Plymouth Rock not doing so good!

[kpeoples]

I am newish to chicken ownerish, my girls are 1.5 years old. These are my first chickens.

One of my Plymouth Rocks is acting very funny. She keeps her tail down, very lethargic acting, and is keeping away from the others. She also has a lot of poop on her butt but it doesn't seem to be blocking anything. She is eating and drinking however I don't think she is going up to roost with the other chickens at night. Just now when I was locking them up, she was in the corner of the coop, on the floor.

So, this has happened once before. I thought she was egg bound so I brought her inside, gave her a bath and kept her under a heat lamp in the basement for a few days. She seemed to perk up. I could never feel an egg though!

Any advice as to what to do?

 

[twendt]

give Corid, it's very possible she has coccidiosis, you can get it at any farm store. Liquid is the easiest to use, I give to all my hens when I suspect someone has it. I put it in their water, I've also drenched the ill hen depending on how sick she is (give it full strength). The doses are on this site. I give 0.1ml as full strength to the ill one, and I put 2.5ml in my 5gal waterer.

 

[feathermaid]

I had a 1.5 yr old Barred Rock that developed the same symptoms... lethargy, poopy bottom, slept in nest box, distanced herself from flock and I could feel her abdomen was large and full. I also assumed egg binding or peritonitis and also gave her epsom salt baths, which seemed to improve her condition temporarily. But she continued to deteriorate and passed away later on. I was so completely baffled and couldn't afford a necropsy in my area so I attempted one myself with help from people here at BYC. What I found was an inch thick layer of visceral fat and possible organ failure from obesity.

This all may be completely unrelated to your situation, but I had a compost bin in the chicken yard and threw out way too many kitchen scraps, including bread and pasta and pretty much everything. The other birds chose to eat mostly fruits and veggies first, but my BR always went straight for the carbs. This was a tough lesson and I immediately limited what my birds have access to. When people say treats in moderation... it's good advice.

I hope your hen is able to make a full recovery

 

[twendt]

I had a 1.5 yr old Barred Rock that developed the same symptoms... lethargy, poopy bottom, slept in nest box, distanced herself from flock and I could feel her abdomen was large and full. I also assumed egg binding or peritonitis and also gave her epsom salt baths, which seemed to improve her condition temporarily. But she continued to deteriorate and passed away later on. I was so completely baffled and couldn't afford a necropsy in my area so I attempted one myself with help from people here at BYC. What I found was an inch thick layer of visceral fat and possible organ failure from obesity.

This all may be completely unrelated to your situation, but I had a compost bin in the chicken yard and threw out way too many kitchen scraps, including bread and pasta and pretty much everything. The other birds chose to eat mostly fruits and veggies first, but my BR always went straight for the carbs. This was a tough lesson and I immediately limited what my birds have access to. When people say treats in moderation... it's good advice.

I hope your hen is able to make a full recovery

That's great advice, the only treats my girls get are the tomatoes they steal from my garden, dried mealworms, and spring lettuce mix when there's nothing green left for them to eat during our wonderful Wisconsin winters!

 

[dawg53]

I am newish to chicken ownerish, my girls are 1.5 years old. These are my first chickens.

One of my Plymouth Rocks is acting very funny. She keeps her tail down, very lethargic acting, and is keeping away from the others. She also has a lot of poop on her butt but it doesn't seem to be blocking anything. She is eating and drinking however I don't think she is going up to roost with the other chickens at night. Just now when I was locking them up, she was in the corner of the coop, on the floor.

So, this has happened once before. I thought she was egg bound so I brought her inside, gave her a bath and kept her under a heat lamp in the basement for a few days. She seemed to perk up. I could never feel an egg though!

Any advice as to what to do?

At 1.5 year old, inspect her closely for lice/mites, especially around the vent area. Worm her along with your other birds using either Valbazen liquid cattle/sheep wormer or Safeguard liquid goat wormer.