Lethargic hen for 3 days with darkening comb.

[Geoffmowry]

our 6 month old jersey giant has been hiding out on her own for three days. We had another hen get sick a month or two ago and recover after a day so we weren’t too worried at first. But now her normally bright red comb seems to be darkening and she’s really low energy. I thought it looked like her chest was bulging and being new to chickens thought maybe her crop was impacted. So we gave her water and tried to empty her crop.....only water came out .....and I now think that the bulge I saw was just her esophagus pushing out since she’s keeping her head tight to her body. So, after terrorizing her like that, she seemed to be gasping for a bit. but I think she was hot from me holding her so long and maybe winded as well from the ordeal. We tried to feed her and give her drink but no interest....it was past her bed time so we put her in a pen by herself. My daughter says her stooles are white and runny but with some chunks. We’ve made the firming decision that we aren’t going to take chickens to the vet (my apologies if that seems wrong). So we aren’t sure what to do next.

Any ideas?

We live in Michigan btw. They have free range of a fenced city yard by day and locked up at night. The other hens are fine and an uneducated inspection of The hen (Hazel) reveals nothing out of the ordinary.

 

[DolceVita]

I had a similar problem. Do you have any pictures of your girl? Is her vent messy at all? Is she laying at all?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

6 month old jersey giant has been hiding out on her own for three days.

her normally bright red comb seems to be darkening and she’s really low energy. I thought it looked like her chest was bulging and being new to chickens thought maybe her crop was impacted. So we gave her water and tried to empty her crop.....only water came out .....and I now think that the bulge I saw was just her esophagus pushing out since she’s keeping her head tight to her body.

So, after terrorizing her like that, she seemed to be gasping for a bit. but I think she was hot from me holding her so long and maybe winded as well from the ordeal.

Can you get some photos of her and the poop?
Has she started laying eggs yet?

I would feel her abdomen between her legs, below the vent for bloat or fluid. It would be a good idea to feel inside the vent to see if she's having trouble passing an egg. Check her crop first thing in the morning before she eats/drinks and let us know what that feels like. Vomiting a chicken can be risky, they can easily aspirate fluids into their airway.
IF the crop is not empty in the morning, then try to determine what "type" of crop issue she may have - slow, doughy, sour, impacted, etc. Read the articles below and we will help you with that.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[Geoffmowry]

 

[Geoffmowry]

No word on poop. Wife says she was drinking water this morning and very low energy. Two hens have started laying. It's possible she's ready to lay but no eggs from her that we know of.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Was her crop empty this morning?

Sometimes it's hard to know what's going on. Since she's got low energy and only 6 months old, I would be inclined to give her a little supportive care - cage her for a few hours if possible, puppy pads are a great way to get a look at poop too so if you have those, line your cage with those. Offer her water and poultry vitamins. Feel her crop and try to determine if what's in there was from this morning or yesterday.

 

[Geoffmowry]

2 weeks later and still not doing well. She doesn't seem to b eating much. We manage to get some meal worms and garlic in her and blueberries. And shes drinking water with vitamins, electrolytes and vinegar. The buff orphan and br are exactly the same age....a month ago hazel was the largest with the most mature comb.

 

[Geoffmowry]

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you take a sample of her poop to your vet for testing of worms and Coccidiosis?

Crop is still empty in the mornings?

 

[Sseckel]

I am having something similar with mine right now. When I got my flock they had mites pretty bad which I treated. When I saw this hen fluffed up, kinda lethargic, and a pale comb I thought the mites were back. A flea bath and NO mites. It's been 10days and she isn't improving. Hopefully we can figure this out soon.