Potentially ill chicken

[Dazzalad]

Hi all,
One of our hens has been a bit droopy over last 2 weeks or so. She'll go back into the coop once let out and lay down, either for just a minute or a few but confusingly she generally seems fine in the day/is eating and drinking normally. She does also have quite a messy bum which we've been trimming as the poops been getting caught, which seems to be an ok colour/consistency when I've seen her poop onto the actual floor. It's very cold in UK atm so waiting for a warmer day to try and sponge off what's left on her. Her eyes generally seem more shut than normal/not completely open. Have added pics for reference, any ideas my chooky friends?
P.s. were unaware on the age of our hens as they were from a previous owner just under 2 years ago. We also haven't wormed them, but it's on my list to get the poop checked ASAP.

 

[Dazzalad]

Also if anyone knows the age of which this breed usually lives for, that could be useful to know! Thank you

 

[Dazzalad]

Please is anyone able to help ??? She's still eating and drinking fine, but some watery poop and most poo gets stuck all over her butt. She does now have an enlarged mass ABOVE her vent and after she poops the vent contracts in and out, we've had trouble getting hold of Epsom salts but hopefully will get to bathe her tomorrow. This was her tonight, as you can see she gets messy quickly...my only idea atm is that she's eggbound? Please help !!!

 

[Dazzalad]

 

[hannah and the chickens]

Oh poor girl I hope she gets better soon!
I'm not an expert on chicken breeds but even hybrid hens can get as old as 10 years. 6-7 years is more of a usual age for chickens though in my opinion.

To me it doesn't really seem like she might be egg bound, symptoms of egg bound hens are usually a more penguin-like position (because they want to get the egg out) and oftentimes an enlarged belly. Maybe try to feel her belly (and compare to a healthy chicken if you need to), if it's hard or enlarged there is something wrong.

My best guess would be some kind of parasites. Get her poop tested for worms and also coccidia as soon as possible! Most vets (regardless of whether they know how to treat chickens or not) can perform those tests and it usually takes less than an hour.
Another possibility could be a bacterial infection, then the vet or you yourself would have to send a poop sample to a lab. Testing for bacteria takes between 4-6 days in my experience.
Do any of your other chickens have similar symptoms?

Her eyes look a bit swollen to me somehow or does she look like that normally? Just closing her eyes generally is just a sign that she feels sick and exhausted. Swelling could be a symptom for something else but I don't have any experience with that.

As a home remedy, you could make her moro's soup (take 500g of carrots, cook them in 1 litre of water for one hour and then put everything in a blender), that can help with diarrhea unless the diarrhea is caused by parasites. I'd say it's worth a try.

Also, if you're bathing her tomorrow you might have to keep her inside after. The temperature change from inside the house to winter temperatures outside can be bad for her, especially after a bath.

 

[Dazzalad]

Thank you so much for your reply!!! Here's some pics of Lacey this morning, bless her.
I see what you mean about the egg binding, think I'm so worried about her that I'm trying to research every possible illness that involves her symptoms! I managed to feel her belly just now and it feels normal, but I didn't pick her up etc as I'll wait until the fuss over the bath starts later before examining her. We're also going to contact a friend today who fortunately collects and tests poop samples. No chickens with similar symptoms except for the slight poopy bum with some of them, although they look healthy and I think it's from giving them more vegetables recently due to bird flu etc.
The eyes are what first worried me, I don't think they're swollen they're just not completely open at any point...although a photo of her last year shows that she had pretty narrow eyes back then too so maybe I'd just never noticed.
Will the carrot soup make her poop even more runny or does it not really matter? We'll be bathing her inside because of the coldness, and will be isolated from rest of the group!
One strange thing I have noticed is that she has very slight blue patches on her legs...could this be bumblefoot or gout? She's always been less stable on her legs like they're not as strong as the rest

 

[Dazzalad]

Oh and I did think possible vent gleet!?! The area above her vent is still kind of pink, wide and protruding - I'll try get a photo later. I am so worried about my gal I also don't think vets are taking birds atm because of the flu, although from my own and reading others' experience, they're generally not very helpful with our lovely hens!

 

[Dazzalad]

She's mainly doing this when standing now, although was quite happy eating sunflower seeds thrown around as a treat, and still is fine to clean herself! I'm now thinking it is something internal as can't feel any lumps or bumps, except the mass above her vent. Can't make her a warm isolated place until picking up a dog crate tomorrow, I hope she'll be ok until then :'(

 

[hannah and the chickens]

The carrot soup shouldn't make her poop more runny ideally. The soup contains oligosaccharides that somehow help against bacteria in the intestines that could cause the diarrhea. It is a common home remedy where I live, it works for children, dogs and also chickens.

I don't have any experience with vent gleet in chickens and to me her feet look normal. If she's not limping and the feet don't feel hot (like they're inflamed) I wouldn't worry about it.

As I said, my best guess is that she has either a bacterial infection or some kind of parasites. Have you been in contact with your friend about the tests already? And maybe try to phone the vets in your area and just ask them if they'll see a chicken right now. I had to take one of my chickens to the vet in November and it wasn't a problem at all even though my area was already in chicken lockdown at that point.
Also make sure that Lacey is eating and drinking enough. If she doesn't want to eat the normal feed you can also offer her special things like cooked potato or pasta.

 

[Dazzalad]

Perfect I'll try the carrot soup later today after she's bathed and settled. Really sadly she's now got blood coming from her vent, and when I let them out this morning she was rasping slightly through the nostrils. Our friend is coming over next 2 days to collect poop. She was eating and drinking fine but after seeing her bum this morning I'm quite worried again, so will be In touch with vets. She is also pecking at an eggshell in the shed which must've happened last night, so I'll try get some calcium in her too.
Thank you again