Lethargic hen ... prolapse?

[DuckGirl77]

I have a production red hen, age unknown, who is acting pretty sick, but I can't figure her out. I first noticed that she was acting somewhat lethargic this morning. Then this evening, I noticed she had a prolapsed vent. I was thinking she must be egg bound, so I brought her inside and gave her a warm Epsom salt soak. Then I felt inside 1 1/2 to 2 inches, but no sign of an egg or anything hard like a shell. However, she did strain a lot like she was laying an egg when I felt inside and let out quite a bit of a light yellow liquid, maybe a little thinner than the consistency of duck droppings, if that makes sense. On a positive note, the prolapse was fine after the bath. I'm not sure if it fixed itself between when I saw it and the bath or if the bath did it, but either way, it did go back in! It came out again as she was straining and took maybe 20 to 30 seconds to fix itself with a little help from me.

I'm not sure if she's laying. I'm guessing not, because I'm not getting many eggs, and she's one of my older hens. She sleeps alot. She hasn't been eating much, at least since I brought her in. I cooked her a scrambled egg and gave her that with some yogurt. I mixed in oyster shells for calcium in case of egg binding (this was before I realized that wasn't the problem). She picked at the egg a little but didn't seem that interested which I guess I understand because it was a little late for a chicken to be awake, but that's definitely not normal chicken behavior. She's drinking plenty of water, though. I added a little ACV to the water. I'm not sure if that is going to help anything, but I figured it can't hurt. I'm keeping her inside for now.

I also noticed when I picked her up that her keel was a little too well-defined. A little background info may be helpful here. She was one of six hens I picked up from someone looking to downsize their flock about two years ago. They were at least a few years old, but I don't know the exact age. Three of them were production reds, and the other three looked like mixes. The other two prod reds died this past summer. They had well-defined keels like this one, only worse. I treated one for worms, but I don't remember the treatment I gave the other. As for the other three, two of them have never had any issues, and the other had ascetes this past summer. She is fine as of now, though. So not the healthiest bunch! I have twelve other chickens who are perfectly healthy, as far as I can tell.
Anywho, I'm hoping this one one doesn't have the same problem as her sisters. I think I caught this one earlier, though.
Any suggestions? Has anyone had this problem before? I may take her to the vet, but I'd like to fix it myself if possible. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[rebrascora]

It may be that she is trying to pass a shell less egg. They are very difficult to pass and can take a lot out of them and make them feel unwell and would explain why you didn't feel an egg. Can you give her a bigger dose of calcium supplement rather than the oyster shell which will take time to break down.... liquid calcium supplement would be good. And perhaps give her another soak in a warm Epsom Salts bath and lubricate and massage that vent inside and out. The fact that she pooped after/whilst you did an internal exam suggests that she may be backed up due to a stuck egg and that certainly leads to them not wanting to eat.
What does her comb look like? Is it red and plump like she should be "in lay" or dry and pale like when they moult?
How does her crop feel? Having a slow/partially impacted crop can lead to them becoming scrawny but so can cancer and unfortunately it is all too common in chickens particularly those high production birds.

 

[DuckGirl77]

Thanks so much for a speedy reply! So I followed your advice and got some calcium in her water. I gave her another soak. I felt inside again, and again some fluid came out, this time with some thicker dark green and yellow particles. She's acting the same as yesterday so far.
Her comb is red and plump. Her crop is squishy, like it's full of water.

 

[DuckGirl77]

She's eating this morning, so that's a relief. And she doesn't seem any worse. I'll keep going with the treatment and see if she continues to improve.

 

[rebrascora]

 

[DuckGirl77]

So I took her to the vet today to see if he could tell me for sure what it was. He found a tumor close-ish to her vent, which was why she was straining so much. She must have felt like she needed to lay an egg or something.
She's on pain meds, and I'm going to keep up the Epsom salt soaks and try to get her to keep eating.
I'm thinking, like you said, that it has something to do the fact that she was bred to lay and not to live for years and years. She's not even that old, as far as I know, but problems are already showing up. So that's definitely something I'll consider now whenever I add chickens to my flock. Usually when people are considering breeds, Production Reds are advertised since they lay so much. But I'm beginning to learn the value of other breeds.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm sorry to hear that. Did the vet not offer/suggest euthanizing? My concern is that she is going to continue to strain and push and that the tumour is constricting her vent and preventing her from pooping properly, which will be incredibly unpleasant for her even with pain killers. I appreciate that people have different views on this subject. but just wanted to make sure you have the full information to make the right decision for your hen.

 

[DuckGirl77]

Thank you. Yes, he did, but I've decided not to, at least for now. I see your point, because of the tumors location, but her droppings are pretty watery, and I'm not ready to put her down right now. But I appreciate your concern, so thanks : )