New to chickens, think one is sick

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Update: She's still hanging in, have tried a bath and some TUMS in a scrambled egg (which was weird for me but she loved). No egg from her, and she's still very lethargic and having diarrhea. I'm assuming she's not egg bound since it's been a couple of days (Google said 24 to 48 hours would result in death if egg bound?). I've been practicing finding their crop with her and the others, and I believe her crop feels normal, just less full since she isn't eating much. Visually I can't see an egg and without doing a full on glove/lube situation couldn't feel any lumps externally. She will eat "treats" such as scratch treat and the eggs, but doesn't seem to be interested in regular food or drinking. Would it be advisable to treat with Corid at this point? I hate to treat for something she doesn't have, but also don't want to lose her. The other 4 are pecking around, just business as usual.
 
I’m not sure why someone sold you a pullet that was 9 months old and had never laid an egg. That is a sign that she may have a reproductive problem. White droppings may be a sign of not drinking enough. Do you have at least 2 feeders and waterer, so that no one gets bullied away from food or water? Are you using a layer or all flock feed? Is it the same as what she was on before? It won’t hurt to treat her for possible coccidiosis with Corid, since she is on new soil. But that is more of a problem in young chicks under 3 months. I don’t recommend bathing a chicken in winter. But calcium citrate or tums may be used to try to get her to lay. Also, to have sold you a bird with mites is pretty sad. They can be hard to get rid of and will affect all chickens. Make sure they are mites and not lice. Permethrin garden dust is a good treatment for either. Prozap and Gardstar are the usual brands found in feed stores, and can be dusted on by putting some in an old sock. Permethrin spray can be used to treat a coop. This article shows pictures of what to look for:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/
 
Eggcessive said:
I’m not sure why someone sold you a pullet that was 9 months old and had never laid an egg. That is a sign that she may have a reproductive problem. White droppings may be a sign of not drinking enough. Do you have at least 2 feeders and waterer, so that no one gets bullied away from food or water? Are you using a layer or all flock feed? Is it the same as what she was on before? It won’t hurt to treat her for possible coccidiosis with Corid, since she is on new soil. But that is more of a problem in young chicks under 3 months. I don’t recommend bathing a chicken in winter. But calcium citrate or tums may be used to try to get her to lay. Also, to have sold you a bird with mites is pretty sad. They can be hard to get rid of and will affect all chickens. Make sure they are mites and not lice. Permethrin garden dust is a good treatment for either. Prozap and Gardstar are the usual brands found in feed stores, and can be dusted on by putting some in an old sock. Permethrin spray can be used to treat a coop. This article shows pictures of what to look for:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/
Click to expand...
Oh no, I hope not. 3 of the 5 are not laying, all are different breeds.
*Jersey giant- sick one possibly is not laying
*Dark brahma & Show girl - not laying
*Speckled sussex & Easter Egger - laying
I looked over that link (thank you!) and will check again, but I didn't see anything that I thought were mites or lice originally. Just 1 feeder and waterer for the 5 girls, but I'm quite certain the one in question is at the top of the pecking order. All flock feed that they gave us, but I have been mixing in some layer feed we bought. I will continue to keep a close eye. Kind of wondering if she just ate something funky or doesn't like the mixed in feed now possibly...I appreciate your help.
 
Eggcessive said:
I’m not sure why someone sold you a pullet that was 9 months old and had never laid an egg. That is a sign that she may have a reproductive problem. White droppings may be a sign of not drinking enough. Do you have at least 2 feeders and waterer, so that no one gets bullied away from food or water? Are you using a layer or all flock feed? Is it the same as what she was on before? It won’t hurt to treat her for possible coccidiosis with Corid, since she is on new soil. But that is more of a problem in young chicks under 3 months. I don’t recommend bathing a chicken in winter. But calcium citrate or tums may be used to try to get her to lay. Also, to have sold you a bird with mites is pretty sad. They can be hard to get rid of and will affect all chickens. Make sure they are mites and not lice. Permethrin garden dust is a good treatment for either. Prozap and Gardstar are the usual brands found in feed stores, and can be dusted on by putting some in an old sock. Permethrin spray can be used to treat a coop. This article shows pictures of what to look for:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/
Click to expand...
Wondering if you can still help, she still hasn't gotten over whatever this is. Yesterday I was trying to hand feed her and felt her crop and it felt like maybe a soft water balloon? Not knowing what "normal" is for a chicken, I read what I could and decided it was best to check it first think this morning (honestly some of them are so fluffy I don't know what I'm feeling). Anyway, this morning it feels the same. So my assumption is that is not good. It doesn't really feel firm, but almost inflated of that makes sense? Any additional guidance is welcome. Feel like I got thrown into the deep end with these chickens and I'm trying to do my best for them. Thank you 😊
 
I'm at a loss. I've scoured the forums looking for what might be the issue with my poor chicken. I started monistat 7 (generic) 2 days ago for the sour crop. I have had to force feed it to her and give water with a dropper by mouth. She's a fighter and keeps hanging in there, but today she won't even get up and it's breaking my heart that I can't help her. I don't feel anything impacted in her crop, but it still won't go down. I have been massaging it multiple times a day, but have not vomited her because I'm scared I'll do it wrong. I know the sour crop must be a secondary issue to something else, I'm just not sure what. All of the other hens seem to be in great health still. Again, any insight is appreciated. Thank you.
 
I’m sorry that I have not kept up with this thread. Does she have a sour or bad odor from her beak/crop? What do her poops look like? Unfortunately crop disorders— impacted, sour, or pendulous crops are usually related to an underlying issue, such as reproductive disorders, worms, or cancer. It can be hard to tell the issue until a necropsy can be done and the abdominal organs and crop can be examined. Most of the time we try to treat the crop issue using coconut oil and nystatin or miconazole yeast cream, limit any hard grains in the diet, worm if not done recently, and check the crop daily. I don’t recommend vomiting her, since she could choke to death. With an older hen who is not having a good quality of life, we sometimes have to decide to put them out of their misery if we cannot help them. Here is a good article by azygous who knows how to treat crop problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
 

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