sick chick

[sjsteinhauser]

I have a production red who within the last few days has begun to act strange/sick??? She just stands around, her stomach seems enlarged and somewhat hard compared to the other girls and whiteish/yellowish pooh at times just seems to drip out. I am new to raising chickens and there is no one that I know that is knowledgeable about chickens. What could be the problem???? I am afraid she maybe seriously ill.

 

[CMV]

1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.)
2) What is the behavior, exactly.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?
4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?
5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

 

[sjsteinhauser]

She is a production red, about 1 1/2 years old. Noticed a day or two ago that she was waddling like a penguin, drooping tail feathers, yellowish runny pooh, stands around or nesting in coop, enlarged stomach. Have felt her stomach and not sure if she might be egg bound or not...since this is my first year or so at raising chickens. No others are exhibiting same symptoms. She has been eating and drinking so far as I have seen except for today...they stayed in coop since it was raining hard most of the day. No vet around here that does chickens. No signs of trauma etc. Same housing/bedding since she was a few weeks old ... I keep clean regularly.

 

[Eggcessive]

This sounds a bit like a reproduction issue--egg yolk peritonitis, internal laying, ascites, or tumor. Sometimes antibiotics can prolong their lives, but there isn't usually a good out come. I would get a rubber glove, lubricate a finger, insert it into the vent to check for a stuck egg, just to make sure. Here are a couple of links that may help:
http://www.avianweb.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/526089/egg-yolk-peritonitis

 

[CMV]

Eggcessive is spot on, as usual.

Unfortunately, these high production birds often have fatal reproductive issues. The hatcheries have no interest in breeding these flaws out of their lines because a bird that lays like a trooper, but then suddenly stops laying after 2 years and dies shortly thereafter means the consumers will come back and buy more birds. The birds' production is impressive while it is happening. It's a pity that it is so brief. Birds should live a life span at least 4X longer than that and be actively laying for at least 4 years.

Your girl's posture makes it sound like she is eggbound, but the swollen abdomen sounds like peritonitis. I would check for a trapped egg very carefully.