PLEASE HELP!! I can't tell what's wrong

[SpaghettiJo]

Hi, one of my chickens (3yr old red sex link), Bertha, is not doing well at all. She has laid maybe two eggs in the past year, but I was not too worried about that because her health hasn't suffered until now & she's always been one of my strongest (& one of the two alphas of our small flock of 6!). None of the other chickens are sick, but I have her quarantined now, just in case. Whatever has been going on started last week when I noticed she had droppings stuck to her feathers under her vent, I bathed her & cleaned off her feathers, but she has continued to get droppings on herself. I even trimmed her feathers to try & help, but droppings continue to collect. Her comb has remained bright red, but it is extremely droopy. Yesterday, she was still in the coop & run with all of her sisters, & I was out there with them for the majority of the day, cleaning out their coop, replenishing their dust bath, etc. & I was keeping an eye on her the whole time - She slept for most of the day, just standing off in the corner & did not try to get away from me at all (even when I was breaking up the dirt around her with a shovel to help it dry out from the rain we got this past week). She did go out to forage with the rest of them, but her "foraging" only consisted of her very slowly, eating the tips of the grass blades & a few worms I had dug up for her (but she didn't even have the energy to eat the larger worm I found - which she normally loves). I separated her from the flock last night & have kept a close eye on her in our quarantine coop (basically just a very large dog cage with a roost) & have their regular food in there for her along with some coconut water with a splash of ACV. She has eaten very little & has only had a little bit of her water. I was thinking I might try to give her some canned cat food? Last night, she only had one dropping that I can see under the roost (I placed her up there because she didn't want to jump up on her own & was just going to sleep in the bedding) - it is a tad bit watery, green, I think maybe a very little amount of yellow (but it's hard to tell because of the hay), & white. I assume the green is from yesterday's outing, but I was concerned that she only had the one dropping (it's not very large). I picked her up yesterday by placing one of my hands in between her legs & the other to hold her wings down & I noticed that area seems to be more swollen than I think is normal (I could feel a bone when I picked up my other girls in the same way), but it didn't feel hard or anything. I will check in a little bit to see if that really is the case though. Her feathers are also a little puffed up as well. And yesterday when I was inside, my mom said she had seen the pesky little squirrel that keeps stealing their food in their run & it jumped off Bertha's back when it was getting away - She doesn't appear to be hurt from it or missing any feathers because of it, just thought it was worth a mention. She is missing some feathers from her upper neck area, but I'm not sure what that's from, but there is new growth. Any thoughts as to what I can give her or what I can do? Yes to cat food? Watermelon to help with hydration? Thank you so much for any help or insight y'all might have! We aren't able to take her to the vet right now, so anything helps!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I noticed that area seems to be more swollen than I think is normal

Hi there, sorry your hen is unwell.

With her age and the description you've given.. it sounds very much like she may be suffering from internal reproductive disorders.. very common in sex links.. Sometimes called internal laying, or egg yolk peritonitis. Other possibility would be ascites (water belly). But your issue sounds more like the former than the latter.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...eproductive-system/egg-peritonitis-in-poultry

https://thegoodlifeainteasy.com/2018/06/25/chicken-keeping-the-dreaded-egg-yolk-peritonitis/

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...itions-of-poultry/ascites-syndrome-in-poultry

You can try the canned cat food and watermelon just as pick me ups if you like.. they will not likely help her condition... Prognosis is poor. And being made comfortable OR euthanized is the kindest thing you can do for her.

Sorry y'all are facing this.

 

[SpaghettiJo]

Hi there, sorry your hen is unwell.

With her age and the description you've given.. it sounds very much like she may be suffering from internal reproductive disorders.. very common in sex links.. Sometimes called internal laying, or egg yolk peritonitis. Other possibility would be ascites (water belly). But your issue sounds more like the former than the latter.

If it is internal laying, could it be possible that this has been going on the whole time she hasn't been laying even though she wasn't showing signs of sickness?
Thank you so much for your help! We'll be keeping a close eye on her

 

[SpaghettiJo]

She's taken quite the liking to the cat food, but shes surprisingly disinterested in the watermelon :/ Is it possible this could just be constipation?

And is there anything I can give her for the pain? Saw some contradicting opinions on children's motrin/ibuprofen & aspirin.... I'd just like to relieve her pain

 

[EggSighted4Life]

If it is internal laying, could it be possible that this has been going on the whole time she hasn't been laying even though she wasn't showing signs of sickness?
Thank you so much for your help! We'll be keeping a close eye on her

It's entirely possible.

Constipation really isn't a thing in chickens. Crop or gizzard blockage or dysfunction as well as egg binding can be though.

Take away all food and water at night... check the crop for how it feels then compare int he morning BEFORE food or water is given.. According to MY experience, your symptoms don't fit. But here is a link to help you check that out as well..
https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-anatomy-crop-impacted-crop-sour/

All my suggestions are according to the belief you have been using a formulated chicken feed ration all along and not diminishing nutrient with excessive treats. If that isn't the case then my assessment and suggestions would be very different. Also she may need some grit if she's in quarantine.

I would not use the cat food for too long as it isn't the BEST food for them and more suggested in cases where birds are very malnourished and lacking protein in their diet. Some canned mackerel might be a better option??

To get her a different boost if needed to use longer term... consider using poultry nutri drench or Rooster Booster (brand) Poultry Cell (product). No supplement should be given more than 10 days in row. Too much protein fed long term COULD cause gout and even kidney failure or sudden death.. Speaking of which... excess calcium fed long term to birds not in lay.. or layer feed fed to an older hen that lays only a couple eggs per year... can also cause gout, kidney failure, and ultimately sudden death. So if you currently feed her layer and hope to TRY and extend her life then I would highly suggest using an unmedicated starter, grower, flock raiser, all flock... etc... something with only about 1% calcium. All these feeds will be higher in amino acids than layer, helping with immunity etc. Provide oyster shell on the side for active layers.

Please know that even though you do your very best.. Bertha may still face the same outcome... I mean, we all will eventually... but all you can do is try!

 

[SpaghettiJo]

It's entirely possible.

Constipation really isn't a thing in chickens. Crop or gizzard blockage or dysfunction as well as egg binding can be though.

Take away all food and water at night... check the crop for how it feels then compare int he morning BEFORE food or water is given.. According to MY experience, your symptoms don't fit. But here is a link to help you check that out as well..
https://the-chicken-chick.com/chicken-anatomy-crop-impacted-crop-sour/

All my suggestions are according to the belief you have been using a formulated chicken feed ration all along and not diminishing nutrient with excessive treats. If that isn't the case then my assessment and suggestions would be very different. Also she may need some grit if she's in quarantine.

I would not use the cat food for too long as it isn't the BEST food for them and more suggested in cases where birds are very malnourished and lacking protein in their diet. Some canned mackerel might be a better option??

To get her a different boost if needed to use longer term... consider using poultry nutri drench or Rooster Booster (brand) Poultry Cell (product). No supplement should be given more than 10 days in row. Too much protein fed long term COULD cause gout and even kidney failure or sudden death.. Speaking of which... excess calcium fed long term to birds not in lay.. or layer feed fed to an older hen that lays only a couple eggs per year... can also cause gout, kidney failure, and ultimately sudden death. So if you currently feed her layer and hope to TRY and extend her life then I would highly suggest using an unmedicated starter, grower, flock raiser, all flock... etc... something with only about 1% calcium. All these feeds will be higher in amino acids than layer, helping with immunity etc. Provide oyster shell on the side for active layers.

Please know that even though you do your very best.. Bertha may still face the same outcome... I mean, we all will eventually... but all you can do is try!

We did have a friend of my mom's staying with us for a while & she would often feed our girls left overs & was giving them yogurt nearly every day for a couple weeks :/ Her personality is a bit obsessive & she's sensitive, but I still asked her several times not to be giving them so many treats (as it was completely unnecessary to be feeding them our leftover waffles right after breakfast & the yogurt my family was neglecting - I would've rather thrown them out or used the yogurts in smoothies), but she persisted & would stay out & watch them eat the treats she'd give them (so I couldn't even sneak out to take them away!). She would try to help out with them by collecting eggs & such, which I didn't mind, until her last day here & she told me she had been giving them their own eggs to eat when she'd accidentally drop them! I was furious to say the least, but I'll count dealing with her as a way to work on my patience lol. My mom & I laughed together when she caught me burying waffles or other left overs in the garbage, so her friend wouldn't dig them out & give them to our girls! I, however, digress - her friend was here for nearly a month, so it was quite the hassle to limit what she was giving the girls, but I thought we had curbed the amount of treats quite a bit from what it could have been. We've been able to regain control of the hen that resorted to egg-eating rather quickly, but I'm worried that her friends' excessive feeding of treats to the girls could have contributed to Bertha's sickness!

It's been about two weeks since her friend left & the girls have been maintaining their normal feed again as I've been withholding treats, so I didn't even think to mention it. How would that change her prognosis? And what should I do in the case that it is something like an impacted gizzard? (I've had a girl with an impacted crop before, & I'm fairly certain that's not it, but it seems likely it could be her gizzard - although, she hasn't been too thirsty)

I wasn't aware of all those things regarding her feed either, so I'll be sure to pick up some feed with much lower calcium contents! I'm providing her with her normal layer feed alongside the cat food, coconut water, & watermelon chunk for now. Do you still recommend using something like nurti drench?

Thank you again for all of your help!