Lethargic hen, white and green poop (picture warning)

[cnielsen]

My poor hen big mama has not been herself since yesterday. Yesterday she was sitting sort of randomly in the middle of the yard, but I didn’t assume anything seeing as it’s been around 97 degrees here everyday, and she is 7 years old so I thought possibly she was just really hot (she has full access to shade and cool water 24/7). That night she didn’t put herself to sleep though, instead she remained outside sitting down on the ground. She is usually kind of skittish, but now I can approach her and she doesn’t care. She can move around fine, but I notice she just sits next to her food and water and won’t get up and move for hours. She is eating and drinking consistently, but her poop has been white and runny, with green bits.

I’m keeping her in our garage with a fan on to keep her cool, I put some nutri drench in her water just in case, and she has been eating plenty.
Anyone know what could be wrong, or how I can help her?

 

[Eggcessive]

Not laying in years is actually a sign of reproductive problems, such as egg yolk peritonitis, salpingitis, ascites (water belly,) and cancer. Crop disorders may also occur or accompany these. Chickens can lay most of their lives. I had a couple of 9 years olds laying until recently. Her green poop with the large amount of urates, is a sign of not eating enough. I would feel of her crop to see if it is full, puffy, hard, doughy, or empty. In early morning before she could eat or drink, feel it to make sure that it is empty. Is her tail held down instead of up? I would try to get her eating some moistened chicken feed, and a little scrambled egg, tuna, or canned cat food to tempt her. Fluids are most important, and during hot weather occasional electrolytes may help. I also keep flat pans of shaded cool water for them to cool their legs every day.

 

[Eggcessive]

Glad to hear that she ate some. She could be on her way out with the symptoms she has, but if she eats and her crop empties overnight, she may feel well enough to live a bit longer. Our ancestors didn’t keep chickens for years as we do, and they typically butchered them for dinner younger, and especially if one had any problems or stopped laying. In my flock, a good sign to let them go and stop suffering is if the others start pecking them. Many hens who have illness, will still like to go out into the yard and sit with their buddies, but once they hide or get pecked, I put them down.

 

[Banana01]

If it's any consolation, I see these types of droppings from time to time in my flock of 75 birds, and don't even pay attention to them. I see them all the time from my ducks who eat green algae, and sometimes from chickens who eat grass. I also live in a very hot climate and constantly have to monitor for overheated birds. If she is eating and drinking normally, she maybe is just tired from heat exhaustion.

Basically I think her body is just overheated. Heat exhaustion would cause her to be unwilling to move. Heat exhaution can take hours to recover from even after being moved in to a cool place. Over heating also can cause watery droppings like this. Everything points to overheating.

 

[cnielsen]

If it's any consolation, I see these types of droppings from time to time in my flock of 75 birds, and don't even pay attention to them. I see them all the time from my ducks who eat green algae, and sometimes from chickens who eat grass. I also live in a very hot climate and constantly have to monitor for overheated birds. If she is eating and drinking normally, she maybe is just tired from heat exhaustion.

Basically I think her body is just overheated. Heat exhaustion would cause her to be unwilling to move. Heat exhaution can take hours to recover from even after being moved in to a cool place. Over heating also can cause watery droppings like this. Everything points to overheating.

thank you! She’s a brahma, and our biggest at that, so i had a feeling she was probably just overheating way worse than our other hens. I wanted to make sure, i saw some posts saying these types of poops can mean reproductive problems, but she hasn’t been laying for years.
i will just continue to keep an eye on her.

 

[cnielsen]

Glad to hear that she ate some. She could be on her way out with the symptoms she has, but if she eats and her crop empties overnight, she may feel well enough to live a bit longer. Our ancestors didn’t keep chickens for years as we do, and they typically butchered them for dinner younger, and especially if one had any problems or stopped laying. In my flock, a good sign to let them go and stop suffering is if the others start pecking them. Many hens who have illness, will still like to go out into the yard and sit with their buddies, but once they hide or get pecked, I put them down.

yeah, I have a feeling she’s getting close to her time. I think I will put her back out with her friends today, and as long as they don’t pick on her they can stay together. thank you for the help

 

[cnielsen]

Big Mama has since passed away. Thank you for your help, I think she was comfortable in her last couple days

 

[Banana01]

thank you! She’s a brahma, and our biggest at that, so i had a feeling she was probably just overheating way worse than our other hens. I wanted to make sure, i saw some posts saying these types of poops can mean reproductive problems, but she hasn’t been laying for years.
i will just continue to keep an eye on her.

My oldest bird is only two years, so I have never had a bird that is 7 years old. I hope she goes for many more years for you.

 

[cnielsen]

Not laying in years is actually a sign of reproductive problems, such as egg yolk peritonitis, salpingitis, ascites (water belly,) and cancer. Crop disorders may also occur or accompany these. Chickens can lay most of their lives. I had a couple of 9 years olds laying until recently. Her green poop with the large amount of urates, is a sign of not eating enough. I would feel of her crop to see if it is full, puffy, hard, doughy, or empty. In early morning before she could eat or drink, feel it to make sure that it is empty. Is her tail held down instead of up? I would try to get her eating some moistened chicken feed, and a little scrambled egg, tuna, or canned cat food to tempt her. Fluids are most important, and during hot weather occasional electrolytes may help. I also keep flat pans of shaded cool water for them to cool their legs every day.

That was poorly worded on my part, she hasn’t been laying reliably for about a year. we got her when she was 6, and her previous owners said she had recently stopped laying. since then We’ve gotten an occasional extra egg from her. Still, it’s concerning. I just checked her crop, it fdlt empty. This morning she was we also unwilling to eat on her own, but I moved her near her food and will try those treats when i get home. Her tail is drooping down. I have some of those out too.
thank you for the help!

 

[Banana01]

That was poorly worded on my part, she hasn’t been laying reliably for about a year. we got her when she was 6, and her previous owners said she had recently stopped laying. since then We’ve gotten an occasional extra egg from her. Still, it’s concerning. I just checked her crop, it fdlt empty. This morning she was we also unwilling to eat on her own, but I moved her near her food and will try those treats when i get home. Her tail is drooping down. I have some of those out too.
thank you for the help!

Sorry to hear she stopped eating. That could mean something else is going on with her. I've had a lot of rainy cold weather at night where I am, with really hot days. I noticed a few of my ornamental birds quit eating and had high body temperatures which are like fevers and the flu for them, its coryza symptoms. I tried giving aspirin for the first time with their antibiotics, and surprisingly their high temperatures went away and they ate till their crops were full in the afternoon. Today they were normal.

Any update on her condition or what medications you can give her?