Poorly hen with tail down, hunched, head tucked in

[richardeblack]

Hello,
Firstly thanks to Eggcessive for all their support with an earlier post about the same chicken.
Buffy is very poorly and is standing hunched with her tail down and her head tucked in. She is sleeping quite a lot (standing up, she doesn't lie down) and only moving to eat which she is still doing. Here is a photo of what she looks like:

I have been treating her for bumblefoot by bathing in epsom salts and treating with Iodine and she has no tenderness, swelling or inflamed patches, just the black marks on her feet.
She has been suffering from waterbelly and was very distended indeed. I drained her once and the next day she was very bright and almost back to normal. I left her for about 10 days, just seeing to her feet a couple of times and noticed she was a bit droopy and quite swollen so gave her another good bath in epsom salts and drained her again. I treated her feet again and popped her back in the run.
She perked up for a couple of days (maybe more) then started to go downhill a couple of days ago.
Last night I went down to check they were all in bed and found she was still in the run. I suspect she was struggling to walk to get into the coop. I lifted her in and settled her although she wouldn't lay down.
This morning I went down to feed them and she was still in the coop standing at the top of the slope. I lifted her out and let her be on the grass outside for a while and popped some food down for her which she ate her favourite bits of.
After a while i put here in the run with the others. She was interested in the food and tucked into it. She then just moved to her favourite spot in the run and has just stood there since. I did put a bit of food down and she came over to join in with it. That was when I took the picture.
I am fairly sure she is not egg bound as she has not laid for over a year and is passing droppings. She does suffer from gleet but there has been no sign of that recently.
I am really not sure what to do and don't want to mess her about too much.
Has anyone got any ideas please.
Thank you very much,
Richard.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She has been suffering from waterbelly and was very distended indeed. I drained her once and the next day she was very bright and almost back to normal. I left her for about 10 days, just seeing to her feet a couple of times and noticed she was a bit droopy and quite swollen so gave her another good bath in epsom salts and drained her again. I treated her feet again and popped her back in the run.
She perked up for a couple of days (maybe more) then started to go downhill a couple of days ago.

I'm sorry about your hen.

Her stance says she's not feeling well.

Sadly, a hen that has fluid in the abdomen often has reproductive and/or organ dysfunction. Draining is a temporary supportive care and comfort measure but is not a cure of the cause of the symptom.
You can try draining again to see if she improves since she does seem to perk up for a short while afterward. An antibiotic like Amoxicillin may help with inflammation or infection, but often hens will decline again once their round of meds are finished. Some give Aloe Detox to help with fluid in the abdomen as well.
Even with our best efforts and care, a hen will eventually succumb to the condition that is causing her symptoms. I monitor mine closely and when they have had enough, I put them out of their misery.

Your other thread can be found here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/advice-on-suspected-bumblefoot-please.1570468/page-2

 

[richardeblack]

Thank you very much
That is pretty much what I have been thinking. I just wanted to be sure there is nothing I can do.
She isn't badly bloated since we only drained her last Friday and she hasn't filled up much at all. I wonder if her eyes closing is an indication of anything? She isn't panting or short of breath. Is the fact that she isn't lying down at all maybe indicative of something?
I guess I'll just lift her up into the coop again tonight and try and make her as comfy as possible and see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks again.
Richard

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you very much
That is pretty much what I have been thinking. I just wanted to be sure there is nothing I can do.
She isn't badly bloated since we only drained her last Friday and she hasn't filled up much at all. I wonder if her eyes closing is an indication of anything? She isn't panting or short of breath. Is the fact that she isn't lying down at all maybe indicative of something?
I guess I'll just lift her up into the coop again tonight and try and make her as comfy as possible and see what tomorrow brings.
Thanks again.
Richard

Eyes closing and not laying down, she's not feeling well.

 

[richardeblack]

Well, not sure what happened but Buffy spend a lot of the intervening time being poorly but still wanting to eat so I just looked after her as well as I could.
One day she just perked up and went from strength to strength. She is now better than she has been for ages.
I have no illusions that she won't be poorly again before long but am just enjoying watching her barging the young ones out of the way to get her food.
Many thanks to everyone for all the advice.
Thank you
Richard

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad to hear she's improved!