Not Moving Much Hen after Night Out

[jslost]

Greetings,

We have an odd situation going on with one of our girls and I'm hoping for some pointers on what might be going on.

One of our girls didn't make it back into the hen house last night when the door shut and we didn't notice.

When I found her she almost seemed frozen, hiding behind the coop and run, but after picking her up I see no injuries to speak of. I did notice she seemed to be expressing some type of liquid from her mouth but that's it. I didn't see her drink any water and I don't expect she did. She also seems to be spreading her wings frequently but otherwise mainly stays put. She will stand from time to time (fine) but then just goes back to laying down. Here is a photo I just took of her in a temp pen I setup to keep the others away. I also added some heat just in case she needed a warm up.

Our only thinking now is that she had a run in with some type of critter at night but we typically hear such things (heard nothing) and she doesn't seem to have any symptoms of being harmed (besides holding her wings out sometimes).

I'd say this girl is about 3 years old.

Thanks for any ideas on what might be doing on so we can try to help her out.

Js

 

[6BeachChicks]

@Eggcessive @azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[6BeachChicks]

Is she sunbathing? How cold was it in the night?

 

[azygous]

It may just be the angle of the photo, but it appears she coud have a drop disorder. Read this and you may be able to figure out what crop issue she has and treat it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Did you figure out why she got left out of the coop? Could she have a nest outside she was using? Is she being bullied badly at roosting time?

From the looks of that grass, I doubt freezing night temps are an issue.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I did notice she seemed to be expressing some type of liquid from her mouth but that's it. I didn't see her drink any water and I don't expect she did. She also seems to be spreading her wings frequently but otherwise mainly stays put. She will stand from time to time (fine) but then just goes back to laying down.

I agree, I would check the crop.

It may just be the angle of the photo, but it appears she coud have a drop disorder. Read this and you may be able to figure out what crop issue she has and treat it. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Did you figure out why she got left out of the coop? Could she have a nest outside she was using? Is she being bullied badly at roosting time?

From the looks of that grass, I doubt freezing night temps are an issue.

 

[jslost]

Is she sunbathing? How cold was it in the night?

Here's another photo, seems like she is sunbathing but she doesn't seem to be enjoying it. She does this with both wings. I don't think it was cold enough to cause any harm either (northern CA).

She is one of our older girls and if anyone does any bullying it's often her. So, I don't think that's the issue.

She got left out by not making it back into the run or the coop by the time the auto door closes. They typically all make it well in advance and this has been in place for over 12 months without issue.

I'll look into the other posts now and the crop/drop.

 

[jslost]

Is she sunbathing? How cold was it in the night?

I agree, I would check the crop.

I just went and checked her pretty well. I don't notice any bulge that would be associated with crop in the area it would impact. What I did notice (again) is some type of substance that is coming from her mouth.

I'm starting to think that the reason she didn't go in was because she wasn't feeling well, not because she missed the timing of the door.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you see any lesions, canker or white/yellow pasty material stuck to the inside of her beak?

A substance coming out of the beak - she's either got fluid coming from the crop or something else is going on.

 

[WhySayWhat]

I make a habit of going out a few minutes after the door closes to get any stragglers. I have 1 pullet that absolutely refuses to go in the coop on her own, so I always go to get her in, but at least 3 nights a week, I have 1 or more gals that missed the door closing as well. They all are trained at this point to follow my flashlight after I open my access door around to the human entrance on the coop. Sort of defeats the auto door purpose, but it is what it is.

 

[jslost]

I make a habit of going out a few minutes after the door closes to get any stragglers. I have 1 pullet that absolutely refuses to go in the coop on her own, so I always go to get her in, but at least 3 nights a week, I have 1 or more gals that missed the door closing as well. They all are trained at this point to follow my flashlight after I open my access door around to the human entrance on the coop. Sort of defeats the auto door purpose, but it is what it is.

That seems like a good habit. We definitely take for granted how well they put themselves to bed each night.