Sick Chicken

[Jessysnodgrass]

My name is Jessy and I have 4 chickens. The low man on the totem pole, Melania, is not feeling well at all.
She is eating and drinking but still quite lethargic. Her crown has virtually no colour, watery stool and very sleepy all the time. The other girls have gone from picking on her to avoiding her completely. We currently have her separated from the others. She does have a little white stool in her feathers near her bum but no bulging near the vent area.
Hopefully someone has some ideas...
Thank you,
Jessy

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hi! I'm very sorry your lovely chicken is ill. A few questions:
* Is she eating/drinking?
* Is her crop emptying overnight?
* Any respiratory symptoms (runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, etc)?
* When was she last wormed?

 

[Jessysnodgrass]

Hi! I'm very sorry your lovely chicken is ill. A few questions:
* Is she eating/drinking?
* Is her crop emptying overnight?
* Any respiratory symptoms (runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, etc)?
* When was she last wormed?

Thank you! She is eating and I'm hand feeding her water.
Forgive me when I say, these are my first chickens so I'm not sure what you mean by "crop emptying".
No other symptoms that I can see and we just got her from friends 2 weeks ago so I'm not entirely sure if she's ever been de-wormed.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

Thank you! She is eating and I'm hand feeding her water.
Forgive me when I say, these are my first chickens so I'm not sure what you mean by "crop emptying".
No other symptoms that I can see and we just got her from friends 2 weeks ago so I'm not entirely sure if she's ever been de-wormed.

A chickens crop is like a "sack" on their chest I don't know how to explain it, they digest food in it, if you feel it, does it feel squishy? Or is it hard? Does it feel full? Does she have access to grit? How old is she? Is she laying yet?

 

[EmmaRainboe]

You can see where the crop is located on this image:

 

[Aunt Angus]

I have a sick hen presently who has a crop issue. Due to inflammation from an infection, her crop became impacted and soured. I figured this out by feeling under the feathers on the right side if her chest. Her crop felt like a squishy balloon. I isolated her and withheld food for a night.

Chickens' crops fill up during the day as they eat. The food goes into it before they digest it. Grit is small rocks or sand that the chickens eat (they will eat it themselves if they free range/forage, or you can provide it in a separate dish). It stays in the crop and the gizzard and grinds up what they eat in order for them to digest it. They digest the food overnight and poop like crazy (hence the mess under their roosts - lol!). In the morning, the crop should be empty. If it's not, then you know you've got a crop problem.

An impacted crop is one that is blocked by something. If it stays impacted, a fungal infection can occur. The fungus makes everything feel squishy and bloated in the crop. Sometimes, crops can just be slow because of other illness. Like my girl. Crop problems are serious but treatable. And they can cause the symptoms your chicken is experiencing.

I suggest you withhold food tonight and check that crop first thing in the morning before she eats.

I had no idea about any of this when I first started keeping chickens. I learned through research and the helpful folks here on BYC!

 

[BugStalker]

She does have a little white stool in her feathers near her bum but no bulging near the vent area.

I would cut off the dirty parts of the feathers, so she doesn't dirty them, again. It also makes cleaning easier, if she does.

You may want to read
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1048620/how-to-provide-emergency-and-supportive-care/0_30

 

[Jessysnodgrass]

A chickens crop is like a "sack" on their chest I don't know how to explain it, they digest food in it, if you feel it, does it feel squishy? Or is it hard? Does it feel full? Does she have access to grit? How old is she? Is she laying yet?

It does feel quite hard.

I have a sick hen presently who has a crop issue. Due to inflammation from an infection, her crop became impacted and soured. I figured this out by feeling under the feathers on the right side if her chest. Her crop felt like a squishy balloon. I isolated her and withheld food for a night.

Chickens' crops fill up during the day as they eat. The food goes into it before they digest it. Grit is small rocks or sand that the chickens eat (they will eat it themselves if they free range/forage, or you can provide it in a separate dish). It stays in the crop and the gizzard and grinds up what they eat in order for them to digest it. They digest the food overnight and poop like crazy (hence the mess under their roosts - lol!). In the morning, the crop should be empty. If it's not, then you know you've got a crop problem.

An impacted crop is one that is blocked by something. If it stays impacted, a fungal infection can occur. The fungus makes everything feel squishy and bloated in the crop. Sometimes, crops can just be slow because of other illness. Like my girl. Crop problems are serious but treatable. And they can cause the symptoms your chicken is experiencing.

I suggest you withhold food tonight and check that crop first thing in the morning before she eats.

I had no idea about any of this when I first started keeping chickens. I learned through research and the helpful folks here on BYC!

Thank you! I'll give that a go!

 

[Jessysnodgrass]

A chickens crop is like a "sack" on their chest I don't know how to explain it, they digest food in it, if you feel it, does it feel squishy? Or is it hard? Does it feel full? Does she have access to grit? How old is she? Is she laying yet?

She has a long run that takes her outside with the others and for the most part, they spend their time in there. She is about a year old and is one of my top layers.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

It does feel quite hard.

Is this in the morning after not having food? Once she goes to bed hold back food till the morning, and before putting it back in check her crop, if it's still hard it's probably not emptying over night.