need help diagnosing/treating hen

[nurselisa13]

Molly is one of my barred rocks. She's young, started laying eggs a couple months ago, almost a daily layer, her egg is different from rest of my flock. We went on vacation, neighbor was watching and collecting eggs, came back from vacation, went to work each day since (4 days). No eggs since we returned. Molly is not acting herself, she is laying in a coop she usually doesn't, all poofy looking, lethargic, don't think she left coop for food or water all day. Night we got home, SUn, I checked feet and vents on flock, her back side was stained w/ white poopy stuff that was hard and her rear was puckering, not horribly and no egg in sight. monday, after work, checked again, not better, so I soaked her rear, tried to get that hard poop off her, stuck my finger up her to check for an egg, and nothing. today is thurs, her rear is still puckering, I don't think she ate or drank at all today, but not positive, I brought her in, soaked her, checked again and got some really smelly crap out of her, white and poop- soft, slightly mucousy maybe?, but can not feel an egg. she is more lethargic than yesterday, did take some water w/ baby aspirin in it from a syringe. Now she is resting in dog crate in bathroom.

What am I missing? no egg felt - my gut says egg bound but none there, or at least I can't feel one
not constipated - poop was soft and is now gone...
rest of my flock, 10'ish, appears to be fine...
we were on vacation a little over a week and she was feisty and healthy when we left....

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sounds like she may have a reproductive disorder. Internal laying, Peritonitis, Salpingitis, cancer, etc.
Is the the same pullet that had the prolapse a while back?

You mention her egg is different? How so?

If you feel her abdomen below the vent between her legs, is there any swelling/bloat or feeling of fluid?

 

[nurselisa13]

not same chicken, my prolapsed girl is a year older. Her eggs are normal, but different from rest of flock so I have no doubt which eggs are hers. From first day she started laying they were smaller, hard shell, nicely shaped, but have a darker brown so I easily have been able to tell if she laid an egg. Her belly felt fine, but I don't usually feel my girls bellies. Today she's still pouffy looking, tips of her comb are slightly (?) darker than yesterday, and she's laying down like last couple days, and when cage open she shows no interest in getting out.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get a fecal float to see if worms and/or coccidiosis are part of the problem?

Comb tips going darker on a hen that is not well, usually indicates decrease in oxygen.

Was her crop empty this morning?

Is she verbal with you at all? If you move her about does she whine, growl, screech?

Did she poop overnight? What's that like?

Sorry for all the questions, sometimes it's a process of elimination.

When I have one that's not well, I work on hydration. 1 Caltrate can be given daily for 3-5 days.

 

[nurselisa13]

ok, so days have passed. she was kept in dog cage w/ door open to see if she'd come out, fed some scrambled eggs, she was staying put. we went out, we came back to shit all over the bathroom. she is not constipated, lol. smelled horrific, somehow she managed to get up on the sink to splatter all over, solid and some liquid, so score for her for being agile....

still no egg, still not acting right, today hubby put her out w/ others, she just wanted to get back in the coop she was used to sleeping in, sort of, and the one where she's always laid her eggs.... other hens were pecking at her, she has nothing visable to peck at but she's a younger hen and low on totem pole....

crop felt fine, belly felt ok, rest of flock is still fine.

she is clucking softly a lot and still pouffy. her eyes are bright, her feathers beautiful, feet/ legs clean, no bumble foot.

what am I missing?!?!?

she's young, barred rock, started laying about 6 weeks ago, could she be broody w/ no eggs? I've never seen her lay on eggs....

 

[arwoon]

ok, so days have passed. she was kept in dog cage w/ door open to see if she'd come out, fed some scrambled eggs, she was staying put. we went out, we came back to shit all over the bathroom. she is not constipated, lol. smelled horrific, somehow she managed to get up on the sink to splatter all over, solid and some liquid, so score for her for being agile....

still no egg, still not acting right, today hubby put her out w/ others, she just wanted to get back in the coop she was used to sleeping in, sort of, and the one where she's always laid her eggs.... other hens were pecking at her, she has nothing visable to peck at but she's a younger hen and low on totem pole....

crop felt fine, belly felt ok, rest of flock is still fine.

she is clucking softly a lot and still pouffy. her eyes are bright, her feathers beautiful, feet/ legs clean, no bumble foot.

what am I missing?!?!?

she's young, barred rock, started laying about 6 weeks ago, could she be broody w/ no eggs? I've never seen her lay on eggs....

Do you have extra calcium available for your hens?
The only other thing I can think of is calcium deficiency.
This can be treated by giving crushed tums to the hen.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

ok, so days have passed. she was kept in dog cage w/ door open to see if she'd come out, fed some scrambled eggs, she was staying put. we went out, we came back to shit all over the bathroom. she is not constipated, lol. smelled horrific, somehow she managed to get up on the sink to splatter all over, solid and some liquid, so score for her for being agile....

still no egg, still not acting right, today hubby put her out w/ others, she just wanted to get back in the coop she was used to sleeping in, sort of, and the one where she's always laid her eggs.... other hens were pecking at her, she has nothing visable to peck at but she's a younger hen and low on totem pole....

crop felt fine, belly felt ok, rest of flock is still fine.

she is clucking softly a lot and still pouffy. her eyes are bright, her feathers beautiful, feet/ legs clean, no bumble foot.

what am I missing?!?!?

she's young, barred rock, started laying about 6 weeks ago, could she be broody w/ no eggs? I've never seen her lay on eggs....

Sounds broody to me.

If you aren't planning on hatching any eggs, then consider breaking her broodiness.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/broody-breaker-when-hens-mood-to-hatch/

And oh boy! My goodness, if she is broody then I can't imagine (actually I probably can!) what that bathroom smelled like. Broody poop is it's own kind of special, since a broody usually only goes once a day.

 

[nurselisa13]

they have calcium in coop to eat, plus i save shells bake pulverize and put in their feed. I put her out w/ others, and she appears to be fine, weirdest thing.....still no egg...

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Sounds broody to me too but my broodies usually laid a poop instead of an egg It was always a big poofy foul-smelling thing not runny. But its been awhile since I had a broody hen

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Also the comb color is not a broody thing and usually broody hens are kind of cranky so I would keep options open