Sick Chicken????

[MissChessy]

I have a hen whose acting mighty strange. She is sort of listless and slowly walks around pecking at the ground. She looks fatter than the rest of the hens. Not sure if she is bloated. I picked her up yesterday and didn't see any visible injuries, no runny nose/beak, I couldn't see anything. Can't figure out what's wrong with her. You can tell she isn't feeling up to par? Anyone have any ideas??

 

[beekybuzzard]

Have you checked to see if her bum might be plugged up?

 

[SpottedCrow]

Your best bet is to separate her from the rest of the flock...
That way you can see if she's eating and drinking and to see if she poops and what type/colour/consistency it is.

If you pick her up and her abdomen feels rather squishy, she could be egg bound or an internal layer.

If she stands upright, like a penguin she might be having trouble passing a softshelled egg.

Is she sneezing or coughing?
Are her eyes or nose dripping?
How is her breathing?

 

[MissChessy]

:| I just saw her drinking water and trying to catch some bugs. Just noticed that her back end is droopy and not standing up like the other hens. She's not coughing, sneezing, does not have a runny nose/beak. Just lethargic and a droopy back end.

 

[sammi]

please describe droppings as Spotted Crow posted.

has she been wormed?

you could try to sit her on a warm towel in a dim quiet place for a little bit..
maybe give a crushed Tums in her feed..

 

[MissChessy]

My husband saw her going into the nest box last night. This a.m. there was no egg, but the hay was soaking wet with I'm guessing egg whites. I looked at her bottom and her vent is slightly protruding and there is white clabber all over her feathers. She had some soft b.m. in the nest box, nothing like diarrhea. I'm thinking she's got an egg stuck in her or something like that.

 

[sammi]

sounds like she could be egg bound..(which is an emergency)...
or has a soft shelled egg..

see my post above about the warm towel.
some sit them in a sink of warm water for 20-30 minutes..
try the warm towel as suggested..

did you give her the Tums?

BTW..what ALL do you feed?

 

[MissChessy]

Sammi,

My hens are free roaming hens. I do have layer feed in their feeding trough mixed in with black oil sunflower seeds. I haven't given her any tums yet. I'll give it a try.

If they are egg bound, does their back end droop?