Lethargic Chicken: Help?

[MissLivia]

Hello, everyone! I've spent far too long reading posts on here trying to figure out what's wrong with my hen, so I decided to post and get advice for my specific situation.

My Dominique hen yesterday started exhibiting lethargy; she was standing around away from the flock. She didn't seem super interested in food or water, but this morning ate some scrambled egg and a bit of food mash with water and a small amount of zero sugar Gatorade.

Here are some key facts:

Age: About 2.5 years

Stance: A bit puffed out, tail is not down. Her vent area was pulsing yesterday but less so today. She does have poop on her backside.

Poop: She's had a few of these this morning.

Egg Status: She hasn't laid in several months. She seemed fine in every other regard and did visit the nest box for a bit daily but never laid. A few other local chicken owners have had this happen with their girls and they eventually resumed laying with no problems.

Crop/Body: She doesn't feel super swollen in the abdomen area from what I can recognize. Her crop was empty yesterday evening and still was this morning. I massaged it but it doesn't feel impacted or seem sour. She is mostly standing around but does walk slowly around the yard and pecks at the grass a bit.

Solutions: Tried an Epsom salt bath yesterday but didn't help. She eagerly ate scrambled eggs and some food mash this morning. She is drinking a lot. Tried to feel if egg bound, but didn't notice anything (may not have gone up far enough).

Any ideas? Last time I had a sick girl, I called seven vets in our area and beyond and no one would treat chickens, so it's definitely a DIY situation for our little "farm" over here. Appreciate your help!

 

[LaFleche]

How does her lower abdomen under her cloaca and between her legs look and feel? Is it swollen, bloated, hard or rather wobbly like a water filled balloon?

When did you last deworm your flock?

Not having laid for many months despite visiting the nest box regularly, hints to reproductive disorders such as internal laying which leads to EYP egg yolk peritonitis. As the yolks accumulate inside her body cavity the massres put pressure on her organs, i.e intestines lowering appetite and hindering the normal passage of feed.

 

[dawg53]

Inspect her closely for lice and/or mites especially around the vent area.
Wash off her backside to remove poop and look for fly strike.

You mentioned that she visited the nest box for abit but never laid an egg. Try soaking her in a container of warm water up to her sides. The warm water will relax her innards and expand them.
Then put your hand in the water while she is soaking and gently massage her underside front to rear. If there is a stuck egg, massaging front to rear will encourage her to move the egg along, do this for about 20 minutes while she is soaking.
Then remove her from the water and put a small amount of olive oil or vegetable oil just inside her vent. It will make it easier for her to lay a stuck egg, IF that's what it is.
You can repeat this procedure as needed.
Finally, consider worming her with Safeguard liquid goat wormer or Valbazen.

 

[MissLivia]

Thank you both!

@dawg53 How much dewormer should I use and how is it administered?

@LaFleche I was worried about reproductive issues and internal laying but expected to see signs sooner than this if that was a problem. Is there anything to do to help with that? I don't see any lice/mites and cleaned her when we put her in the bath yesterday.

Her belly does feel a bit bloated and it's squishy.

 

[LaFleche]

Her belly does feel a bit bloated and it's squishy.

This is a sign she is suffering from ascites/water belly which is a symptom of a serious and usually not curable issue.

The only thing one can do is to drain the liquid which will bring her some relief.
This is a video on how it is done:

 

[dawg53]

Thank you both!

@dawg53 How much dewormer should I use and how is it administered?

@LaFleche I was worried about reproductive issues and internal laying but expected to see signs sooner than this if that was a problem. Is there anything to do to help with that? I don't see any lice/mites and cleaned her when we put her in the bath yesterday.

Her belly does feel a bit bloated and it's squishy.

Please read posts #2 & #4 in this link. It's all there:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/worms-in-chicken-poop.1575508/#post-26765905

 

[LaFleche]

Some hens will live for quite some time, even years after having their water belly carefully drained.
With others it will only help them to be able to breathe, eat and poop better for a while

 

[MissLivia]

This is a sign she is suffering from ascites/water belly which is a symptom of a serious and usually not curable issue.

The only thing one can do is to drain the liquid which will bring her some relief.
This is a video on how it is done:

Thank you for this! I'll see if I can complete this procedure. I am doing some reading on this, but is there a common underlying cause I should watch for so this doesn't happen again? Sounded like maybe it was some sort of reproductive tumor or something since she stopped laying?

Thanks, again!

 

[LaFleche]

Thank you for this! I'll see if I can complete this procedure. I am doing some reading on this, but is there a common underlying cause I should watch for so this doesn't happen again? Sounded like maybe it was some sort of reproductive tumor or something since she stopped laying?

Thanks, again!

Sadly, a lot of hens tend to suffer from occupational diseases such as infections of their reproductive system or ovarian cancer or EYP etc.
If caught early and treated with antibiotics, something like salpingits can sometimes be cured, but it is rather rare as chickens hide their unwellness for a long time and when you finally are able to notice them being sick it is often too late for successful treatment as they will be too far gone already.

 

[LaFleche]

is there a common underlying cause I should watch for so this doesn't happen again?

#Keeping the nest boxes fresh, dry and clean.

#Deworming regularly to prevent colitis and diarrhea.

#Always providing a good source of extra calcium (in winter + vitamin D3) to prevent egg binding or shell-less eggs that could cause infection in the oviduct.

#Keeping the chicken butt well tended, meaning trimming excessive plush to prevent poop from getting stuck and washing dirty butts immediately.

And yes, it could very well be some kind of reproductive tumor causing her condition.

But the only way to know for sure would be to have a necropsy done after her death. Either by home necropsy (with our assistance) or by poultry wise veterinarians or your state vet lab.