Pale comb tail down lethargic

[Tsjschickens]

Our 17 month old calico princes is sick. She is eating and drinking in small amounts and I have seen her poop a few times. poop looks fairly normal. She is moving her neck around like she is trying to adjust her crop. Crop is mostly flat can feel a little fluid not hard. Not full like it should be in afternoon. Layed soft shelled egg yesterday? Has had soft shell egg problems in the past. Eats perina chicken food with calcium. Been recently dewormed and has electrolytes in water.

 

[Tsjschickens]

Help!! She has been like this for 3 days now. I think I can feel an egg in her abdomen but am not sure. I gently massage there and it seems to move or shift around. She is pooping some but not eating or drinking a lot. Still moving neck around like she is adjusting her crop . She has never done this before.

 

[Shadrach]

First I suggest you check she is not egg bound. You need to thoroughly wash your hands and grease your forefinger with coconut oil or even Vasaline and insert it into her vent.
You can gently slide your finger in up to the second knuckle. If hse is egg bound you will be able to feel the egg.
I would guess from your description that an internal laying problem is more likely. Lack of appetite and crop problems are often symptoms of peritonitis, or other reproductive tract problem.
You can tube or syringe feed her in order to test her crop function. Here is an article on how to do this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/
If you feed her during the day and her crop is full at night, then if the crop is empty again the next morning the crop is functioning.
If she does have reproductive issues I'm afraid there isn't much you can do. It's a question of keeping her hydrated and fed until the point comes when her quality of life is poor and then the kindest thing to do is to kill the hen.
I'm sorry to not have more optimistic advice.

 

[Tsjschickens]

First I suggest you check she is not egg bound. You need to thoroughly wash your hands and grease your forefinger with coconut oil or even Vasaline and insert it into her vent.
You can gently slide your finger in up to the second knuckle. If hse is egg bound you will be able to feel the egg.
I would guess from your description that an internal laying problem is more likely. Lack of appetite and crop problems are often symptoms of peritonitis, or other reproductive tract problem.
You can tube or syringe feed her in order to test her crop function. Here is an article on how to do this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/
If you feed her during the day and her crop is full at night, then if the crop is empty again the next morning the crop is functioning.
If she does have reproductive issues I'm afraid there isn't much you can do. It's a question of keeping her hydrated and fed until the point comes when her quality of life is poor and then the kindest thing to do is to kill the hen.
I'm sorry to not have more optimistic advice.

Thanks for the reply. I did as you said and checked for an egg and did not feel one. She is still no different than before. Pale comb and face will walk some if you encourage her but basically will just stand in one place and close her eyes. She is still moving her neck around like she is adjusting her crop or something. She did not do that until she became sick.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks for the reply. I did as you said and checked for an egg and did not feel one. She is still no different than before. Pale comb and face will walk some if you encourage her but basically will just stand in one place and close her eyes. She is still moving her neck around like she is adjusting her crop or something. She did not do that until she became sick.

Is taking her to a vet an option?

 

[Tsjschickens]

Is taking her to a vet an option?

I would take her to the vet in a heartbeat but my vet that sees my dog doesn't do chickens and there are none around me that does. Just trying to do the best I can for her

 

[Shadrach]

I would take her to the vet in a heartbeat but my vet that sees my dog doesn't do chickens and there are none around me that does. Just trying to do the best I can for her

I'm sorry I can't be of more help. It's a very hard thing to accept that sometimes there is nothing more you can do than keep them comfortable and make their end quick and painless.

 

[Tsjschickens]

You have been very helpful and I really appreciate it.

 

[casportpony]

It is possible that she has another soft shelled egg that she is trying to pass, and those can be very difficult to detect. Can you post a picture of her?

 

[Tsjschickens]