PLEASE HELP ME! I love my silkie, but she's sick

[Darram]

Please help me! My silkie (alexandria) has clearly not been feeling well! She isn't as chatty as she used to be. She also looks kinda weak, she stands, sits, moves a foot, but keeps her tail tucked in. Her poo is very green, but not liquidly. If it helps, she hasn't been making any weird noise, introduced to any new surroundings or anything. It was very spontanious, the other day she was fine. We moved her inside in a large box with hay and water. She still eats some of her treats, but isnt drinking. It doesn't seem like theres a lot of food in her body right now.

A little info about the flock: Shes part of a flock of 8. There are 6 assorted breeds, and 2 silkies. There used to be 3 silkies, but we had to give one back to the feed store because it changed gender. I don't think it mated with anyone. They all mostly get along, but still chase each other around, and sometimes peck each others feathers.

Please help me! We love this chicken, and don't want her to be sick.
-Darram

 

[KaseySnow]

First of all, welcome to BYC. We will try to help.

How old is this chicken? Have you felt her abdomen to see if there is a hard/egg shaped lump anywhere near her vent/bottom? Has she already been laying eggs?

 

[Darram]

First of all, welcome to BYC. We will try to help.

How old is this chicken? Have you felt her abdomen to see if there is a hard/egg shaped lump anywhere near her vent/bottom? Has she already been laying eggs?

Our silkies do not really lay as many eggs as they normally should, but it does feel like there might be something there. She and the other chicken could have mated, I heard the sperm can be inside for a long time. Do you have any suggestion if there is an egg? we tried giving her a bath and feeding her yogurt. Does this kind of look like an egg to you?

 

[KaseySnow]

It doesn't matter if she is mated or not, adult hens will lay eggs their whole lives. The mating just fertilizes the egg. The egg is released automatically whether they are mated or not, just like in humans.

It is hard to tell from an image, you really are just going to have to feel it yourself. If it feels hard (but not like a bone) and is shaped like an egg close to the vent/butt area, then she may be egg bound.

Here is an article all about how to assess and treat an egg bound hen:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-binding-symptoms-treatment-and-prevention.66978/


It could also be a different issue. Have you felt her crop? If it feels very hard or very squishy, she may have a crop problem. Here is an article about how to assess crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/#comments

You can do a search on the forum for any one of these crop issues for many threads full of information on how to treat them.

 

[Darram]

It doesn't matter if she is mated or not, adult hens will lay eggs their whole lives. The mating just fertilizes the egg. The egg is released automatically whether they are mated or not, just like in humans.

It is hard to tell from an image, you really are just going to have to feel it yourself. If it feels hard (but not like a bone) and is shaped like an egg close to the vent/butt area, then she may be egg bound.

Here is an article all about how to assess and treat an egg bound hen:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/egg-binding-symptoms-treatment-and-prevention.66978/


It could also be a different issue. Have you felt her crop? If it feels very hard or very squishy, she may have a crop problem. Here is an article about how to assess crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/#comments

You can do a search on the forum for any one of these crop issues for many threads full of information on how to treat them.

Just one more question. Our two silkies have always had a pretty squishy crop. Is that a problem? It looks normal, and I can tell it's mostly growing properly (I think). You got any suggestions?

 

[KaseySnow]

The chicken's crop should naturally be a bit soft, but if it feels like a water balloon accompanied by a sour smell coming out of the bird's beak, that's a problem. Compare hers to the crops of the rest of your flock. If they all feel about the same then it's probably not the problem.

If you can't discover the issue, you may want to contact an avian vet soon.

 

[Vickischics]

Here are three pictures of my girls crops.
The first picture is an empty crop.
The second picture shows both birds with full crops.
Hope this visual helps you to find the crops location and feel it.
The Empty crop is BEFORE they eat in the morning. The Full crop is before they go to roost for the night.