RSL very lethargic and unresponsive

[Queenie89]

Hi everyone,

My 16month old red sex link was looking a bit poorly last night (fluffed up, hunched, white comb) so I gave her a scrambled egg and brought her into the warm. She was missing her tail feathers so I thought she might have been being picked on.

Today she is just standing with her eyes closed, doesn't care whether you pick her up or prod her.

Her crop still feels fairly full and it was very full last night. I can't see any evidence of mites. I'm going to try and upload pictures of her and her last poo.

Out of hours vets have said they can only administer first aid and they will charge £100 for the consultation so I'm hoping there's something I can do first.

Her breath doesn't smell and when I put her down just now she fluffed herself right out and stood trembling.

 

[Queenie89]

I've checked gently and I don't think she's egg bound. She's barely able to stand now.

 

[rebrascora]

Oh dear, she doesn't look well at all and I would guess she has been masking her illness for some time. If her crop is quite full I would think there may be an impaction but that could be as a result of a more serious underlying issue which has caused things to back up. I would start with placing her somewhere warm (25C) and draught free and try regular gentle massaging of her crop and encouraging her to take fluids....a little warm water and if you can get some "Nutri Drops" from your local agricultural place or wherever you get your chicken feed. Put a couple of drops of it in a spoonful of water and try to get that down her but be careful not to get any into her trachea. She does look pretty unwell though so prepare yourself for the worst. Sex links can be quite prone to reproductive problems and that can put pressure on their digestive system and cause things to back up.
Does she have any abdominal swelling....ie. between her legs? Compare with other hens for reference.
Can you feel her breast bone and is it sharp or does she feel quite well padded and does she feel heavy or light when you pick her up?
When you say, you have checked for her being egg bound, did you insert a lubricated finger into her vent or just feel around outside?

Good luck with her and I'll try to check back in later this afternoon to see how you are doing.

Best wishes

Barbara

 

[Queenie89]

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately she has just passed away.

I think it is worth getting an autopsy to make sure that she hasn't got anything that might be passed on to the rest of my flock, especially in light of the bird flu epidemic.

I'd inserted a finger into her vent and felt around the outside as well.

 

[rebrascora]

So sorry to hear she didn't make it. She looked at deaths door, so I doubt anything you could have done would have helped at that stage and at least she is no longer suffering.
I think you are very wise to get a post mortem exam done. I do my own whenever possible, which enables me to pick up on physical internal abnormalities, parasites, tumours, organ failure etc but will not identify microbial issues. With things the way they are here in the UK at the moment, it is probably best to get it done professionally, but unless she was demonstrating some respiratory symptoms, I doubt it's flu. Will keep my fingers crossed that it is nothing infectious but would be interested to know the result if you don't mind posting it, as I am always keen to broaden my poultry illness knowledge.

Regards

Barbara