Poopy butt chicken

[quotha3]

I have a RIR that is almost 5 years old. I noticed her comb was dull and she was slow to come out of the coop two mornings ago. Once out she didn't go and eat. Just stood there. She also had a poopy butt, with some green colored droppings. I started the flock on duramycin and put ivermectin topical on because I've seen fleas in the yard. I wormed them a few months ago. I was going to tube feed her today because she didn't seem to be eating. But I got her to eat some canned cat food mixed with some kaytee exact baby bird food on her own. I gave her a bath today in some Epsom salts, mostly to clean her butt off. Is there anything else to be done?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Is her crop empty, full, hard, or like a balloon? The green poop is likely from not eating. I would use her normal layer feed with a lot water in it to make it thin, and add a tsp of plain cultured yogurt daily to her feed. If you have poultry vitamins, a human B Complex tablet, or nutritional yeast to add daily to feed or water, that may help her appetite and strength. Has she been laying eggs lately? Chopped egg, beef liver, or canned tuna are good to offer if she won't eat. At her age, she could have a reproductive disorder such as internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis. Those can cause runny poops, poor appetite, dull appearance, lethargy, weight loss, and not wanting to walk much. Antibiotics may help in the early stages, but there is no cure in most cases. I would keep her comfortable and help her eat. Here is some reading about that:
http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/tag/laying-issues/
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx

 

[quotha3]

Thank you. I'll check into vitamins. I'm not sure if she is laying. I have 6 hens from age 2.5 to 5. I get about 2 eggs a day currently. I have a feeling she hasn't been laying since she hasn't been feeling well, but I really can't be sure who is or isn't laying. I feed them countryside organics layer feed. It is more of a whole grain feed not a crumble or pellet so it doesn't really thin down with water. I can go get some crumbles and try that. I got baby bird feed thinking I was going to have to tube feed, but she ate that from a dish for some reason. She didn't want any of the normal feed or oatmeal. She'd probably go for tuna, hopefully. She started scratching around a bit after she dried off from the bath.

 

[Eggcessive]

The baby bird feed will be okay until she is eating better.

 

[quotha3]

I checked her crop and it feels harder than the other chickens. There's some movement, but not like the others.

 

[Eggcessive]

Then I would make sure that she is not able to get to her food until you examine her crop again in the morning. If it is still hard and full, you need to get her to drink water with electrolytes and nothing else. Massage her crop several times a day. Tube feeding her water could be done by a vet, and that would be ideal if possible. Until her crop starts to empty, she needs only liquids. I don't have a great deal of experience with crop problems, but you can do a search at the top of this page for TwoCrows article on treating impacted and sour crops, which is good. Vomiting a chicken is a procedure that is used to empty the crop, and it can be dangerous to perform until you read instructions on how to do it right. Even then, she can still choke on crop contents. Hopefully her crop is down by morning. Put her in a crate with food and water for the night to control what she eats and drinks.