Puffed up, tail down, not eating, barely drinking...

[kristen2678]

I have an 8 month old EE who is not well this morning. She is puffed up, tail down, not eating, had a little to drink. Her crop is nice and small, I haven't seen any abnormal poops yet, Her tummy feels fine. Vent looks good, although it does open and close when I mess with it. I assume that's normal. She has had a few soft shell eggs in the past but laid a normal egg yesterday. Any ideas? She freaked out last time I brought her in the house, so I put her back in the coop and turned on the heat lamp. I offered scrambled egg, oatmeal, warm corn. No luck. What's next?

 

[kristen2678]

She's eating a little but no poop yet. If she's bound up could it be worms?

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Is she broody? Where is she at?

 

[chicks4kids]

Boy it sounds like she may be broody. Is she growling at you when you go to touch her??

 

[Keri78]

I "third" the notion of possibly broody!

Got any eggs for her to have a go at???

 

[kidsmaw]

My hen was acting like this yesterday and some very helpful BYCers suggested the same thing, that my girl was broody. One "test" they had me run is to see if I picked my girl up and moved her if she insisted on going back to the same spot she was at before I moved her. Also, my girl was standing, I was told puffed up standing chickens usually mean they aren't feeling well and a puffed up laying chicken leans more toward broody.

Keeping my fingers crossed for a broody girl for you!

 

[kristen2678]

She's moving pretty slow and her poop doesn't look very good. Loose, green, white. Just like the worm one on the poop chart, without the visible worms. I have Piperazine. Should I worm her? She is eating now. I have her in the bathroom with food, water, snacks, grit&calcium.

 

[Kittymomma]

I would, just make sure you can tell her eggs from the rest if you don't worm the whole flock. I'm usually big on doing fecal floats before worming, but if she's not doing well and all the signs point to worms you're probably better off getting right on it.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

I think she's maybe ill, doesn't sound like a brooder. Broodies often let out one gigantic smelly turd all at once, and it shouldn't be runny. They don't eat a lot or drink a lot, but they also don't usually have the tail down. They will often yell at you when you come near them, fluff up their feathers and the tail goes right up in the air. I would NOT worm her just yet. Give her some time. She might have just eaten something yucky and got a basic bellyache. That's all I can say so far.

Does she have a stuck egg? Is she working her vent around a lot like she's trying to poop but it won't come out? Is there runny goo that looks like a busted egg coming out in the poo?

 

[kristen2678]

I keep staring at the poop chart. Her poop looks like normal poop color, just much runnier than usual. I'll try to post a pic. Having an issue with the camera for some reason. She is moving her vent around. Is that normal when someone is poking at it? I felt for an egg but things seem to be normal there. I'll check again. She laid yesterday. She usually lays mid to late afternoon. The other girls are fine. She did have cauliflower yesterday. That was kind of new I guess. Keep her separated and continue with supportave treatments until tomorrow?