one sick hen

[larrywatts]

I have 25 barred rock hens, one of then seem alittle sluggesh her con is very light red color , she eats and drinks very little. I seperated her from the hen house and started putting tetracycline hydrochloride in the water for all the chickens , these chickens are six months and are laying 16 to 20 eggs a day .
any advice?

 

[birdlover]

Well, you did the right thing separating her! She needs to be kept warm and quiet wherever you have her. Warmth is especially important when they're sick. If you could take a look at the second thread at the top and answer the questions, somebody may be able to help you. What you've told us so far isn't enough to give feedback. I hope she gets better!

P.S. Welcome to BYC!

 

[sammi]

how old is the hen?
has she been wormed? if so when? and what was used?
is she laying?
check vent for any drainage, or any swelling.

what all do you feed?

check her crop..at roost time it should full if she's eating.
if it's empty, feel for any lumps or grainy feeling., check for any sour odor.
describe the droppings..color and consistency.

describe any other symptoms in detail..
any wheezing?

no need to use antibiotic on all birds until you know what the problem is with the hen.

 

[larrywatts]

I thought she was alittle better this morning, but when I let her out to have water and feed , she went for the water and ate very little, when I picked her up I massaged her crop and she spit up the water and that had a awful oder.
She is 6 months old .
as for worming I don,t think she has been
she is not laying
I will check her vent
I feed Crush and some scratch
It has been very cold here -8 one night
the only other symptom is she moves slow
Have not seen anydroping yet
No whezzing
her eyes look normal
Thanks for any help!!

 

[larrywatts]

whn I said I feed crush I meant crum

 

[birdlover]

It sounds like she might have an impacted or sour crop. Look around BYC to see what people recommend. I don't know what to do for sour crop. I had a hen with an impacted crop and I ended up taking her to the vet. It took a long time to finally get her better. I think a symptom of sour crop is the smell. You can also google "Sour crop in chickens" and see if it fits. I hope she gets better. Try feeding her plain yogurt with some oatmeal and grated hard boiled egg in it. Hope somebody else can come along and help!

 

[larrywatts]

Thanks you very much , I will keep you all posted !

 

[larrywatts]

today my hen isn't doing much better , i gave her about 1/2oz of a yogurt and olive oil mixture.

 

[birdlover]

Larry,
After I recommended you googling sour crop in hens, I did so myself and, from what I can gather, feeding her ANYthing isn't going to fix the problem. Did you poke around online for info? A couple of people whose hens had sour crop made them throw up and that seemed to help a lot. They said the odor was the tip off (which you said your hen has) and what is causing the odor is food in the crop that isn't passing through and is rotting. I don't know enough about it to advise you but I believe the one poster said she gave her hen lots of water, massaged her crop and then turned her almost upside down and she threw up. Her hen improved. Didn't you say you did that too? Maybe you need to try again?? I'm afraid to give too much advice because of my ignorance on the subject. I hope things improve!

 

[larrywatts]

thank you all very much , for the help ,She died this morning. I am new at this, I have learned alot from this episode. Thanks again