Lethargic pullet/hen

[PopoMyers]

Help! My black sex link (11+months old) has been just squatting and lethargic since yesterday afternoon, ate a few fly larvae when I treated the girls, and went back to squatting. She roosted overnight, and when she came out I found her this morning a little worse. I have her inside now. Pics attached of her head, crop, and vent. She has always had poopy vent feathers, (I got her this past Feb) and I trimmed them off today. Normally she won't let me touch her. Her crop is not hard, squishy, and when I massaged it earlier today some air came out and a little watery food and grass bits, but no bad smell. Her vent is not red or swollen, her comb is fallen over. I offered her chick electrolytes which I dipped her beak in, and she drank some.
She also leans to the left and her feet curl up when picked up. She seems to have little energy.Not even trying to give food yet. Her abdomen is normal, so no egg or swelling.

 

[azygous]

What is the middle photo depicting? What part of the chicken? A closeup is a big help, but it needs to have a similar shot farther out to establish context so we know what we're seeing and where it's located on your chicken.

You don't always feel an egg with egg binding. So you can't rule that out. Has she had any egg quality issues? Thin shells? Shell-less eggs?

Is her poop normal or watery, green, diarrhea, etc?

Does she have access to a compost pile where decaying or moldy material has been tossed? Has it been warm and wet there? Has there been any augmentation of your planting beds with hauled in top soil?

Have you checked her feed to see if it may have become moldy? It would likely smell very unpleasant.

Do you have any antibiotics on hand? She may need one if we figure out what's going on.

 

[PopoMyers]

What is the middle photo depicting? What part of the chicken? A closeup is a big help, but it needs to have a similar shot farther out to establish context so we know what we're seeing and where it's located on your chicken.

You don't always feel an egg with egg binding. So you can't rule that out. Has she had any egg quality issues? Thin shells? Shell-less eggs?

Is her poop normal or watery, green, diarrhea, etc?

Does she have access to a compost pile where decaying or moldy material has been tossed? Has it been warm and wet there? Has there been any augmentation of your planting beds with hauled in top soil?

Have you checked her feed to see if it may have become moldy? It would likely smell very unpleasant.

Do you have any antibiotics on hand? She may need one if we figure out what's going on.

Middle photo is her crop, which feels like a water balloon, not hard. No mold in feed, no access to garden or flower beds. Just a large run and some small grassy lawn areas. 11 other girls are fine. No egg quality issues. The last time I believe she laid was a few days ago. I haven't been able to isolate which poop is hers, and she hasn't pooped since this morning, but I believe it is a softer poop because it sticks to her feathers, which I was able to trim off today. Her back end smells like aged urine. I do not have any antibiotics, but may go get some Corid to give the girls as an prophylaxis. What kind of antibiotic?
So, I did a digital exam, and no stuck egg. This poop came out of her, so her poop would be white/yellowish with darker specks. The dark spot was rust in the container, not blood.

 

[azygous]

Has it been very hot there?

 

[azygous]

I just did a weather search on your area. The answer is yes, you have had some hot weather with more to come. This hen may be suffering from heat sickness. The clue is that white poop.

Her other symptoms also fit. Try giving her Gatoraid each hour for the remainder of today, and then do the same tomorrow. Keep her inside where it's cool, and you might want to give her cool compresses under her wings to bring down her body temp.

 

[PopoMyers]

I just did a weather search on your area. The answer is yes, you have had some hot weather with more to come. This hen may be suffering from heat sickness. The clue is that white poop.

Her other symptoms also fit. Try giving her Gatoraid each hour for the remainder of today, and then do the same tomorrow. Keep her inside where it's cool, and you might want to give her cool compresses under her wings to bring down her body temp.

Sadly, she just vomited and died. I heard her struggling in the box, and by the time I got there she was gone. I brought her in the house this morning before it got hot.Thanks for your help and advice. The other girls are all panting. Think I'll dig out some frozen grapes and veggies for them.

 

[azygous]

If you have a place they like to dirt bathe and you can rig some shade for it, making the dirt damp will help them shed excess heat as they dirt bathe.

I have a sand run, and I hose it down on hot days so there is evaporation. They also dig holes in it and lie in them throwing cool damp sand over themselves.

I also empty four trays of ice cubes into a big pan and let them kick the cubes around with their feet which cools them off since chickens shed heat through their legs and feet. They also drink the ice melt all day long.

Watch for any chicken with a drunken gait. That is one of the first signs of heat sickness. If you see that, get them inside and apply cool compresses under their wing pits and give them Gatoraid. If you have no Gatoraid, you can make your own electrolytes. The recipe is on the internet.

 

[PopoMyers]

If you have a place they like to dirt bathe and you can rig some shade for it, making the dirt damp will help them shed excess heat as they dirt bathe.

I have a sand run, and I hose it down on hot days so there is evaporation. They also dig holes in it and lie in them throwing cool damp sand over themselves.

I also empty four trays of ice cubes into a big pan and let them kick the cubes around with their feet which cools them off since chickens shed heat through their legs and feet. They also drink the ice melt all day long.

Watch for any chicken with a drunken gait. That is one of the first signs of heat sickness. If you see that, get them inside and apply cool compresses under their wing pits and give them Gatoraid. If you have no Gatoraid, you can make your own electrolytes. The recipe is on the internet.

With all the great tips, I believe I'll hose down their dirt holes under the big apple tree (auto shade), and mist them tomorrow, as well as a pan of ice cubes to play in. Able to leave the coop side door open for more air. Thanks for helping me help my girls get through this unusual heat wave. My other black sex link is lonely, I think, since it was her roost mate that died.

 

[Swbertrand1]

I know this is late in this thread, but a box fan (or any fan) put in their coop or run can help with high heat too.

Though we have an 800cfm exhaust fan that runs on a thermostat ANY time the coop reaches 85 degrees, we've also got oscillating fans that run in our coop during the first 6 hours after dark every night that blow indirectly past the roost bars. Why so many fans? In the summer months of June, July, August and even early September, we're often in the 90s during the day here in North Carolina, and the coop temperature can go up quickly.

Anything chicken owners can do to knock the heat down will help your birds during the hot summer months. How would you like to be wearing a "down jacket" in the summer heat??