My hen is sick need some help

[tractoraholic]

Hi All,

I Have a seven month old Partridge cochin I think is sick. I will try to make a short story so here we go. Ive owned her for a month and she seemed very healthy and active. Last week she started to sing the egg song one afternoon but no eggs. She lives in a playhouse style coop with four Bantam cochins with supervised free range time. This morning she did not seem herself. She would not eat or drink or scratch with the other chickens. She just stands in one corner. I picked her up to examine her. What I noticed was her whole butt was soaked. I wiped it and it and the cloth was a transparent brown color almost like varnish. I noticed a clear liquid is oozing out of her vent. I put light pressure under her vent to feel if she was egg bound and it sounds like there is a lot of air and water escaping her vent kinda like a (please excuse my language but it best describes) wet fart. I leaned her forward and she spit out a cloudy liquid. She just stands or lays down and wont eat or drink. Any one deal with this before?

Thanks for your help,
Justin

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

Sorry, I can't help with this, but I did want to say welcome to BYC. I hope someone comes along for you soon. Good luck to you

 

[Chicken_Pauper]

I am not sure... doesn't sound good... Maybe an egg broke inside her. She may have an infection. Need a warm "eggbound" soak bath and maybe massage her crop, see if she has a bad odor coming up from her crop / out her beak.

I would separate her, put her in a warm, safe, quiet place and start her on antibiotics immediately. Feed stores are open... weekend hours if you don't have any antibiotics on hand. Maybe try the water soluable Duramycin 10 (aka Tetracycline)... 1 tsp -- 1 1/2 tsp per gallon of water.. change the water whenever it turns dark or gets dirty or every 24 hours.. mix some yogurt and cooked scrambled eggs with some of her laying mash. And, let her choose to eat or not. It is very important she drinks water. If you have to use an eye dropper -- be careful... either let her take it by drops if she will or check, search for "giving oral medications" or "giving water orally", or "giving food by syringe"... you have to be careful to avoid the windpipe, the airway... it is right behind the tongue.. you can open her mouth and see the airway.. put any water, food, medication to the back and side... avoid that hole. You can and should put drops of water on her tongue or down her throat.

Seven months old is likely a laying problem... infection from a broken egg inside her.. or eggbound.. she can die from this... so... act quickly.. if nothing else, give her warm baths, soak her in warm water (indoors) and keep her inside separate and warm.. with medicated water and scrambled eggs or as above in with her. Repeat the warm baths.. massage her crop and her tummy -- gently.. insert an oiled finger inside her vent to see if you feel an egg or anything hard in there.. stimulating her vent with an oiled finer (little finger) may help her, stimulate her to lay or to poop.. she may throw up...

If you don't have them today, get the antibiotics in the morning at the feed store and start her on them asap. I hope she makes it. I am sorry. Chickens very often are VERY sick by the time they let us know about it.

Good luck.

 

[tractoraholic]

I appreciate the help, But I was too late. I found her dead this morning when I went to check on her, dident even get the chance to buy the antibiotics to try and save her.

 

[Katydid2011]

Quote:
I'm so sorry for your loss.

For what it's worth, I doubt antibiotics would have helped.

 

[dawg53]

She couldve been an internal layer, maybe enteritis. Sorry for your loss.