Lethargic Chicken won't eat or drink, barely poops

[Zombimigz]

Our almost one-year-old Rhode Island Red went to sleep really early last night and wouldn't leave the coop in the morning. I isolated her in a dog crate and she refused to eat/drink anything. For 5 hours the only poop she had was this:

The white stuff on the bottom is just a dog pee pad. She pooped a little bit of liquid, but there's also some weird chunky white stuff. I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but I think I've seen my chickens have similar-looking feces.

I let her out for the afternoon and she walked around a little before plopping herself down. She pecked a little bit at the ground and some grass but I don't know if she actually ate anything. Her crop feels like there's some sort of rocks or eggshells in it(we do feed them eggshells) and wasn't empty in the morning while all the other chickens' were.

She isn't completely lethargic though. She's energized enough to break free whenever I try to pick her up and clamp her mouth shut whenever I try to feed her. I tried putting my finger up her vent and did not feel an egg so she's probably not egg bound. Nothing has happened recently that could have caused stress besides maybe it's been getting warmer for the summer (I live in Southern California so it gets pretty hot, we bring them inside the house with AC when it passes 90F).

Does anyone know what could be wrong with her?

 

[ChickNanny13]

You said "Her crop feels like there's some sort of rocks or eggshells in it (we do feed them eggshells) and wasn't empty in the morning while all the other chickens' were."
So thinking she's got crop issues, sounds like it's not emptyin. Does her breathe smell? From my notes ...

A hard, lumpy crop, perhaps smelling like a stopped up garbage disposal, likely is an impacted crop. You would treat this condition with several doses of mineral oil, coconut oil or olive oil. You might need to add a stool softener. You might also need to treat a sour smelling impacted crop with an anti-yeast medicine after breaking up the impaction with oil and massage.

Here's a link ...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Eggcessive]

I would check her crop early in the morning to see if it has emptied. If not, offer a tsp of chilled coconut oil, cut into pieces for her to peck. Olive oil or mineral oil could also be used, given in a little cooked egg. I would separate her inside a wire dog crate with food and water if her crop is improved in the am so that you could see if she is laying eggs. Keep her with the others in the flock. Reproductive disorders can sometimes happen to young hens. Check her lower belly between the legs to see if it is enlarged or full of fluid.

 

[Zombimigz]

Thank you guys for your suggestions! She refuses to eat or drink anything, including water.

@ChickNanny13 I tried smelling her breath but honestly, I couldn't tell. I don't have any coconut oil but I tried giving her a little olive oil with a syringe. I had to physically force her mouth open and squeeze the olive oil in.

@Eggcessive The are between her legs seems to not be enlarged or anything. I tried massaging it a bit to see if an egg would come out but she kept trying to get away. I don't know if she was in pain or just didn't like me touching her lower belly, but she was fine with me massaging her crop for half an hour.

I'm most worried about her refusing to drink water. I don't know how long she can last without water. I'm getting coconut oil tomorrow. Is there a specific type of stool softener I should try?

 

[Eggcessive]

Generic colase or doccusate sodium is a stool softener, and has been sold as a crop treatment. Let us know if the crop is hard or puffy, and if there is a foul odor from her beak. Reproductive disorders can slow down digestion, which can slow the crop emptying.

 

[Zombimigz]

Generic colase or doccusate sodium is a stool softener, and has been sold as a crop treatment. Let us know if the crop is hard or puffy, and if there is a foul odor from her beak. Reproductive disorders can slow down digestion, which can slow the crop emptying.

Her mouth doesn't smell particularly bad. I'm not sure how obvious sour crop should be. Her crop isn't empty even though she didn't have access to food last night. It feels like there's a bunch of small pebbles inside and also a little mushy, but it definitely isn't hard and it doesn't feel full. It could be considered a little puffy. She still refuses to eat/drink and she seems a little more tired than yesterday.

She pooped twice but once again it's oddly white:

 

[Zombimigz]

She also is starting to do this odd thing where she twitches her entire head every few seconds.

 

[Zombimigz]

@Eggcessive I tried giving her some coconut oil but her crop doesn't seem to have changed in about an hour. Do you think it's worth making her regurgitate at this point? I've tried massaging her crop for over an hour and putting her in a warm bath but her crop doesn't seem to go down. Maybe after massaging for a while it seems flatter but within a minute it feels like there's stuff in there again. I could also give her apple cider vinegar.

 

[Eggcessive]

I don’t recommend making chickens vomit, since it can make them choke on it, getting it into the airways. I would encourage more water to drink, and let her eat some watery feed and a little egg or unsweetened plain yogurt . Does her poop in person look yellowish as the white part does in the pictures? If her main problem is a reproductive disorder or liver issue (which can make the urates in the poop yellowish,) then her crop problem may be related.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Whenever syringing liquids into the mouth be very careful which "hole" it goes in. Needs to go to the left as the center is the esophagus. @Eggcessive correct me if I'm wrong

EDITED ... Left when looking in the chicken's beak