Lethargic hen with yellow poo & heavy breathing

[Krystal B]

Hi everyone, looking for some help from all of you smart people. I have a 6 month old Black Copper Maran that started acting lethargic yesterday afternoon. We noticed it when we went out to give the girls treats and she had no interest. We also noticed that she had her head pulled back into her body so she looked like a big ball of a chicken.

We immediately removed her, brought her inside and put her in a dog crate with a soft towel on the floor, probiotics in her water, and fresh feed. She doesn’t feel particularly bloated or like she has water in her belly. But we noticed that she was breathing heavily and sleeping standing up.

The only thing she will eat is Greek yogurt, and she eats it with enthusiasm. No interest in fruits, veggies, pumpkin, or regular feed. Her crop had food in it yesterday afternoon, by this morning it felt empty and normal, but her poop is liquid and yellow, with a few almost normal ones mixed in. Will post a pic of poops.

We feed her an all natural mix that we buy locally in bulk. She has access to oyster shell and grit 24/7. I’ll post a pic of the ingredients.

She layed an egg yesterday morning and is usually our earliest layer. No egg yet today but in tracking her laying, this might actually just be a no egg day for her.

We gave her a brief epsom salt bath (had a little bit of liquid poo stuck to her bottom fluff) and got some Nutri-drench directly into her, maybe 1ml (she fought it & I got most of it on my hands). She’s currently dry, and back to resting in the crate. I checked her vent and everything looks normal. No sign of mites or lice or anything.

We saw her drinking water this morning, but she hasn’t had much. How much is too little, and when do I need to start helping her along in the water department?

I should note that I already went to the farm store and basically bought the entire poultry health section, so I have Nutri-Drench, Corid, dewormer, VetRx, etc. on hand.

The only change in her world in the last few days is that we rearranged to run to prepare for the PNW fall/winter rains and when I moved their food, I noticed some around on the ground that had gotten wet but it wasn’t a lot so I didn’t think it was a big deal. Also, on the same day, while free ranging, they all got to digging in a large pile of dried and partially decomposing grass clippings on top of the compost pile. There may have been some starting to mold in the pile but I can’t be sure they dug that deep.

I added a pic of Grumpy in the crate - the white stuff on her is the yogurt. The rest of the dwarves seem fine.

Any and all suggestions welcome as we’re very new to this and terrified that we might miss something. Thank you!!!

 

[Eggcessive]

Hard to know exactly what is wrong at this point. The urates are yellowish, which sometimes can be liver-related. You can insert a clean or gloved finger into her vent to check for a stuck egg. I would mix a small bowl of her feed with some water to make an oatmeal like mash. That will get more water into her. A small smount of scrambled egg can also be offered. Canned cat food, tuna, or ground meat is usually accepted well, but just a little, and then encourage her chicken feed. Early in the morning, again feel for her crop to make sure that it has emptied overnight. Have you seen any soft or shell-less eggs?

 

[Krystal B]

Hard to know exactly what is wrong at this point. The urates are yellowish, which sometimes can be liver-related. You can insert a clean or gloved finger into her vent to check for a stuck egg. I would mix a small bowl of her feed with some water to make an oatmeal like mash. That will get more water into her. A small smount of scrambled egg can also be offered. Canned cat food, tuna, or ground meat is usually accepted well, but just a little, and then encourage her chicken feed. Early in the morning, again feel for her crop to make sure that it has emptied overnight. Have you seen any soft or shell-less eggs?

No egg issues at all. They’ve been totally normal so far. I knew the finger up the vent thing was coming, but I’m really hesitant. I‘ll do it if I have to, just not my idea of a great time.

Forgot to mention that I offered feed + water and she wasn’t interested. But I’ll try that again. I also gave her some scrambled egg and she ate a tiny bit last night but then became disinterested. I’ll try the tuna/cat food thing; we have both on hand. She’s usually one of the better eaters in the bunch so her lack of appetite is distressing.

Thank you so much for the reply. I know these symptoms are vague.

 

[Chick3nLover]

Your thread title reminded me of one of my girls, but your hen’s poops look better then my girls did when she starting showing odd symptoms. Also mine had a crop emptying issue and that doesn’t seem to be the case with your girl. I’m so sorry she’s not doing well, I’ll be praying for y’all! I hope you find answers and treatments. I always hate trying to find out exactly what’s wrong with a chicken because it’s not always easy.

 

[Krystal B]

Hard to know exactly what is wrong at this point. The urates are yellowish, which sometimes can be liver-related. You can insert a clean or gloved finger into her vent to check for a stuck egg. I would mix a small bowl of her feed with some water to make an oatmeal like mash. That will get more water into her. A small smount of scrambled egg can also be offered. Canned cat food, tuna, or ground meat is usually accepted well, but just a little, and then encourage her chicken feed. Early in the morning, again feel for her crop to make sure that it has emptied overnight. Have you seen any soft or shell-less eggs?

Well, I did it. Lubed finger in the vent. I think I did feel an egg, but it felt like I wasn’t touching the shell, more like touching the egg through her skin. And after watching her some more, there’s a good amount of movement in her vent, looks like pulsing or light pushing. And her tail is down.

We got her into another epsom salt bath for a solid 15 min & a bit more nutri-drench in her. She seems to have perked up a bit and ate some melon, pumpkin, and yogurt (all in different little dishes). She’s back in the covered crate but still isn’t drinking water or eating the wet feed. But the melon, pumpkin, & yogurt are high water content, right? I’m honestly just happy she’s eating something.

After this last bath, she pooped something looking a bit more normal, still a little watery but not as bad. Is it possible that egg i feel is making its way down but not quite an obstruction?

I plan to keep doing the epsom salt baths every hour and a half or so. She doesn’t really like it and I don’t want to stress her. She likes the blow dryer, though.

 

[Krystal B]

Your thread title reminded me of one of my girls, but your hen’s poops look better then my girls did when she starting showing odd symptoms. Also mine had a crop emptying issue and that doesn’t seem to be the case with your girl. I’m so sorry she’s not doing well, I’ll be praying for y’all! I hope you find answers and treatments. I always hate trying to find out exactly what’s wrong with a chicken because it’s not always easy.

Thank you so much. It really is stressful not knowing what the exact problem is. I hope we can fix her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Since you think she has an egg inside, give her some human calcium. Calcium citrate 600 mg with vitamin D3 would be good, but if you have other calcium or Tums tonight, just give one of those orally. That can help increase muscle contraction. You could leave her in a warm moist room, such as a bathroom, instead of bathing her again.

 

[Krystal B]

Since you think she has an egg inside, give her some human calcium. Calcium citrate 600 mg with vitamin D3 would be good, but if you have other calcium or Tums tonight, just give one of those orally. That can help increase muscle contraction. You could leave her in a warm moist room, such as a bathroom, instead of bathing her again.

Thank you! I have some tums so crushed and added to her beloved Greek yogurt. She had a little, but I think caught onto my trick. I put a heating pad in the crate and she’s laying down and sleeping, as opposed to constantly standing and sleeping. I’ll give the bathroom trick a try. Thank you again for responding!

 

[Chick3nLover]

Hey how’s everything going? Is anything working?❤

 

[Redheadhomestead]

Following because my girl is acting the same with the same poop and I’m not getting much traction on my thread