This ailment has been prolonged for a while. It has only effected one of my Rhode Island Reds.
She lost an ample amount of weight and her feathers weren't fully grown in.
So I bought some feather fixer and added it to their grain.
lethargic and unresponsive to the rest of the hens. On top of that, she has steadily lost more weight.
noticing her only going to the water dish in the mornings instead of eating. Her crop would always be soft but nearly empty
hasn't laid very many eggs since summer. Probably two or three here and there these past few months. I checked her poop earlier today and she does have clumpy-string-cheese things in her poop. It's a green tinged clear with the white string stuff.
She literally shakes her head when I offer her food. She'll lean forward to inspect it and then vigorously shake her head from side to side.
Can you post some photos of her and her poop?
Let me see if we have a good "rundown" of symptoms here:
She's 2yrs old, molting(?), hasn't laid an egg in several months, she's drinking quite a bit of water - shakes her head vigorously when offered food, poop is green with white stringy "stuff" (photos please). She has lost quite a bit of weight, you don't feel any obvious swelling/bloat or feeling of fluid in the abdomen. No lice/mites.
The shaking of the head, drinking water first thing, but not eating, crop is soft/nearly empty - sounds like she has a crop issue. Does she have any sour smell to breath? Keep her drinking, massage the crop - does it feel boggy/doughy or like she may have something in there? This is one of the best articles I know for treating crop issues.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments
Now...with her age and the symptoms you describe - I do suspect she has crop problems, but this can also just be a symptom of an underlying condition. Worms, Coccidiosis, infection and reproductive/internal laying disorders are common causes of slow and sour crop - essentially there is inflammation, infection or something blocking/slowing the digestive process. This can cause a hen to become malnourished since she is not absorbing vital nutrients. Underlying illness can also just bring them down. Getting a fecal float would be very important if possible - worms and Coccidiosis can be treated fairly easily, but there would need to be a sense of urgency before she declines further. Reproductive/internal laying disorders like Egg Yolk Peritonitis, Ascites, cancer, tumors and Salpingitis usually have no effective treatment. Sometimes antibiotics can be administered to give comfort and supportive care, but they only help short term.
Offering poultry vitamins won't hurt, along with trying to encourage her to eat - but if she is violently shaking her head when offered food - this (to me) would indicate there is a blockage that needs to be taken care of before she can eat properly. Another thought is to examine the inside of her beak and the back of her throat for any lesions or yellow cheesy plaques - canker can also make them not eat.
Vet care is always best if that is an option.
Do the best you can to make her comfortable. Sadly, there are times, no matter what we try, they still decline further. If she seems to be in pain or is suffering, it's kinder to put her out of her misery than starving to death. If she doesn't make it or you let her go, getting a necropsy by your state lab or doing an informal internal inspection yourself may give you some answers. None of us are vets here, but if you want to try it yourself we will help the best we can.
Let us know how she is doing.
