Pullet just drinking water and acting lethargic! Please help!

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Swbertrand1 said:
First, stop giving her water; she's not able to get it into her body, thus the full, water-balloon like crop you're feeling. Two things that come to mind to me (maybe 3), aside from disease, are Impacted Crop, Eggbound, or Worms (maybe).

A few questions:
How old is the pullet?
Has she laid any eggs yet?
What does her diet consist of?
When did she last eat?
Does she free-range?
If so, what does she eat free-ranging?
What kind of treats does she get, how often?
Has she been treated for intestinal parasites (worms)?
Has she been treated for any other illnesses?

Below is a good explanation of Crop Issues with a guide to how to treat Impacted Crop. In short, you're going to give her some oil orally so that it helps lubricate the blockage. You're also going to massage the crop in a top to bottom motion with your fingers to try to encourage the blockage to move. Also massage the sides of the crop with gentle but firm massages between your index finger and thumb.

For oil, some use Vegetable Oil, others Olive Oil, still others Coconut Oil. Any will work, but the Coconut Oil can be frozen and small bits broken off to more easily get into the bird. For the others, you're going to need a syringe or dropper to give her the fluid. Collect the dropper/syringe, then read the link below.
https://thegreenestacre.com/impacted-crop-signs-and-how-to-treat/


We can cover being Eggbound once we know her age and laying history.

Last, Worms can cause an intestinal blockage if she's overly infested with them. Her age will give us a clue to the possibility of that. Also, look closely at her stool to see if you see ANY Worms.
Click to expand...
Wanted to share a wonderful blog and post..

https://www.walkervillevet.com.au/blog/tell-chicken-healthy-sick/

Abdomen​

The number one cause of death in backyard poultry is egg peritonitis – read more here. The only early clues are a loss of body condition, irregular egg production and a swollen abdomen.
A normal abdomen conforms to the shape of the bird. It shouldn’t bulge or have a hard or fluidy feel. You probably need to compare this to another hen.


A normal abdomen conforms to the shape of the bird. It shouldn’t bulge or have a hard or fluidy feel. You probably need to compare this to another henHow To Treat An Egg Bound Chicken​

  1. Your chicken is almost certainly not egg-bound- true egg binding is rare
  2. When a chicken is egg bound, it is mostly due to poor nutrition such as attempting to feed chickens entirely on table scraps
  3. Most cases suspected of egg binding are really egg peritonitis or internal lay

Now dive deeper.​


What Is Egg Binding?​

Egg binding is when an egg gets stuck and a chicken can’t pass it easily. Signs are of repeated efforts to lay, or prolapse of part of the uterus through the vent. It can be nasty and is most often associated with low calcium diets.

What if I said egg binding in chickens almost doesn’t happen? What if most of the internet advice and guide books on how to treat your egg bound chicken are not only wrong and a waste of time, but actually harmful to a sick chook with a completely different problem?

If you have chickens and want to know how to get them to live a long life, or want help choosing chicken breeds, then this is the blog for you. Because the disease that people wrongly think is egg binding is the number one killer of chickens.

Yolk Peritonitis vs Egg Binding​

The REAL disease is egg peritonitis, also called internal lay, when one or many egg yolks are lost into the abdomen. Normally egg yolks are passed from the ovary to the oviduct. However, in egg peritonitis the yolk is either ruptured (we all know how fragile they are) or misses its target. Then it gets infected with E. coli bacteria.

Why does it happen? No one can say for sure, but it may be when birds are spooked, or handled roughly, or laying one egg at the same time as ovulating another. What is important is that it happens mainly to the high-producing breeds.

HyLine or ISA Browns are the commonest point-of-lay pullets sold in Adelaide (one is shown below). They are beautiful animals with unique personalities and become loved like any pets. However, despite the fact that a chicken can live 8 or 9 years (the record is 16!) most HyLine or ISA Browns die of egg peritonitis between two and three years of age.
 
Last edited:
Swbertrand1 said:
First, stop giving her water; she's not able to get it into her body, thus the full, water-balloon like crop you're feeling. Two things that come to mind to me (maybe 3), aside from disease, are Impacted Crop, Eggbound, or Worms (maybe).

A few questions:
How old is the pullet?
Has she laid any eggs yet?
What does her diet consist of?
When did she last eat?
Does she free-range?
If so, what does she eat free-ranging?
What kind of treats does she get, how often?
Has she been treated for intestinal parasites (worms)?
Has she been treated for any other illnesses?

Below is a good explanation of Crop Issues with a guide to how to treat Impacted Crop. In short, you're going to give her some oil orally so that it helps lubricate the blockage. You're also going to massage the crop in a top to bottom motion with your fingers to try to encourage the blockage to move. Also massage the sides of the crop with gentle but firm massages between your index finger and thumb.

For oil, some use Vegetable Oil, others Olive Oil, still others Coconut Oil. Any will work, but the Coconut Oil can be frozen and small bits broken off to more easily get into the bird. For the others, you're going to need a syringe or dropper to give her the fluid. Collect the dropper/syringe, then read the link below.
https://thegreenestacre.com/impacted-crop-signs-and-how-to-treat/


We can cover being Eggbound once we know her age and laying history.

Last, Worms can cause an intestinal blockage if she's overly infested with them. Her age will give us a clue to the possibility of that. Also, look closely at her stool to see if you see ANY Worms.
Click to expand...
She is 6 months old and lays almost every day. She does not act egg bound though just like her crop is uncomfortable. She eats later crumbles (not sure when she ate last I haven’t been home the full day today or yesterday) and is given oyster shells and grit freely. She does not free range. She is given some wild plums as a treat most days. Not sure if this matters but I read somewhere that sour crop can be a result of injury and she jumps down off the perch into the nest box and sometimes hits herself.) Shs has not been treated for worms or any other disease (we have worked our big chickens but she is a polish so she lives with the other polishes (away from the big girls).😉 There are no signs of worms anywhere. And thank you for responding!
 
Katanahamon said:
https://www.walkervillevet.com.au/blog/tell-chicken-healthy-sick/

Abdomen​

The number one cause of death in backyard poultry is egg peritonitis – read more here. The only early clues are a loss of body condition, irregular egg production and a swollen abdomen.
A normal abdomen conforms to the shape of the bird. It shouldn’t bulge or have a hard or fluidy feel. You probably need to compare this to another hen.


A normal abdomen conforms to the shape of the bird. It shouldn’t bulge or have a hard or fluidy feel. You probably need to compare this to another henHow To Treat An Egg Bound Chicken​

  1. Your chicken is almost certainly not egg-bound- true egg binding is rare
  2. When a chicken is egg bound, it is mostly due to poor nutrition such as attempting to feed chickens entirely on table scraps
  3. Most cases suspected of egg binding are really egg peritonitis or internal lay

Now dive deeper.​


What Is Egg Binding?​

Egg binding is when an egg gets stuck and a chicken can’t pass it easily. Signs are of repeated efforts to lay, or prolapse of part of the uterus through the vent. It can be nasty and is most often associated with low calcium diets.

What if I said egg binding in chickens almost doesn’t happen? What if most of the internet advice and guide books on how to treat your egg bound chicken are not only wrong and a waste of time, but actually harmful to a sick chook with a completely different problem?

If you have chickens and want to know how to get them to live a long life, or want help choosing chicken breeds, then this is the blog for you. Because the disease that people wrongly think is egg binding is the number one killer of chickens.

Yolk Peritonitis vs Egg Binding​

The REAL disease is egg peritonitis, also called internal lay, when one or many egg yolks are lost into the abdomen. Normally egg yolks are passed from the ovary to the oviduct. However, in egg peritonitis the yolk is either ruptured (we all know how fragile they are) or misses its target. Then it gets infected with E. coli bacteria.

Why does it happen? No one can say for sure, but it may be when birds are spooked, or handled roughly, or laying one egg at the same time as ovulating another. What is important is that it happens mainly to the high-producing breeds.

HyLine or ISA Browns are the commonest point-of-lay pullets sold in Adelaide (one is shown below). They are beautiful animals with unique personalities and become loved like any pets. However, despite the fact that a chicken can live 8 or 9 years (the record is 16!) most HyLine or ISA Browns die of egg peritonitis between two and three years of age.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
 
azygous is good and trusted here. Like azygous, I think you're dealing with a Crop blockage too. Treat per the guide(s) provided above.

Her diet looks good, treats are minimal, healthy and easy to digest - was more worried about free-ranging and her possible ingestion of grasses.

At her age, worms shouldn't be an issue, but check her for being Eggbound to rule it out. You can do that a few different ways, but the easiest is using a lubed, gloved finger and inserting it about 1-1/2 to 2 inches into her vent in a slightly upward orientation to feel for an egg. If you don't feel one, she's not eggbound.
More can be found here on Eggbinding:
https://www.knowyourchickens.com/egg-bound-chicken/

Keep us posted please! :-)
 
Swbertrand1 said:
azygous is good and trusted here. Like azygous, I think you're dealing with a Crop blockage too. Treat per the guide(s) provided above.

Her diet looks good, treats are minimal, healthy and easy to digest - was more worried about free-ranging and her possible ingestion of grasses.

At her age, worms shouldn't be an issue, but check her for being Eggbound to rule it out. You can do that a few different ways, but the easiest is using a lubed, gloved finger and inserting it about 1-1/2 to 2 inches into her vent in a slightly upward orientation to feel for an egg. If you don't feel one, she's not eggbound.
More can be found here on Eggbinding:
https://www.knowyourchickens.com/egg-bound-chicken/

Keep us posted please! :)
Click to expand...
Thank you!😁 I will!
 
Update: She pooped again and it looked like this (see below😉). I fed her coconut oil- which went really good. She kept wiping her beak. Then I massaged her crop a bit (until she sat down on my hand!🙄🤪) and then she started panting a bit (because it’s 81 degrees and she’s a bit overreactive with heat and she’s probably stressed). She seems a bit better. She was talking to me (I’m guessing out of irritation). She also doesn’t feel quite as much like dead weight but is still light. So I’m hoping her body is taking over but we’ll see.😉
9B97F3C4-C6CC-450D-96D1-4B745C83D85A.jpeg

Here is her obviously enjoying her coconut oil🤣-
1CA52F9A-227C-4188-8859-066DAEDCD5BC.jpeg
 
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