Odd Sluggish Chicken Behavior - help!

[DotTheHen]

Hello, my Barred Rock hen named Waffles was acting strange when I let them out today. She was just huddled in the middle of the pasture all pitiful looking. She's never been super lively, but she was very sluggish acting. I brought her in away from the rest and gave her some mealworms and she sort of ate them. My other hens are like vacuums when the worms come out, but Waffles would eat a little, then stop for a while, then eat some more.

I live in the South, and it just now started getting cold. I'm not sure if I should be worrying or if it's just the weather? This is how she was standing:

 

[azygous]

Yes, I see she's all fluffed up. That often means a chicken doesn't feel well. Right now, that's all we have to go on. We need clues.

Has Waffles just completed a tough molt?
Does Waffles seem to have lost considerable weight? If her breast bone has a knife edge to it, she probably has.
Have you felt Waffles' crop? Is it empty, full, soft and squishy, or lumpy and hard? You need to check it first thing in the morning to see if it's emptying overnight as it should. She could have a crop issue making her sick.
Has she been scratching around in a compost area with rotting material? If so, is it deep and slimy underneath?
Have you looked Waffles over well for signs of injury or signs of a respiratory infection? Runny eyes, dripping nares. Any sores on her feet? Look inside her mouth to be sure it's clean and pink and there are no crusty lesions.
Have you noticed her poop? Runny, watery, white, green, any red in it?

It would help you to answer the questions by copying the block above and then answering them one at a time right in the block. That way you won't miss any.

 

[DotTheHen]

Yes, I see she's all fluffed up. That often means a chicken doesn't feel well. Right now, that's all we have to go on. We need clues.

Has Waffles just completed a tough molt? She hasn’t molted yet but some of the other hens have started molting.
Does Waffles seem to have lost considerable weight? If her breast bone has a knife edge to it, she probably has. She does seem to have lost weight, but she has access to food.
Have you felt Waffles' crop? Is it empty, full, soft and squishy, or lumpy and hard? You need to check it first thing in the morning to see if it's emptying overnight as it should. She could have a crop issue making her sick. Her crop felt normal but a bit smaller than the other hens’. I will check tomorrow morning to see if it’s empty.
Has she been scratching around in a compost area with rotting material? If so, is it deep and slimy underneath? The hens often scratch around on and around the horse manure pile, and in our horse pastures. They all scratch in the manure because there are bugs underneath, but it’s not slimy or anything.
Have you looked Waffles over well for signs of injury or signs of a respiratory infection? Runny eyes, dripping nares. Any sores on her feet? Look inside her mouth to be sure it's clean and pink and there are no crusty lesions. I checked her and she’s all fine exterior wise. Her comb did seem a bit discolored (a really light purple tint) and dry, so I put some bag balm on it.
Have you noticed her poop? Runny, watery, white, green, any red in it?
Her poop seems normal. This was the first day of symptoms and I felt that I should try and get on top of whatever is going on before it gets worse.

It would help you to answer the questions by copying the block above and then answering them one at a time right in the block. That way you won't miss any.

 

[azygous]

The purplish comb is concerning. How old is Waffles? Ten months or so?

Is Waffles a product of a brood hatched within your flock? Have you ever had any other chickens get sick and die "mysteriously"?

Or is she a chick you bought? If so, hatchery? Private breeder? Chicken swap?

My chickens adore scratching though horse manure, too. There's a wealth of treasures in it. But sometimes there's bacteria that can make a chicken very sick. We may need to ponder that as a source of her problem if something else doesn't pop up.

Do check the crop first thing in the morning. If it's full, that could be what's making her feel sluggish. It would definitely be an obvious thing we can treat, and there's a good chance that it's her only problem and she can be back to normal within a few days. Here's an article I wrote that may give you some information you can use. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[DotTheHen]

Waffles is around three years old. Her and 4 other hens are all the same age. I got all my hens from a lady I found on Facebook. She orders chicken eggs/chicks and raises them to pullets, then sells them. She was local, and the easiest option, and she is where I got all my hens. (All my chickens are egg layers and not used for meat)

I did have a hen die randomly. She was scratching around and eating one moment, then flopped on the ground shaking and dead within seconds. It was almost like a seizure. The hen was the heaviest in the flock but I'm not sure if that matters.

Thank you for all your help!

 

[Shezadandy]

Can you compare her abdomen with the rest of the hens? Often times a purple-ish comb is the result of not enough oxygen. Heart failure can be one cause - another could be a reproductive issue (what we lose most of our beloved hens to) causing ascities (water belly), which is fluid in her abdomen that is taking up the room her lungs need to expand, and compressing the heart itself.

Ascities is just the generic term for a fluid filled abdomen. Liver failure, heart failure, egg yolk peritonitis (or it's many variants depending on how advanced the reproductive problem is) --- all cause fluid retention, making it hard for the hen to breathe. Ascities can be felt right down between her legs in the lowest section of the abdomen - I've also seen ascities act like pontoons under each side of the abdomen, like she's got a pool toy (like a ring you use to float) that run somewhat parallel to each other giving her the 'John Wayne' walk.

There are ways to relieve the fluid and help her breathe better.

 

[azygous]

@Shezadandy has stated some very important points. Now, knowing Waffles is an older hen, reproductive issues can be a possibility. Can you recall seeing little globs of waxy stuff in any of the poop over the past weeks? Is there even a slight bulge of fat or swelling under her vent?

When was the last time she laid an egg? Were there ever any shell quality issues?

Back to the topic of molt, what is the condition of Waffles' feathers? Do they look in good condition or are they frowzy and tattered and broken?

Since you got your hens from a private breeder, there is a chance of an avian virus such as lymphoid leucosis. We can't diagnose that from symptoms, though. A dead chicken needs to be tested in a lab for it. But then you would know if your other chickens are also carrying it. It causes tumors on organs and can present symptoms such as Waffles has.

I suggest you talk to the private breeder and find out if they have had mortality in egg hatching and other mysterious deaths. The leucosis virus is passed from hen to chick in the egg. It is something it would be nice to rule out.

 

[DotTheHen]

Her crop felt small this morning, but very hard. She also has like a large fatty part in between her legs in the vent area. I can’t recall seeing any abnormalities in the poop, and Waffles hasn’t laid an egg in over two months, but I just figured that was winter setting in. She hasn’t ever had egg issues. Her feathers are normal.

I think she might have the fluid in her belly because it feels like a water ballon in between her legs. What should I do for it to make her comfortable?

-This is now later in the day. She is just huddled by the waterer, in the same place as this morning. She looks pitiful. I read that there’s no real solution to Water Belly, unless anyone here knows some ways. Thank you everyone during this stressful time. I appreciate you taking time away from your families to help me with my chickens!

-This is later in the evening. I tried draining the fluid. I had someone hold her while I sucked it out with a syringe and needle. The liquid was yellow and smelled bad. Around 150 CCs were drawn out of her. She’s now dripping from the puncture, but we got as much as we could from it. I put some stuff on the puncture to keep it clean and not infected.

 

[Shezadandy]

Her crop felt small this morning, but very hard. She also has like a large fatty part in between her legs in the vent area. I can’t recall seeing any abnormalities in the poop, and Waffles hasn’t laid an egg in over two months, but I just figured that was winter setting in. She hasn’t ever had egg issues. Her feathers are normal.

I think she might have the fluid in her belly because it feels like a water ballon in between her legs. What should I do for it to make her comfortable?

-This is now later in the day. She is just huddled by the waterer, in the same place as this morning. She looks pitiful. I read that there’s no real solution to Water Belly, unless anyone here knows some ways. Thank you everyone during this stressful time. I appreciate you taking time away from your families to help me with my chickens!

-This is later in the evening. I tried draining the fluid. I had someone hold her while I sucked it out with a syringe and needle. The liquid was yellow and smelled bad. Around 150 CCs were drawn out of her. She’s now dripping from the puncture, but we got as much as we could from it. I put some stuff on the puncture to keep it clean and not infected.

I'm so sorry I didn't check in earlier today. Sounds like you got her some good relief in draining her, and I like to see them still dripping along after I'm done. The more fluid she gets rid of, the easier time she'll have breathing and digesting food. I'll post my favorite 'how to' link that was my initial guide in learning to drain a hen.

Generally once they've got a condition that causes ascities, draining becomes a routine thing to keep them comfortable. You'll want to watch for signs that fluid is building up again. The comb discoloring, she might take breaths with her beak open, she might start to walk differently - or of course you can just feel the abdomen.

Not sure what sized needle you wound up with- I like to use a 14 gauge needle, 1" long. I just order them by the 100 count from online medical supply so I know they're available and waiting in my drawer, but you can also get 16 gauge 1" needles from a farm supply store in the cattle section - they're used for vaccination. 1" long keeps you away from getting too deep.

Eventually I stopped using syringes in draining- the advantage to the 14 and 16 gauge sizes is very viscous (thick) fluid comes out at a reasonable pace with the large hole- you only have to make one poke per draining session. I just do it as you'll see in the video toward the end where it's just dripping out, much like she is right now.

Given the odor, I'm going to guess she's got some stage of egg yolk peritonitis, which can be anything from cancer to a build up of internally laid egg yolk material growing bacteria in her abdomen. It doesn't really matter what the cause is- there's no cure. Some treat with antibiotics, but to date there's nothing that solves the issue. All we can do is keep them comfortable and spoil them rotten (or even more rotten than usual).

Here's the link with a great 'how-to' for the next time it's time to drain her. Hopefully she's perked up some and she's starting to get some better color to her comb.

 

[DotTheHen]

Thank you! My goal is to make her as comfortable as possible. Is it mandatory that I separate her from the flock? They don’t bother her and my hospital coop is currently full... :/

Also, how many times should I do a drain session? We used a 18 gauge needle on her and just tried to get as much out of her as possible. We kinda just stuck it right where the pocket was, not sure if that was the right thing to do or not, but at this point it sounds like she can’t get any worse than she already is. Another thing, how long could she possibly live with this? I worry for the next summer; we have hot and humid summers where I live and I have a feeling it will take a toll on her.