Sick Chicken

[SonomaChicken]

I have a 5+ month old Maran that has not started laying yet. Very active up until yesterday when we found her just laying under a tree. Eyes are wide open although does appear drowsy at times. Vent is clear and when I observe it does pulsate. Felt her abdomen and I think it does feel larger on one side. Not sure if she is egg bound or not. She is only drinking when I feed it to her through a syringe. We have three other hens in with her who are all fine. Comb is fine. She is now just laying on the floor of the coop. I did see her try to get up but she appeared to be weak and laid back down.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Your chicken could be sick or just getting ready to lay. To check for egg binding, take a rubber glove, lubricant , and insert a finger gently into the vent to feel for an egg. Some eggs are shell-less, and either kind can break inside setting a hen up for infection. If you ever find an egg bound hen, bring her inside, and set her in a very warm bath for 30 minutes and give her a calcium tablet or Tums. Lack of calcium can cause egg binding. If there is no egg, look her over for mites and lice, check her crop for impaction, and look at her eyes and nasal openings for signs of respiratory disease. Consider worming her. Coccidiosis can still affect older pullets, so look for diarrhea, huddling or puffing up, poor appetite, or pale color. Is her comb getting red yet? Here is a link to read on egg binding: http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html

 

[SonomaChicken]

Eggcessive, thanks for the info. Our hen passed away this afternoon.

 

[chicksurreal]

Sorry to hear that your hen passed Sonomachicken.

 

[Eggcessive]

Eggcessive, thanks for the info. Our hen passed away this afternoon.

So sorry for your loss. Do you plan to have a necropsy done on her refrigerated body to see what might have killed her, or have you decided to bury her? California (U.C. Davis) will do necropsies on state residents chickens for free, but I'm not sure what they charge for out of state.

 

[SonomaChicken]

So sorry for your loss. Do you plan to have a necropsy done on her refrigerated body to see what might have killed her, or have you decided to bury her? California (U.C. Davis) will do necropsies on state residents chickens for free, but I'm not sure what they charge for out of state.

I did hear that was available according to the vet. He said it was free and the only charge was for shipping since we live in CA.

Sorry to hear that your hen passed Sonomachicken.

Thanks