Sick chicken

[Njbchick]

I have a chicken that has a pale floppy comb. She is also having watery diarrhea. Sometimes she seems like she’s OK and other times she just stays to herself in the corner. Not interact much with the other chickens. She seems to be pointing her tail feathers down also. Her vent looks okay. I have separated her from the rest of the flock because they want to peck her.
Any ideas what is wrong?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a chicken that has a pale floppy comb. She is also having watery diarrhea. Sometimes she seems like she’s OK and other times she just stays to herself in the corner. Not interact much with the other chickens. She seems to be pointing her tail feathers down also. Her vent looks okay. I have separated her from the rest of the flock because they want to peck her.
Any ideas what is wrong?

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry your hen is not well.
How old is she?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
When's the last time she laid an egg? Any odd or soft shelled eggs?
Is her crop emptying overnight?
Any swelling/bloat or fluid in the abdomen?
Have you checked for lice/mites?
Have you ever wormed your flock - if you have, when and what did you use (dosage too please)
If you have more photos you wish to share, those are always welcome.

Is she drinking and eating on her own?

 

[Njbchick]

Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry your hen is not well.
How old is she?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
When's the last time she laid an egg? Any odd or soft shelled eggs?
Is her crop emptying overnight?
Any swelling/bloat or fluid in the abdomen?
Have you checked for lice/mites?
Have you ever wormed your flock - if you have, when and what did you use (dosage too please)
If you have more photos you wish to share, those are always welcome.

Is she drinking and eating on her own?

She is almost 2. I feed her layer pellets, Dunmor (TSC), Grublies as a treat And occasionally some cracked corn. she Laid an egg about three days ago. I noticed she seemed poorly prior to laying that egg and then was fine afterward. I have looked for lice/mites, I haven’t seen any evidence. I have never wormed the flock.
she does eat and drink just a little. Mostly she is just squatting down.
I have noticed an egg membrane on the poop board a few days prior to removing her from the rest of the flock.
She has some poop on her vent feathers so I’m going to bring her in and clean that up. Would now be a good time to soak in some Epsom salt?
I have not checked the abdomen. I will do that.
thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She is almost 2. I feed her layer pellets, Dunmor (TSC), Grublies as a treat And occasionally some cracked corn. she Laid an egg about three days ago. I noticed she seemed poorly prior to laying that egg and then was fine afterward. I have looked for lice/mites, I haven’t seen any evidence. I have never wormed the flock.
she does eat and drink just a little. Mostly she is just squatting down.
I have noticed an egg membrane on the poop board a few days prior to removing her from the rest of the flock.
She has some poop on her vent feathers so I’m going to bring her in and clean that up. Would now be a good time to soak in some Epsom salt?
I have not checked the abdomen. I will do that.
thanks for any help you can give.

Poor dear!
If she is not lethargic, then you can give her a soak in an epsom salts bath.
She may be having difficulty with a soft shelled egg or could be having some other reproductive problem since she seemed poorly before she laid the egg and then perked back up.
When mine do this, I also give them extra calcium like TUMS (1) or other human calcium like Caltrate (1/2 - whole tablet). I usually give calcium for 2-3 days. In addition to calcium, I direct dose with poultry vitamins (I use Poultry Cell) for a couple of days too. (calcium helps with contractions, if she's struggling pushing out a membrane or soft shelled egg- hopefully this will help)

Hydration is really important for a bird that is under the weather, so encourage her to drink. Give wet feed once she's hydrated. A bit of scrambled egg is sometimes enticing as well.
Check her crop in the morning, see if it's emptied.

I'm hoping she's just trying to pass and odd or soft shelled egg and once that is done will perk up.
Did she molt in the fall?

 

[Njbchick]

Poor dear!
If she is not lethargic, then you can give her a soak in an epsom salts bath.
She may be having difficulty with a soft shelled egg or could be having some other reproductive problem since she seemed poorly before she laid the egg and then perked back up.
When mine do this, I also give them extra calcium like TUMS (1) or other human calcium like Caltrate (1/2 - whole tablet). I usually give calcium for 2-3 days. In addition to calcium, I direct dose with poultry vitamins (I use Poultry Cell) for a couple of days too. (calcium helps with contractions, if she's struggling pushing out a membrane or soft shelled egg- hopefully this will help)

Hydration is really important for a bird that is under the weather, so encourage her to drink. Give wet feed once she's hydrated. A bit of scrambled egg is sometimes enticing as well.
Check her crop in the morning, see if it's emptied.

I'm hoping she's just trying to pass and odd or soft shelled egg and once that is done will perk up.
Did she molt in the fall?

 

[Njbchick]

I checked her out while I was giving her the Epson salt soak. Her crop is soft and feels empty. Her vent looks fine. She did drink a little water for me. I’m not sure if she molted in the fall because most of my chickens look alike. It seems like she might be going through a light molt right now, Either that or the feathers are coming out because of whatever is stressing her.
I will give her extra calcium and make sure she is hydrated. Thank you for your help.
I will check her in the morning and hope she is better.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I checked her out while I was giving her the Epson salt soak. Her crop is soft and feels empty. Her vent looks fine. She did drink a little water for me. I’m not sure if she molted in the fall because most of my chickens look alike. It seems like she might be going through a light molt right now, Either that or the feathers are coming out because of whatever is stressing her.
I will give her extra calcium and make sure she is hydrated. Thank you for your help.
I will check her in the morning and hope she is better.

Keep us posted on how she's doing.

 

[Njbchick]

Keep us posted on how she's doing.

 

[Njbchick]

I went ahead and took my sick chicken to the vet today. The reason I decided to take her was she produced what look like a small lash egg. He put her on tetracycline in her water for five days. I’m trying that now and hoping she will feel better soon. She is eating a small amount and drinking some. Hopefully this tetracycline will make her feel better. I will attach a gross pic of the thing . I will keep you posted.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Glad you were able to take her to the vet.
Hopefully the antibiotics will help her and she will make a speedy recover.