Lethargic hen with pale comb hiding and acting strange

[Jessie9]

Hi! My ~2 year old (a guess because she was adopted) hen has been acting strange and I'm worried!
For about a week she has had a pale floppier than normal comb. Eating and drinking less. Had a poopy butt but just looked like normal poop.
Gave her a bath, dewormer, and some electrolytes.
She perked up that day but the next was back to acting strange. Now she has a weird colored poopy butt (maybe from the dewormer?) I don't think she's laying eggs. I have seen her eat a bit but not much and barely any drinking lately.
She is doing stuff like hiding in corners, hiding in piles of stuff and burying her head, staying in the coop most of the day. The other hens are starting to go after her.

Substrate in the coop is sand.
Food is egg laying pellets. She has oyster shells.
Stomach feels normal but maybe a little skinny.
Vent looked normal from what I saw other than the poop. Crop is empty. Breath smells normal.

Help please

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow urates in her poop, which normally are white, can be a sign of dehydration or more likely, liver problems from a reproductive disorder or even cancer. Her vent is a little pooched out, so I wonder if she has a stuck egg or lash egg that she is having trouble laying. I would give her a human calcium tablet with vitamin D or a Tums orally. The Tums may need to be broken into pieces, but she could swallow the calcium tablet. Then get her drinking some fluids (maybe shortly before giving the tablet) and offer some watery chicken feed. Calcium will increase muscle contractions to help lay an egg or lash egg. Here is a good buy on calcium:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-C...Tr10CewkNQu6GCqfKpZOKWvkgPv_oiHsaAgtFEALw_wcB

 

[Bawkbok]

I'm not an expert but while we wait for others who are, I would suggest the following:
- clean up her butt feathers with mild soap (Dawn if you have it) and water. I wouldn't bathe her again as that can be stressful if a chicken is not feeling well, some like it but most do not.
- If the others are going after her, I would separate her to keep from being picked on and so you can better keep an eye on her.
- To get her to drink offer some electrolytes separately or you may need to offer some from a dropper, just a little on her beak so she can swallow. you can also offer some wet mushy scrambled egg to encourage her to eat.

 

[Bawkbok]

Sorry Eggcessive, didn't realize you were responding.

 

[Jessie9]

The yellow urates in her poop, which normally are white, can be a sign of dehydration or more likely, liver problems from a reproductive disorder or even cancer. Her vent is a little pooched out, so I wonder if she has a stuck egg or lash egg that she is having trouble laying. I would give her a human calcium tablet with vitamin D or a Tums orally. The Tums may need to be broken into pieces, but she could swallow the calcium tablet. Then get her drinking some fluids (maybe shortly before giving the tablet) and offer some watery chicken feed. Calcium will increase muscle contractions to help lay an egg or lash egg. Here is a good buy on calcium:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Equate-C...Tr10CewkNQu6GCqfKpZOKWvkgPv_oiHsaAgtFEALw_wcB

Thank you! Are there any signs I should be looking out for that would be like an emergency vet situation?

 

[Jessie9]

I'm not an expert but while we wait for others who are, I would suggest the following:
- clean up her butt feathers with mild soap (Dawn if you have it) and water. I wouldn't bathe her again as that can be stressful if a chicken is not feeling well, some like it but most do not.
- If the others are going after her, I would separate her to keep from being picked on and so you can better keep an eye on her.
- To get her to drink offer some electrolytes separately or you may need to offer some from a dropper, just a little on her beak so she can swallow. you can also offer some wet mushy scrambled egg to encourage her to eat.

Thank you! When we did a bath it was just the butt! Are there any dangers to syringe feeding a chicken? Asking because I know with some animals there are!

Edit
Googled it and saw the high aspiration chance so I'll be careful and just let her go at her pace

 

[Bawkbok]

Thank you! When we did a bath it was just the butt! Are there any dangers to syringe feeding a chicken? Asking because I know with some animals there are!

Edit
Googled it and saw the high aspiration chance so I'll be careful and just let her go at her pace

I've never had to syringe feed a chicken. For liquids, I have provided drops of electrolytes when we had a near death chicken and it brought her around. What I did was use a small 3cc syringe (no needle of course) and placed about 1cc of liquid in the dropper and ever so gently placed one drop on the edge of her tongue with beak slightly open but it's important to have the head level, not pulled up in any vertical manner. After the drop, I let her rest and ensured she swallowed, then repeated every couple of minutes until she had almost 1cc. That was all she needed. It is a slow process but the safest way I could get it in her as she was far beyond drinking on her own even when sticking her beak in a small bowl of water. I let her rest in a warm, darkened room dog kennel. She was back with her mates within a few hours.

 

[Jessie9]

Okay so I've given her calcium tablets yesterday and today (the ones you recommended eggcessive)
Today she still has yellow poop and the minimal eating and drinking is continuing. I've given her some wet eggs, and some syringes of water with a bit of electrolytes.
Anything else I can do? If this is a lash egg how long does that process take? Do I give her calcium every day?

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that I have ‘t been keeping up with your thread. I see where you have posted a new one with vet xrays of your hen. If I were you I would also post the xrays here, or link that thread to here, and keep updating this thread. I do think that your hen may have a reproductive disorder that may eventually kill her. I like to make them soft watery feed with a bit of cooked egg, and offer it up to their beaks a couple of times a day. Is she passing drooping okay, and are the urates still yellow? Did she have any results from her calcium? If she is bullied, it might be best to keep her in the chicken coop or run inside a hospital dog crate where she can still see the others, but remain safe. I prefer that they drink and eat on their own, but you can give a little medication or fluid this way:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[Jessie9]

Sorry that I have ‘t been keeping up with your thread. I see where you have posted a new one with vet xrays of your hen. If I were you I would also post the xrays here, or link that thread to here, and keep updating this thread. I do think that your hen may have a reproductive disorder that may eventually kill her. I like to make them soft watery feed with a bit of cooked egg, and offer it up to their beaks a couple of times a day. Is she passing drooping okay, and are the urates still yellow? Did she have any results from her calcium? If she is bullied, it might be best to keep her in the chicken coop or run inside a hospital dog crate where she can still see the others, but remain safe. I prefer that they drink and eat on their own, but you can give a little medication or fluid this way:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

That's okay I appreciate your reply
I've been giving her about 10mls of water (before she refuses entirely) every few hours by dripping it on the side of her beak until she drinks it herself. I can't get her to eat anything other than a few hulled sunflower seeds. She's refusing eggs now. (I did see a dent in her food overnight 2 nights ago though and her crop was full and then smaller in size this morning, but hardly any food intake today)
She's rarely pooping and very small amounts, urates still yellow. Yesterday it had some greenish brown solids in there but today all liquid.
She was contracting a few hours after the calcium but nothing happened other than that.
After a warm soak yesterday she seemed to fluff up and preen a little and she laid in the water herself for awhile.
I have had her in a crate in my kitchen after the bath and since the vets appointment but I can fit the crate into the coop I really think that would help her spirit at least.
The vet gave me Meloxicam and discussed euthanasia considering the blood results which we get tomorrow and her demeanor. but it just feels strange to take her there for euthanasia I wish I could keep her comfortable here and let her pass I'm not sure what to do in that regard