Possible liver disease? Please help

[Emrosenagel]

Hello!

I can never seem to catch a break with my hens, and this will be the last time I ever purchase chicks from tractor supply because of it. Anyway, I have a 9 month old Blue Andalusian who has not been acting her normal self today. Normally, she is a piggy and spends the entire day foraging; today, she is sleeping and lounging all day, not moving very fast, and hasn't foraged at all. She isn't even too interested in treats, which is so out of character.

For some context, Marilla (that's her name) has always had what I assumed was lung damage or something respiratory related, because she pants even if its only 75 degrees out and holds out her wings sometimes. Maybe bad heat intolerance, I wasn't sure, but it never effected her behavior. None of the other hens were ever effected by this, so i ruled out respiratory disease and figured it might be genetic. I've been checking on my other hen during the night because she has a crop problem, so I decided to check the other two and noticed that Marilla's abdomen felt a little (pardon my word choice) juicer than the other two; not overly swollen, but definitely bigger. Her skin isn't red down there, and she has no lack of feathers. I hoped it was just my chicken paranoia, but today confirmed somethin is up.

What leads me to liver problems is her panting in low temps, and now her poop is looking a little funny. It is a light green but fairly solid, though that might be from her grassy diet. What worries me is the excessive urates. The whole thing is covered with a thin layer of white, but the white has a yellow tinge to it. I will get a picture when I can. Another thing, her comb occasionally will go slightly bluish around the back tips, though I read this could be normal for bigger combs.

I'm going to separate her in case it's something else, but I don't think it's anything contagious. I'm going to do some self treatment before I take her in to the vet, since I just took my other girl in twice. Heck, maybe she's just having an off day, i don't know. She is still laying eggs every morning.

Here are some pics of her and her bottom (idk if you can tell if its enlarged or not because of her feathery booty). Thanks for any help, I would really appreciate any.

 

[Emrosenagel]

Got the poop pic. her sis also has green poop, but with a normal white cap. And as far as what she eats, they have purina layer feed but have been eating a lot of grower/chick feed too. Now I have purina flock raiser they sometimes eat. I just weighed her, and she is 5.03 lbs, fairly normal.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would not separate her, but just keep her in with her flock. If she is continuing to lay eggs daily, she doesn’t sound like she has a problem. They are more comfortable left with the flock. I had a large Brahma hen who frequently panted and held her wings out from her body, because she had a harder time tolerating warm weather, even though the other hens did not. What are you feeding your chickens? Liver problems can result from fatty liver disease, reproductive infections, cancer, and heart issues. I don’t see much wrong with the dropping above.

 

[Emrosenagel]

I would not separate her, but just keep her in with her flock. If she is continuing to lay eggs daily, she doesn’t sound like she has a problem. They are more comfortable left with the flock. I had a large Brahma hen who frequently panted and held her wings out from her body, because she had a harder time tolerating warm weather, even though the other hens did not. What are you feeding your chickens? Liver problems can result from fatty liver disease, reproductive infections, cancer, and heart issues. I don’t see much wrong with the dropping above.

They eat purina layer feed, but they have been eating chick/grower feed lately when I stick the younger ones in with them. She was just not active today, and that seemed really odd for her. I’m told I have Munchausen by proxy for my chickens lol so any change in behavior and I’m convinced they’re dying. I feel a little relieved though, thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

I think sometimes when we are first getting into chickens and learn about so many illness that can affect them, we can get a little over concerned. But it is good that you are watching them and asking questions.

 

[Emrosenagel]

I think sometimes when we are first getting into chickens and learn about so many illness that can affect them, we can get a little over concerned. But it is good that you are watching them and asking questions.

Sorry to bother you again, but she did something a little strange when she went into the coop (besides her lack of activity today) — she went into the nesting box. I went to check on her, and she gave me a little growl and puff up. She wasn’t exactly sitting in the nest, but standing and sometimes laying down. I put her back on the roost and found a small soft feather, much like when my little bantam went broody. She went right back into the box, so I offered her an egg to really see if she could be going broody, and she took it. Then she really puffed up and yelled at me. My question is, was any of her behavior today (lack of activity and disinterest in treats) possibly related to broodiness?

Edit: she is also panting, and now she started doing the distress/egg song and won’t stop. It’s 12 in the morning.