lethargic hen, yellow poop, loss of weight/motor skills, depressed

[commonoperation]

Hello, I'm very new to this forum (this is my first post) and also very new to backyard chickens (this is my first flock). I have a small flock of three in my Pittsburgh backyard. My bottom-of-pecking-order hen, Flhennery O'Connor, has not been looking so swell.

First she began having yellow runny poop- I know it's hers because I looked at her butt feathers. This was maybe less than a week ago. Then she, my most inquisitive hen, became lethargic, and depressed. She appears to have given up on the world and things around her. She is no longer interested in things she once loved, like mealworms. I even tried to hand feed her. She looks at them, haphazzardly tries to peck them out of my hand but ultimately fails as it appears that her motor skills are waning.

Today I separated her from the other two, I put her in the fenced in garden bed area- she's barely eating and therefore won't do much damage. She did begin to eat some grass. However, she is much lighter than the other hens at this point and I never picked them up much but I don't remember this always being the case. I think she has lost a signifigant amount of weight. I put some cayenne in her water as well as the other two's water after reading around on this forum about worms. I also gave her a variety of bright things like strawberries hoping that those may catch her eye. I'm going to have to put her in the coop with the other two tonight because I don't have another shelter, unless I bring her inside and put her in the tub or something.

Any suggestions to what this may be/ what I can do?

Thanks in advance..

 

[Karhog]

Hi, i have posted on here a few times with similar problems. It sounds like it could be EYP (Egg Yolk Peritonitis) or internal laying. I have lost two chooks to this and currently have another with early signs, (mine are ex battery and quite prone to this)
I hope it's not this as the long term prognosis is not good. I 'managed' the condition for a few months with my last chook Bertha with Anti Biotics and she really improved, began eating again and scratching around etc- but after three separate courses it finally took over and she died.
I am considering hormone implants with my chook that is showing symptoms now that will stop her producing eggs- (this wasn't possible with Bertha as sge was too far gone)
All I can suggest is to take her to the vet and see what the diagnosis is. When Bertha was really bad I really had to try and tempt her with whatever food she would eat and hand feed at times. Scrambled egg, moistened pellets, grapes apple- literally anything to keep her strength. Sugar water is good for energy too... like I say though once she was on a/b she was so much better and ate and drank freely.

 

[commonoperation]

What brings it on? Is is hereditary or a stress caused thing? I don't know that I can afford a vet right now and I wonder if I should put her out of her misery if she is in pain...

 

[Karhog]

Its basically when the eggs either break inside them or dont go down the oviduct in the way that they should. The yolk is a bacteria haven and causes an infection to build up. With internal laying this gets worse and worse and can eventually push all the organs up, eventually causing breathing difficulties.
It can happen to any hen but more so in older hens or commercial layers.
Depending on how long she has been like this, only you can judge her quality of life. I would google it to check out your hens symptoms and prognosis.

 

[commonoperation]

I soaked her in the tub today for about 20 minutes.. full of warm water. Her crop is hard and she is so boney. Maybe she is crop bound? Ugh this is so sad.

 

[Karhog]

How is your hen now? Have you checked her crop first thing in the morning? (it should be empty) If it is still hard, she may have impacted crop and wont be able to eat.
Olive oil and a good massage to the crop throughout the day will help as will live white maggots-(They will help eat through the impactation)

 

[dawg53]

Yellow runny poop is usually a sign of infection. A course of antibiotics such as baytril or penicillin may help if she's not too far along with the infection. You'll also need to give her probios and poultry nutri drench to sustain her strength and help rebuild her immune system.

 

[commonoperation]

she seems to be doing much better! she's alert and eating well. i put her back with the other two hens and that seemed to make her feel more lively. she's gettin picked on by the top hen (who is pretty aggressive) but i think she is just trying to reenforce the pecking order. still no egg from her but i wonder if that is just from the sickness/stress of being moved out of the pen and then back into the pen..

 

[b1acksh33p]

@commonoperation so what did you do to get her back on the right track, just the soak in the tub treatment