Need answers!

[garlandchickens]

Hey everyone! I have sick hens and I need answers! This is the thread I started... any help is appreciated, we love our girls very much!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/please-help-me-my-scarlett-is-sick.1460953/

 

[Eggcessive]

I just read your other thread. What is the age of the chickens? Were they all laying eggs prior to their molt? Molting is a time of stress, where hens stop laying, eat much less, and may act standoffish and lie around resting. That is a time when an illness that has been dormant may show symptoms. It sounds like you have treated with Corid for possible coccidiosis. Have you wormed them recently, and with what?

It also sounds like there may be some crop problem. @azygous who answered your other thread is very good with crop problems. Check the crops early in morning before they eat or drink. Sour crop is a puffy crop ealy in mirning, plus a sour or bad odor from the beak. Reproductive disorders are common in hens over 2, and crop disorders may also occur witht those as a secondary problem.

Is there some nutritious food they love as a treat? Scrambled egg, canned tuna or salmon are good ones to offer in moderation. Adding some water to the chicken feed in a bowl that is emptied and cleaned daily, is another good attractive thing to entice them to eat. Add a little plain yogurt or buttermilk for extra interest.

If you lose a hen, either getting a necropsy by your state vet or doing one at home to look for a possible cause of death can be helpful.

 

[garlandchickens]

They are about a year and a half old, the second one, Hattie, already molted a few months ago. Scarlett is just now molting. I have not wormed them, we haven’t been raising chickens for that long and have never had problems with illness. I can try to give some egg, but she doesn’t seems to be hungry. I tried oats and mealworms. If I put out some wet food, the 2 healthy girls will probably eat it all before she has an appetite. I can try to check crops tomorrow, but I’m not sure how they are supposed to feel in the first place.

 

[garlandchickens]

Let me correct myself, the 2 sick ones are a year and a half, the other 2 are almost a year old.

 

[Eggcessive]

A good time to check over a chicken is to grab them off the roost in the dark (using a headlamp with the red light.) You can feel the crops of many of the chickens to know how they normally feel. In early morning, if the crop is functioning and emptying overnight, the crop should be empty and hard to feel. During the day, the crop should fill up with food and water, and may feel full and grainy or firm by evening. If the crop is not empty in early morning, but is full and puffy or hard, there is a crop problem. This link shows where the crop is located and describes cro problems:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-anatomy-crop-impacted-crop-sour/

 

[garlandchickens]

So I just felt the other girls' crops, and they felt normal, full, hard. The sick hen though, Hattie, her crop felt empty and kind of squishy. Is this a sign she's not eating?

 

[garlandchickens]

Also, Hattie laid an egg today so that's good, right?

 

[demonic]

So I just felt the other girls' crops, and they felt normal, full, hard. The sick hen though, Hattie, her crop felt empty and kind of squishy. Is this a sign she's not eating?

Just so you know, I believe crops are supposed to feel kind of soft and squishy, and if your chickens crop is hard it means it’s a problem. Try and smell your hen who has the hard crop breath. Does it smell weird and sour? If so look into sour crop.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Just so you know, I believe crops are supposed to feel kind of soft and squishy, and if your chickens crop is hard it means it’s a problem. Try and smell your hen who has the hard crop breath. Does it smell weird and sour? If so look into sour crop.

Thats not correct. A full crop on a healthy hen can feel like a golf ball. The only time my hens have a soft crop, in the history of my several years of flock ownership, is when not entirely full or sour.

 

[demonic]

Thats not correct. A full crop on a healthy hen can feel like a golf ball. The only time my hens have a soft crop, in the history of my several years of flock ownership, is when not entirely full or sour.

Oh my bad. I never dealt with sour crop in my flock so that’s why I wasn’t too sure. Thank you for your response