Needing help with our sick hen...thank you

[lovin my girls]

Thank you all so much for your advice and help.

Ruby is a chicken. Her comb and wattle look red and normal.

I do think her poop seems to be egg like....kinda yellow looking.

No, she is not eating. Not even yogurt, one of her favorites.

I gave her a warm bath this afternoon and could not really feel an egg-bound.

After her bath, I blow dried her and then put her back in the coop. She was acting the same...just standing around and all puffed up.

Tonight, she didn't even want to go and roost. I lifted her up and let her sleep in the nesting box.

I'm really worried she won't live through the night, I sure hope I'm wrong. Sure do feel sad.

Thank you all so much and please if you can think of anything else, please let me know.

 

[lovin my girls]

I wanted to update that our hen died last night.

Thank you all for helping me.

 

[3goodeggs]

I am so sorry. I had just sent a PM off to gritser. If you figure out what happened, please let me know. I want to be able to actually help someone next time. I feel badly for your loss. I have loved chickens before. Some more than others, but pets are family. I understand the loss. Sorry.

 

[cindy99]

So sorry to hear that she passed away.

It sounds like you did everything that you could for her and I'm sure she knew that.

 

[gritsar]

I'm sorry I wasn't around yesterday. Also truly sorry on the loss of your hen.

I'm very limited in knowledge on illnesses, but I do know how to decode chicken poo.

For what it's worth, I believe your hen may have had egg peritonitis. If so, perhaps you can find comfort in the fact that there was really nothing you could have done for her. You may have gotten her over this spell of it, but it would have likely returned. I have a hen that has been suffering from it for the last couple of months. I have given her shots of penicillin, which helped for awhile, but it is slowly returning. There is no real cure to my knowledge.

If not egg peritonitis, perhaps worms. Have you wormed your flock lately?

Again, my condolences.

 

[tammye]

so sorry, but you did the best you could for her, you made her feel safe and comfortable in her last hours

 

[lovin my girls]

Thank you all for your kind words...they mean a lot to me.

I think you guys are right on with her having egg peritonitis. We have been noticing some eggs in the nesting boxes with no shell...just the inside of the egg.

We have never wormed our 4..now 3...hens. Should we do this?

Thanks,
Cathy

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I worm once a year. Our climate is warm and damp and ripe for parasites.

 

[lovin my girls]

Gosh, I think I should do this.

We live in Georgia, so about the same conditions as yours.

Can you please help me with what I should use and how to go about doing the worming?

Thank you so much.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Different folks use different things. The only wormer I can think of that's available exclusively for use in chickens is wazine and it only targets the roundworms.
I chose to use valbazen, which is a cattle/sheep wormer, used "off-label".

Here's a good thread on worming:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=401475