Ruby is unwell :(

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micstrachan

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7 Years
Apr 10, 2016
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Santa Cruz Mountains, California
My poor sweet Ruby is unwell. She was a little off yesterday, but it was oh so subtle. Today I was doing yard work and didn’t watch the girls super closely. Ruby went adventuring next door like her normal, spunky self. But after I ran to Hone Depot for sand to lay bricks, I let the girls back out the moment I got home and found Ruby in the corner of the run with her tail tucked. I took her inside, did NOT feel an egg (but didn’t go in super far), but soaked her, anyway. Blew her dry a bit, gave a few sips of nutridrench, and scrambled an egg for her with a calcium & magnesium citrate with D3 mixed in. She gobbled up the egg. She pooped twice and I think her vent looks like she’s not laying, so I don’t think she’s egg bound, but I figured the soak and calcium wouldn’t hurt. Yesterday, however, I found an egg white and don’t know whose it was. After finding that, I checked her vent and it was dry. She wouldn’t touch dampened feed, but has taken a few sips of water when I hold it up to her and has eaten a little feed (she’s mostly beaking it out all over the place.) I mentioned this a couple weeks ago, but when I bathed her, I thought she looked a bit fatty deposit-ish on her back end.
Here she is... clearly not feeling well, and a photo of her poop follows.
She is a 1-yr-old Buckeye. Lives in a flock of nine in 5x8 coop, a run of about 280 sq. ft. and about three hours of free range time (lots of lush fresh, young greens and bugs) daily. Treats are rare, but consist of canned fish, scrambled egg, or a little scratch if I need to call them in from free ranging. In the summer, they get a little fruit.
I plan to keep her in for the night for warmth and observation. Sadly, I’m an idiot and have not stocked up on any antibiotics, in case she ends up needing that.
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Doesn’t sound too serious. You know the drill, keep warm, dry and in a quiet place. Let her recuperate. Make sure eating and drinking.
Last hen I had do this, was under the weather, kept laying soft shelled eggs. I took to the vet, hen had temperature. Vet thought the beginning of oviduct infection. Antibiotics and anti inflammatories for two weeks. She’s right as rain now.
 
I had to take my daughter to a birthday party, so I put Ruby in her little hospital pet carrier early. I was gone three hours and checked in her right away when we got home. She’s lying down in there now. I can’t see poop, but there’s no roost, so she could be sitting on it. I have a heater on in the bathroom at 73 degrees and the window, which is a couple feet above her carrier, cracked for ventilation. I failed to mention earlier that she preened a little, did end up eating more of the feed, and had another poop that was more solid. I also ordered amoxicillin, but it won’t be here until later in the week.
Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warm. She may enjoy getting some sunshine.
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See if she lays an egg tomorrow or the next day. You have a couple of really good avian vets by you, do you have a vet in your toolbox?
You can try taking a temp tomorrow but it’s apparently kind of invasive. My vet considers over 104 to be an elevated temp with an internal infection warranting bacterial infection antibiotics.
 
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Thanks. I will. I noticed yesterday that her vent doesn’t look like a laying vent, however. That has me concerned, as she is only one year old. Her nick name is Adventure Girl, so it’s possible she got into something in the neighbor’s yard that is making her feel bad. She also seems a bit bulgey below her vent. Not swollen all over like ascites, but more of a bulge you see with fatty deposits. She has always felt lean, yet strong, across her breast. I’ll weigh her tomorrow and see if she’s dropped weight.
 
Ruby doesn’t want to come out of her little crate (carrier), but it’s still early. She’s sitting in the back. I fear she may be fading quickly. I don’t know yet, but it looks like she doesn’t want to walk... kind of like she is sore/tender somewhere. I will scramble her some egg and hope some direct sunlight, in addition to scrambled eggs and more nutridrench, perks her up.
 
Ok, Ruby can stand and walk fine. She just seems really uncomfortable and the carrier/crate has a low ceiling. Here’s my little patient just now. She perked up and came out for scrambled eggs and one sip of water, but went back inside her crate. Inside her crate were one normal poop & one softer poop. But as soon as she came out, she did this slimy diarrhea (second photo). @azygous do you think I should search for a fish store today since my fish mix won’t be in until later in the week? How many says do I let her feel lousy before trying it?
It’s supposed to be a warm day, so I plan to let her get some sun. If it’s warm enough, after sunshine, I’ll confine her to the mini coop within the run (one of those cute prefab coops from He Depot) so she can stay with the flock, but I can still monitor here. Need some fresh bedding for that.
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Those poops are actually pretty normal. If she is egg bound, she would probably be hunched up like a penguin and holding her tail low and flat. That's usually how you can gauge the pain level.

If a chicken has an elevated body temp, the facial tissue will appear cherry red. Her facial tissue appears normal, but digital color can be deceptive.

Where did you order the meds? Both places where I get meds ship the same day, and I get them in just a couple days. I would put her an an antibiotic. If she has a bacterial infection or inflammation of the oviduct, then you'd be covered. Also, continue the calcium for the next few days.
 

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