Lethargic hen

[micah wotring]

She won't move or anything

She just stands there and shakes slightly.

She has her eyes closed and will only open them if I pet her.

She feels stiff when I wick her up.

Any help is appreciated.

Her is a video of her.

http://micahsfarm.blogspot.com/2016/04/so-i-have-sick-hen.html

I have to go to town now with my family but I will be anxiously awaiting your answers.

As soon as I get back I will run down and check on her.

Please help me save her.

Micah

 

[micah wotring]

Well, she died.

Oh well

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss, Micah. Since she looks puffed up , she may have been suffering from coccidiosis. I would also check to see if she had an egg blocking her vent (eggbound.) If she did the egg should be felt an inch or so inside her vent. Was there any food in her crop? This time of year with long grasses, chickens can get impacted crops, so be on the lookout for any that are hard and full in the mornings. Since coccidiosis can kill multiple chickens in an outbreak, I would get some Corid poder from your feed store and put 1 1/2 tsp per gallon of water, and treat all of your chickens for 5 days. You can also check with your state vet about getting a necropsy done on a dead chicken, but you have to refrigerate the body. Look the chickens over for any lice or mites, or tiny bugs around their vents and elsewhere.

 

[micah wotring]

I will check for eggs and mites, lice, or ticks.

I don't want any more of my chickens to die (I think 5 have so far this spring)

Thanks for your help
Micah

 

[micah wotring]

I did not see any bugs in the but feathers of any of my chickens.

I could not feel any egg up the vent so I don't think it's that.

I have vinegar in the water

When you said
Was there any food in her comb? This time of year with long grasses, chickens can get impacted crops, so be on the lookout for any that are hard and full in the mornings

Where you talking about the comb or the grass?

So, I should be checking their combs?

Thanks for helping me.
Micah

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry, I wrote comb instead of crop--maybe a spellcheck error. It is now corrected. I was talking about feeling the crop--feel of it to make sure they fill up normally throughout the day while the chickens eat and drink, and then empty by the next morning. If a crop is full and hard in early morning, they may have impacted crop. If the crop becomes full and squishy like a balloon, it may be a sour crop. ACV won't prevent coccidosis. Coccidia are in the intestines of all chickens, but if they get an overload, they can become sick and die. Normally they build up resistance to coccidia between ages 11-20 weeks. Some chickens though can suffer from poor immunity, and still get sick.

 

[micah wotring]

Oh ok,
I think I understand now.
I will check tomorrow morning.
Thanks

 

[gillnpunky]

wow

 

[micah wotring]

I went down to the chicken coop just before dawn.
They were all on the roost and so I checked a few.
They all feel empty ish
I have never tried to check a crop before so I cannot give you a definite answer.

It's definitely not hard (Consistency not Difficulty) but I'm not sure if it had a little food in it or if it was completely empty.
I will check later on today so that I have something to compare to.
Oh and I am keeping them all in the chicken coop away from the grass.
They are all about one year old if that makes any difference.

I had another one die today right after I checked its crop

It's crop was empty but it had clear liquid (Water Maybe) coming from its beak (Nose? Mouth? not sure)
AnYbody know what this is?

Thanks for all your help
Micah