One chicken acting odd/sick, hunched back, tail down, not really moving

[Magda12]

I have 10 birds, ~24 weeks, all laying as far as I can tell and the eggs have all been pretty much perfect. Since this morning (when I first went out about 30 mins ago) one chicken, who is usually one of my friendliest, has been standing in the area under the coop by herself. Her back is arched and her tail is down. She won't look at me when I talk to her and she seems very lethargic (eyes closing like she's resting). She's not really moving a whole lot.

Any advice would be appreciated. I don't want her to suffer.

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) - EE, she's always been one of the smaller birds stature wise but all of them have always seemed the proper weight and super healthy.

2) What is the behavior, exactly. (see above)

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Since she came out of the coop this morning I am guessing.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms? Nope, everyone else is acting like they normally do

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. Not that I can tell

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. I have no idea

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Scratch and peck organic layer feed and water (with a few drops of GSE). They also get black soldier fly larvae but didn't have any yesterday or today. My son occasionally gives them grass. Layer grit and Oyster shells are also available to them.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. I didn't see anything unusual

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? Nothing

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? Whatever I need to do.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help. I can take a picture of her if needed

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use. Closed coop with an automatic door. I use the deep litter method with pine shavings.

 

[azygous]

Has this bird reached point of lay yet? If so, when was the last time you saw her laying?

Have you examined her crop? Your mention of your son giving the chickens grass is an alarming detail as long grasses can cause impaction of the crop. If this is what is going on, you will feel an overly large crop, possibly smelly, and it may be hard and lumpy. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Magda12]

So she is now up and about. When I went back out, she was eating like a pig. She paid zero attention to me, she was so busy eating. I checked the nesting boxes and there was a really large egg. I can't say for sure it was hers.

As far as the grass, it's just grass/clover from our yard. The same stuff they would be eating if they free ranged (and did eat before they destroyed it all in their 10x40 run. Would that really be of concern? I think the longest pieces they'd ever get might be 4-5 inches and they've been eating it since they were tiny. They are also digging up roots in the run, not really sure how to stop that. The roots are probably way longer than the grass.

 

[azygous]

Your hen was very likely temporarily egg bound. Large eggs are difficult to pass. Check to see if it's got a double yolk. If it does, you might want to do several days of calcium therapy to reset the ovary to release just the one yolk. Multiple yolks cause large eggs and it's a matter of when, not if, she binds up and has a crisis. One calcium citrate tablet directly into the beak, whole, per day for around four days.

Yes, grass that long can be a crop impaction risk, especially as chickens get older and their systems begin to drag due to age. Grazing on grass, safer if kept mowed to a few inches in height, is different than being given silage. When grazing, the blades are fixed so the chicken can take small bites. With silage, they are more apt to suck down longer blades which are much more difficult for the crop to empty into the proventriculus, causing a slow crop and finally impaction. You want to prevent that as crop impaction from grass often requires surgery to remedy.

 

[Magda12]

Ok, I will try this, thank you! I'll also tell my son to stop giving them grass.
What about clippings from mowing the lawn? My husband will often dump clippings into their run, should we stop doing this?

 

[azygous]

The sudden bounty of grass clippings is also very risky, just as dumping a large amount of cookies and candy onto a kitchen table and thinking your kids are going to self regulate how much they eat of it. Corresponding belly aches can easily be predicted.