lethargic, purple comb, very sick chicken

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

if she is egg bound is there anything i can do? if there is, how? i have researched but have not yet found symptoms that match. i probably can't take her to a vet.

Yes! She could possibly be egg bound, but there is something you can do about it.
Have a big tub. Put very hot (not hot enough to scold your chicken) water in it. Put Epsom Salt in it and stir it around. Hold your chicken down in it for 20 minutes. Make sure the hot water touches her 'bottom.' If your chicken flaps its wings around and tries to escape while being soaked, pet her or give her food to calm her down. Repeat this for about 5 days to cure her of being egg bound.

 

[chickenluver10]

okay thanks i will try that. i am pretty sure she will not flap she is so weak she can barely hold her head up.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

okay thanks i will try that. i am pretty sure she will not flap she is so weak she can barely hold her head up.

Poor baby! Try that. Keep me posted on this thread!

 

[chickenluver10]

Is there a substitute for Epsom salt? i don't have any

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Is there a substitute for Epsom salt? i don't have any

Well, you can use regular salt.

 

[chickenluver10]

Thanks. I hope she will live five days to do it, i am starting her bath.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Thanks. I hope she will live five days to do it, i am starting her bath.

Ok. Hope she makes it too.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would never bathe a chicken who had a blue comb and labored breathing, since it could put them over the edge. You can insert a finger into her vent an inch or two (using a disposable glove) to feel for a stuck egg. Get her drinking some water right away, and add electrolytes or give gatorade in a pinch. Since she has been ill for a while I would pick her up to feel for weight loss and a bony keel. Look her over for mites and lice. Keep her warm, since she could be chilling. Feel of her crop to check if it is empty, full and hard, or puffy like a balloon. Offer chopped egg, wet chicken feed, tuna, or treats that she might take. Chickens can suffer from many problems, such as heart failure, being kept from food and water, coccidiosis, crop problems, respiratory diseases, and others.

 

[chickenluver10]

i felt up her vent with gloves, felt nothing, offered her many food choices, forced her to drink a little, and yet she is much much worse today. probably won't make it to tomorrow. her butt is very swollen.

 

[microchick]

You say her butt is very swollen? Do you mean her abdomen around her vent, her abdomen or the vent itself?

Has she prolapsed her vent?