Lethargic Hen, New To My Coop

[Aconne10]

Last week I had two Black Australorp hens and everything was wonderful... until one of them got eaten by a coyote and I was left with one lonely little hen. I had to make some quick decisions because I did not want to leave my poor little hen all alone for long since chickens are very social birds. I found a farmer in my area who was selling 4 Buff Orpingtons so I bought them the next day. The Buffs were born in September and just started laying. The farmer and his wife clearly loved these birds and took very good care of them. They told me that one of them had just started acting broody in the last couple of days so she might just want to sit on her eggs all day. I brought them home each in small separate boxes on about a 45 min car ride. When I opened the boxes at home the "broody" one had a pile of nasty, runny, yellowish poop or vomit inside her box. I figured it was just because of all the stress of being moved and put her in the coop with the others. She did not look so good but all she wanted to do was sit on her eggs (that I brought home from the farm) so I let her. The next day (today) she sat on the eggs almost all day. She finally came out of the coop and just sat on the ground next to the water bucket and dipped her head slowly. She has been in that same spot for a few hours now and I realize that she was not laying on her eggs because she was broody, she was laying on them because shes sick and does not want to move. I don't know what to do for her. Does it sound like she is going to die? Should I separate her from the others? Could it just have been all the stress of moving her and maybe she will be better tomorrow? Sorry for all of the questions! I have never had one of my girls get sick before Thanks


Oh, also, I already had my Australorp separated from these Buffs because I know you are not supposed to mix new chickens into an existing flock in case they make each other sick. Now I am glad that I did!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.ca.uky.edu/poultryprofit...natomy_and_Physiology/Chapter3_digestive.html
the bottom of this link has info. on types of poo and problems

Since they were born in September and just started laying, that makes them 8 months old at least. Buff Orps should start laying around 5-6 months old. So they may have had some problems - or maybe it was the feed- or something else. However, there are many posts on BYC about layers starting late, so maybe nothing wrong at all.

Grown hens can have some coccidiosis signs if immunocompromised. Check the keel on their chests- feel alongside the bone to see if the hen is skinny. IF skinny she may have worms or be ill with something else. Skinny plus diarrhea in my coop gets wormed. Also there is medication for coccidiosis if you think she has that too. Some vets will do a fecal float for cocci and worms for a small fee (false negatives are possible, even likely, with the worms test).

Check her crop in the morning to see if it is full (that would be possible sour or impacted crop if full after all night of no eating or drinking).

Also I'd dust for mites and lice with Poultry Dust, repeat in 7 days for mites (14 days for lice). This is just in case, as mites and lice are very common and this is simple to eradicate (I use permethrin poultry dust from the feed store). Sometimes they are difficult to see on the hens and will multiply.

Of course it could be another type of illness, but by ruling out worms, crop problems, coccidiosis, and mites/lice that helps a lot.

 

[Aconne10]

Thank you for your reply! After looking into all of the things you mentioned I am pretty sure she has an impacted crop (which I had never heard of before). I did a lot more reading and I think tomorrow I will try to massage her crop to see if that helps any. She was refusing to eat anything today and I noticed that her chest looked much bigger than the other hens but I had no idea what that meant or how it could be related to her being sick. We do everything naturally and organically so I wont be going to the vet or giving them any medicines/chemicals. I did give the whole flock a good dusting with food grade diatomatious earth powder to hopefully take care of any mites or lice. I have also added cayenne pepper to their organic feed mix to help prevent worms. I also mix in a little bit of apple cider vinegar into their water to help digestion and boost immune function.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thank you for your reply! After looking into all of the things you mentioned I am pretty sure she has an impacted crop (which I had never heard of before). I did a lot more reading and I think tomorrow I will try to massage her crop to see if that helps any. She was refusing to eat anything today and I noticed that her chest looked much bigger than the other hens but I had no idea what that meant or how it could be related to her being sick. We do everything naturally and organically so I wont be going to the vet or giving them any medicines/chemicals. I did give the whole flock a good dusting with food grade diatomatious earth powder to hopefully take care of any mites or lice. I have also added cayenne pepper to their organic feed mix to help prevent worms. I also mix in a little bit of apple cider vinegar into their water to help digestion and boost immune function.

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/04/answers-from-chicken-vet-on-impacted.html
this is one of our BYC members' blogs...haven't read through all of it but some of it may help you

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...impacted-gizard-sour-crop-differences-in-each
here is one thread- you can search for more threads of course

If you tip her to make her vomit (which I don't advise) be so careful because they can aspirate. I mention this because a lot of websites advocate doing that. There was also a crop surgery thread on BYC if you need it- if it is truly impacted and you can't get her cleaned out- I cannot tell you how to tell if it is needed though.

I have no experience with sour or impacted crop. Sour crop is often fungal...here is an interesting thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/630307/sour-crop-cured-with-monistat

Also - here-
http://browneggblueegg.com/Article.html
click on left column "impacted crop right way and impacted crop old way" - graphic

Also I have read some people advocating feeding some olive oil - soaked bread before massaging.