Sick chicken - genetic?

[Fluff Queen]

Hi all, hope that everyone has had a good new years so far. I need some help with another sick chicken. The chicken that I am concerned about is named Freya and she is a 1 1/2 year old cream legbar. She has never laid an egg and is quite small. A few days ago I noticed that she had runny green droppings and was moving quite slowly. She is still with the flock and has still been eating and drinking but definitely not as much as she should be. Her droppings have turned into more of a yellowish color almost like egg yolk and her comb has shrunk and is now purple. I’m not entirely sure what this could be and I was wondering if there are any genetic defects or diseases that could affect a chicken. I was wondering this because last spring I lost two other chickens to the same symptoms. I thought that they had maybe gotten into something they shouldn’t have since the sickness didn’t affect anyone else and I only lost the two. The thing that makes me confused is that all three chickens have had the same symptoms and they were all cream leg bars who were on the smaller side and laid little to no eggs. I have one more legbar who came with the others but she is much larger that the three and has always been a solid layer. They came from the same hatchery so I was not sure if it was a genetic issue or something else. If anyone has input that would be great!

 

[Rose the Legbar]

My opal legbars had genetic issues. My first girl, she was the best layer of large blue eggs. She sadly passed due to her eye dying (she got pecked in the eye most likely). My second girl passed recently due to being incredibly weak genetically. She crowed, laid the most weird and wrong looking eggs, she had spurs. Every winter she had major issues. Her crop would stop up almost fully and she would look deathly pale. I had to feed her mineral oil and egg to keep her crop moving. I managed to keep her alive for two winters of struggle but she passed this winter due to her issues. After the first year, her poo was just, wrong. Green and runny. By the end she would hardly move off of a roost for two weeks. She was wobbly on her feet and couldn’t stand by the very end.

Legbars are so incredibly genetically poor in the US.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Genetic anomalies are always possible. However, I think you are dealing with an illness. There are several possibilities if it is green diarrhea. Do you have pictures of feces?
Nott laying an egg by this age is another concern. At that age, they likely hatched too late in 2023 to lay before days got too short last year. But when days lengthened last spring, they should have started. Are you feeding layer feed?
Where are you located?

 

[Fluff Queen]

I am currently feeding an all flock feed with free choice oyster shells. I gave her some nutri drench in her water and she seemed to perk up a little bit after that. She now also seemed to have a bloody toe so I have to fix that up too. I am located in Michigan and it has been really cold and snowy these past weeks. It’s been staying around the high teens consistently. Here are pics of her droppings this morning.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

1 1/2 year old cream legbar. She has never laid an egg and is quite small. A few days ago I noticed that she had runny green droppings and was moving quite slowly. She is still with the flock and has still been eating and drinking but definitely not as much as she should be. Her droppings have turned into more of a yellowish color almost like egg yolk and her comb has shrunk and is now purple.

I agree she's not well from your description. I do however think that since you've had 2 others with similar symptoms genetics could be playing a role as well.
Likely something reproductive or developmental but hard to know.

The green poop could be from a number of things. Is there any way to take a sample to your vet for testing?
If not, then I'd consider giving her a round of Amoxicillin or Baytril to see if she improves. The comb turning purple is concerning, this often indicates lack of oxygen or organ failure (heart usually).

If you lose her and want to find out what was going on, a necropsy would give the most information. This can be done through your state lab. Some of us do our own necropsy to see if we find anything obvious.

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry...EndJe1BSRnEjGbkB8AN2GJg9jJw0rtYOCVyPUHu2AABVM

The thing that makes me confused is that all three chickens have had the same symptoms and they were all cream leg bars who were on the smaller side and laid little to no eggs. I have one more legbar who came with the others but she is much larger that the three and has always been a solid layer.

I am currently feeding an all flock feed with free choice oyster shells. I gave her some nutri drench in her water and she seemed to perk up a little bit after that. She now also seemed to have a bloody toe so I have to fix that up too. I am located in Michigan and it has been really cold and snowy these past weeks. It’s been staying around the high teens consistently. Here are pics of her droppings this morning.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I am currently feeding an all flock feed with free choice oyster shells. I gave her some nutri drench in her water and she seemed to perk up a little bit after that. She now also seemed to have a bloody toe so I have to fix that up too. I am located in Michigan and it has been really cold and snowy these past weeks. It’s been staying around the high teens consistently. Here are pics of her droppings this morning.

Well, you are taking the right approach to feeding. I'm also a believer in Nutri-Drench. I could also recommend Gro2Max probiotic powder formulated for chickens. That really does wonders for the digestive tract.
I can second @Wyorp Rock 's suggestion of having a fecal sample read. That's the simplest approach to getting answers.

 

[LaFleche]

Has she ever been wormed?

 

[Fluff Queen]

I ordered some baytril so it should be here tomorrow. I wormed the entire flock over the summer with safeguard. I can see if any vet around here will do a fecal test. I don’t know if this means anything but her comb started to turn purple over the summer and has stayed that color since. I thought it was due to the heat but it never went away.

 

[Fluff Queen]

So I got the baytril and it got here last night so she has been on it for one full day. She is still acting sluggish and not eating much but she is drinking water alright. I did notice today though that she makes a clicking sound when breathing. I heard that this was due to water or liquid in the lungs and I didn’t know if the baytril would help or if this is something that I can’t do anything about.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So I got the baytril and it got here last night so she has been on it for one full day. She is still acting sluggish and not eating much but she is drinking water alright. I did notice today though that she makes a clicking sound when breathing. I heard that this was due to water or liquid in the lungs and I didn’t know if the baytril would help or if this is something that I can’t do anything about.

Clicking could be a number of things. If she aspirated fluids and has aspiration pneumonia, the Baytril will probably help with that.