Mystery illness in 3 yr old hen

[crackers]

Our Lohman Brown, approx 36 months old, has been ill for a week now and we keep thinking she's getting better then she seems worse again. We do not think she is still laying eggs.The hens are not due for worming. They eat layer pellets but are free range and have access to plenty water and natural foraging all day. There is no external mite or parasite infection present.

Symptoms: slightly floppy comb with very slighly black tips although it is still a healthy red generally. Keeps sitting or standing hunched with head tucked in for long periods of time without moving. Reluctant to leave coop in morning but with human intervention by placing her by food and water, will eat and drink. She then seems to perk up during the day and free ranges with her companions, albeit moving slowly interspersed with long periods of hunched immobility. Slight white soiling on bottom feathers. She gets herself into the coop at bedtime without any difficulty. She has lost weight over the past week.

Yesterday there was a new symptom - seemed unable to stand on her feet as her claws were curled up. These were easily unfurled by hand but she was still reluctant to stand. Appeared to be shivering. After a few hours of rest in the nesting box I took her out again to sit by her food and water and she ate and drank and later stood up with no problem. Seemed quite alert, no obvious discomfort aside from hunching.

Does anyone have any ideas? I've looked at all the information I can find on the web for ailments and nothing seems to fit.

 

[dawg53]

I recommend tha you visually inspect her for lice/mites, especially around the vent area. If you dont see any, I'd go ahead and worm her.

 

[crackers]

Thanks but there are no mites or lice anywhere. Only wormed them about a month ago and the rest of the hens are all very well anyway. Any more ideas gratefully received.

 

[2greenboyz]

May I ask what worming treatment you used for them? Have you felt her abdomen for any swelling, her crop to make sure it is filling during the day and empty first thing in morn? Look down her throat make sure nothing is abnormal there. Just guessing, but that's what a vet would check..... BTW, what do her poos look like?

 

[crackers]

Thanks for replying. We did check her thoroughly for being egg bound or having an impacted crop, smelly breath or anything at all like that. no broken wings, no bites or damage. Definitely not needing wormed, no ticks, ,mites nor lice. Her poos were a bit runny admittedly and there was a little white soiling on her rump but nothing particularly unusual. All our hens' motions do vary considerably as they are free range and largely please themselves about what they eat along side their layer pellets.

Anyway, whilst I would still love to know what was wrong with Amber so that we could prevent it happening to any more hens, it is now an academic matter for her as she sadly didn't make it. In the past, any hens which became ill died within 24 or 36 hours yet she lived more than a week. Very strange. Any ideas still very gratefully accepted.

 

[featherz]

Thanks for replying. We did check her thoroughly for being egg bound or having an impacted crop, smelly breath or anything at all like that. no broken wings, no bites or damage. Definitely not needing wormed, no ticks, ,mites nor lice. Her poos were a bit runny admittedly and there was a little white soiling on her rump but nothing particularly unusual. All our hens' motions do vary considerably as they are free range and largely please themselves about what they eat along side their layer pellets.

Anyway, whilst I would still love to know what was wrong with Amber so that we could prevent it happening to any more hens, it is now an academic matter for her as she sadly didn't make it. In the past, any hens which became ill died within 24 or 36 hours yet she lived more than a week. Very strange. Any ideas still very gratefully accepted.

At that age I would have presumed internal laying with those symptoms.. Sorry about your girl. =( Unfortunately it happens and sometimes there isn't much you can do about it, especially for high production chickens.

 

[2greenboyz]

Sorry about your hen - without a necropsy there's just no way of knowing for sure all we would be doing is taking a best shot guess. Sounds like you know how to read your birds when they are not feeling well. With mine when I have internal laying, it becomes obvious with the ascites in their belly and it usually takes a while before they go down. The soiling on her rump may be indicative of some swelling b/c it pushes out the rear a little so the poo does not fall away cleanly. (Learned that with my original rescue hens when I took a few to the vet - back when I had money). Anyway, so sad to hear she didn't make it. I'm sorry.