Sick Chicken?

[ILuvMyGirls]

I have a chicken that has suddenly come down sick? My other hen is fine. The sick chicken layed an egg yesterday but I noticed that she seems lethargic and back tail is droopy. She walks some but is mostly laying down. When she stands she lifts her rt foot but I checked it an it seems not hurt or cut or anything. Both hens are fed equal amounts of scratch & laymash & given oyster shell. Her bottom shows white on her feathers. I have inquired on taking her into a vet but hoping I can get input from this forum as the vet bill will be considerable cost & might lose her anyway. Could it be their diet? Could sh be egg bound even though she passed an egg yesterday?

 

[katelk]

The description of symptoms is vague, but you should look up "vent gleet". This is somewhat common and from my understanding is similar to a human having a yeast infection. A remedy for this I have heard of is soaking the hen (up to her vent/bum) in warm water and epsom salt. This can be done daily until the problem resolves.

Tell more about the hen's poops. Are they watery, an odd color, etc.
here is a link that may help when it comes to identifying problems through poos:

http://beautyofbirds.com/poopology.html

ETA: I have always thought of scratch as a cold weather treat to keep them moving and warm. Hence the name "scratch" because you throw it on the ground for them to scratch around at. Layer pellets/crumbles are their "well-rounded" diet that they really need. Even low quality layer feeds may require supplements for a truly healthy flock. By feeding 50/50 scratch and feed, you are basically diluting the vitamins and nutrients they really need by half.

 

[ILuvMyGirls]

Thanks for your reply & info. I will look into the pellets. I have soaked her the last 2 days & she looks somewhat better. Her back tail feathers are not droopy but she hasn't passed an egg in the last few days.