Sick chicken

[Klamb27]

I have a 4 year old RIR hen that started having difficulty getting up into her roost in the last few weeks and 3 days ago could no longer get up. Her head is hunched over and stomach is tender when I touch it. I have her in my bedroom and she is drinking but not eating. I've checked for being egg bound and she is not. She had diarrhea the past 3 days but this morning poop was normal. I have been giving her ACV in her water and scrambled eggs in olive oil. She still won't get up and sleeps most of the time. Any idea what could be wrong with her and is there any hope of recovery? She only lives with one other hen and they eat layer crumbles mixed with bird seed and occasionally lettuce and left overs. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[sylviethecochin]

@WVduckchick , @Wyorp Rock , @casportpony , @Eggcessive ?

Can you post pictures of the hen and describe her diarrhea? (A picture of the diarrhea would be better than a description, but I doubt you have one on-hand.)

Has she lost weight? How does her comb look? How do her legs and feet look? Can you grind up a vitamin B complex tablet and add it to her water? Vitamin deficiencies cause a multitude of problems, and Vitamin B is almost impossible to overdose.

See if you can get ahold of a low-iron baby nutritional supplement or of some poultry vitamins. Either would make a great additive to her food/water.

Electrolytes will give her energy and hydrate her better than water will.
2 qts water
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar or corn syrup
1 pinch salt

Good luck.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC. Can you post a picture of her and her poop?

 

[Klamb27]

Thank you for the suggestions- I will try all of that. The diarrhea was yellow and very watery. I can't tell for sure, but she does feel pretty thin so I think she has lost some weight. Her comb looks duller than usual but her feet and the rest of her look healthy. The only thing that seems off is her stomach area feels very bloated. Here is a picture of her. She tries to stand but falls right over. Thank you.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi
I'm sorry your hen is sick. Poor girl she does look unwell. When you say her "stomach" is tender and feels bloated, do you mean her abdomen between her legs where her intestines are or higher up in the crop/gizzard area? Chickens don't have a stomach as such, so just want to be clear... Also, it might be a good idea to check her crop is emptying overnight by removing access to food when you go to bed and checking in the morning. Did she poop a more normal poop after you did an internal exam for egg binding? Is there any swelling around or below her vent?

How much bird seed do you add (percentage)? Mixing seeds/grains with layer feed is not a good idea. Hens will pick out the bits they like and leave/waste the less favoured bits which are often the ones that are best for them and it can result in a dietary imbalance which can lead to surprisingly devastating health issues. Not saying that is the case here with so little information so far but it can be an issue. Layer feed is a complete feed formulated to provide everything the bird needs to remain healthy and lay eggs. Once you start adding extras it is easy to tip the balance. More than 5-10% extras on a regular basis and you are likely to have problems sooner or later.
Do you know when she last laid an egg and if so, was there anything unusual about it?
My gut feeling is that she probably has a reproductive disorder. Being a high production bird (she is actually a red sex link not a RIR) they are prone to such issues once they get beyond 3yrs. If it is abdominal swelling between her legs, it may be salpingitis or possibly internal laying and/or EYP.
I would give her a direct dose of poultry vitamins like Nutri Drench and keep her warm and assess whether her crop is functioning correctly overnight. She might benefit from a chicken sling to keep her up out of her poop. Something like this can be easily put together...