My hen is not eating just drinking

[samuelG]

It's been about 30hrs since I noticed my hen is not eating, only drinking more water than usual. She is lethargic, not dust bathing but she is still moving around just not much. She falls asleep during the day and she has a yellow runny poo with green through it but no smell. We have red mites but 95% eradicated and the other 5 hens are fine.shes 2.5 years old and not laying for a few days.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Has she been laying regularly up until now? No issues like soft shelled eggs or anything? I would feel her belly and around her vent area for lumps that could indicate a stuck egg or swelling that could be a reproductive issue or other disease.

If you think everything is fine on that end I'd look at crop/digestive problems. She could have eaten something bad, or gotten an obstruction, or perhaps just developed sour crop. Feel her crop. It will probably feel watery since you say she has only been drinking but if you feel something hard she has an impaction. If it's just watery you need to make sure it's draining properly over several hours. If it is still watery first thing in the morning she has a slow crop and/or sour crop. Here is a good article about crop problems: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

If her crop seems fine and she has just lost her appetite, it could be due to any number of issues: infection, poisoning, tumors, parasites.... Can you encourage her to eat with something tasty like scrambled egg, tuna, etc or won't she eat at all? I'd consider crop flushes (1 teaspoon epsom salt in 1/2 cup water or 1 teaspoon molasses in 1/4 cup water) to try to clear her system. You'll also need to look into torpedo feeding or tube feeding if she continues to refuse to eat.

 

[Eggcessive]

Her droppings look to have yellow urates, which are normally white. That could be due to a reproductive disorder or ascites. Check her crop to see if it is empty or full, hard, doughy, or puffy/soft. Once again in early morning before she eats or drinks, feel it again to see if it is empty as it should be. Drinking a lot of fluids can be common with crop problems. Crop problems may develop due to pressure inside the abdomen from reproductive disorders, ascites or water belly, an intestinal or gizzard slowdown, or worms.

I probably would not do a flush just yet until locating the problem, since that could dehydrate her and make her more ill. If you think she could have ingested a toxin, then a flush might be helpful.