I'm not sure what you mean by crumbles, all I have is layer feed & scratch...would that work? I have to go to the feed store too in the morning & could pick up something different. Thanks a lot for your help! I hope this works! She looked a little more alert before they went to sleep for the night.

Crumble is a form of layer feed. There is Mash, Crumble and Pellets. I personally use Crumble, because that's all I have an option for. It is easier to water down and create a wet mix for her to eat, but you could also do that with the other two types. Crumble is definitely favoured over pellets for my flock, but Mash beats them all for #1 favourite. Wish they had it in grower.

Remember - plain yoghurt. I buy no-name brand plain. It's the cheapest. If I can, I buy local - but in a quick fix no-name works great.