Lethargic Hen. Won't eat or drink. Help!

[Preservation Acres]

My favorite hen isn't doing so well. She wouldn't come out to free range this evening, so I picked her up and brought her out with the other hens.

She just layed on the ground. She had one poop which was very small and mostly water. I tried to get her to eat, but she wouldn't. I've given her water and yogurt via a medicine syringe, but I stopped when I noticed that her crop is swollen and feels like it's full of fluid.

Any suggestions???

 

[Preservation Acres]

Any suggestions at all?

 

[Preservation Acres]

Come on folks.

 

[vaughanfarm]

Any type of gurgling sounds or a cough? Just wondering as one of my hens has a cough and gurgling, she isn't eating much or drinking alot and just kind of lays around.

I isolated her to a temp cage hoping it won't spread to my others.

I am still trying to figure this one out myself.

I hope yours gets better.

 

[Preservation Acres]

Thanks. No noise at all. Not a peep from her. She lets me pick her up without the slightest squawk.

I hope she makes it through the night. Good luck with yours too.

How long has it been going on with yours?

 

[vaughanfarm]

Since around noon yesterday (8/24/2009) as far as I can tell. I'm stuck with gape, cold/flu, or pneumonia as it rained very hard the other day. Now with the rain I must say, they have a nicely built house that stays dry but I was not around to see if my nutty hens took their time getting into the house as this storm came up quick.

Anyways, again I hope all comes out well.

 

[HEChicken]

This sounds similar to the symptoms exhibited by one of mine. I got them (around a month old) on 8/18 and they seemed fine. On 8/20 I realized that one of them was lethargic and started watching it carefully. It didn't seem excited by things the others found interesting, and spent most of its time asleep. I also noticed it wasn't eating and to keep it hydrated, I fed it water out of a rabbit waterer several times a day. By the evening of 8/21 (3 days without eating and only a little water), my husband picked it up and declared it weighed half what the others of the same age did. He predicted it would not make it through the night. By the morning of 8/22 it was still alive and I was excited to see it drinking on its own. Shortly after that it wandered over to the feed and ate 2-3 pecks worth. That was apparently exhausting (because it was so weak) and it drifted off to sleep right there. After a short nap, it awoke to have 2-3 more mouthfuls. This continued on and off all day. That evening I took them all outside for some free range time and to my amazement, watched this chick take off as animated as all the others and start scrounging for bugs. By next morning (8/24), it was eating enthusiastically and has continued through today (8/25), eating if anything, more than the others, to make up for the 3.5 days of no eating. Anyone watching them today would never guess that only a few days ago we didn't expect (she?) would make it. I am still baffled as to what caused the symptoms however, so I wish you luck. The only advice I can offer is to make sure to keep hydration up (stick the beak in a small, upright animal waterer) and otherwise, leave him/her alone as much as possible in a quiet, dark, stress-free place to rest.

 

[threehorses]

I'm sorry for the lack of replies. Since you had three noted on yours, I thought you were being helped.

Is the crop still overly full, mushy? Can you possibly answer the questions in the second sticky post of this forum section - but into your thread here to help us establish a little flock history? This includes weight as being thin or fat, and lots of details on her diet including whether or not she's getting granite type grit free choice, exactly what feed, etc.

Withhold her feed tonight. If her crop is still full in the morning then it will need to be flushed out and emptied. Keeping contents in the crop will make the bird sick as the food ferments and toxins seep into the digestive tract. Let her still have water, and in fact for now I'd make sure she has electrolytes since she's drinking less. I'd keep her up since she's not moving. She won't eat voluntarily at this state - you'll want facilitate that.

I'd make sure, until things are more clear, to give her easily digested foods - that means food that if you put them in a glass of water would dissolve into a little puddle of stuff in the bottom of the glass in about 10 minutes.
That means no solid grains, but yes to crumbles (Or pellets crushed into crumble size in the blender).
No to scrambled eggs, yes to boiled egg yolk (No white) mixed with a little water.
No to vegetables or fruits, yes to bread soaked in live-culture buttermilk or yogurt mixed with water and then the break soaked in it (no crusts). Yes to cooked oatmeal if you put the 'dry' uncooked oats in the food processor and process them really small (chick sized) first, no to whole oats cooked.
A little babyfood applesauce also helps cleanse the digestive tract.

If she won't eat, mixing water, yogurt, egg yolk together can tempt them to eat. If she still won't eat, consider parrot starter formula from the pet store. It contains the probiotics (living bacteria) that yogurt would provide, vitamins, and is nutrient-dense - lots of nutrition per ounce. If you try that, don't make it hot - make it barely warm. Make it into a pudding or thin paste that you can put in the bird's mouth without the water leaking back and getting into her airway. If you do that, consider using a touch of applesauce in it, and electrolyte-treated water for the water.

I look forward to your reponses and hope we can get your girl started on getting well.

 

[weidnercharm]

I have a cochin who is lethargic, wont eat drink or move much. Has been this way for 2 days. Crop is empty, no bound up egg, nothing noticeably wrong. I brought her inside where its quiet. She still wont eat or drink. I even put cottage cheese in front if her. Worried.

 

[ZebraBus]

My favorite hen isn't doing so well. She wouldn't come out to free range this evening, so I picked her up and brought her out with the other hens.

She just layed on the ground. She had one poop which was very small and mostly water. I tried to get her to eat, but she wouldn't. I've given her water and yogurt via a medicine syringe, but I stopped when I noticed that her crop is swollen and feels like it's full of fluid.

Any suggestions???
[/QUOT

Hi, just found this site recently and going through same thing. Did your hen make it through?