sick hen - gurlging, standing still, diarrhea

[sleckie]

My 2 year-old RIR is sick. She has a been a little gurgly/snuffly the last few days but otherwise behaving normally and I figured she had a cold. Her laying declined in the last week and this morning she has been standing still, blinking a lot. Her comb is light pink but not droopy, so I think she is hydrated. I have been trying to give her water with a dropper. I haven't seen her poop much other than a very loose watery blast. I can't feel anything hard (like an egg stuck internally), but I did give her a warm bath in case and to feel the area. Her bottom looks enlarged, but it may just be that I'm not used to seeing it bare now that her downy feathers are all wet.

I lost a Buff Orpington a couple months ago after an egg broke inside her. Her behaviour was similar to this RIR, but I saw some soft egg shell pieces trying to come out and she was releasing eggy/watery liquid. She was moving around and seemed to be perking up and then was dead the next moment.

I am very worried this one will die too. Many thanks for any ideas of what is going on!

 

[leadwolf1]

I'm sorry, I can't help as I've never had to deal with these types of issues. I hope someone with more experience will come along soon to help.

 

[2greenboyz]

You say she is behaving normally and yet she is standing still and blinking. Can you clarify more? Is she eating normally, is she moving around exploring like the others? Or is she just standing there poofed up? Does she have bubbles in her eyes or dried tears around her eyes? Does her bottom feel warm to the touch? Does it feel soft or squishy, like it has liquid in there? How about her crop - normal or balloon like? At end of day does it feel hard or do you have a hard time finding the crop just before she goes to bed.
Does this one have any soft egg shell pieces coming out? Was she laying normally before this happened?

What all are they eating? Do they get oyster shell? Are they free range? More info would help here because it may not be the same thing as your first hen.

 

[sleckie]

Thank you for the reply. Here are more details:

The hens are mostly in our backyard coop but spend ~hours a day free ranging. Feeding layer mash.

She isn't eating normally but I have seen her eat a little today. She spent a little while today exploring outside, moving, scratching soil, almost normal - but moving slowly and her posture appearing mildly unusual/uncomfortable.

I don't see any bubbles or tears around her eyes - but lots of blinking and sometimes closing eyes for moments at a time.

Her bottom is somewhat swollen and feels somewhat warm to touch (not sure if more than normal!), soft but not necessarily "squishy". I don't see any shell pieces coming out. Her last egg was 5 days ago. Her bottom end is moving a lot - as if she is about to push something out. But nothing comes out.

Her crop feels normal - not swollen. Probably somewhat empty since she hasn't been eating much today. She still feels nice and heavy as a whole.

I have been introducing 2 pullets to my 2 adult hens (3 weeks ago), and this is causing some stress. This RIR was laying less frequently the last couple weeks, but still 2-3 eggs a week. At this point the 4 birds are together, and apparently getting along ok, though the little ones are skittish.

My suspicion is an egg gone wrong inside, or otherwise some sort of internal infection?

Thank you for any other ideas or suggestions.

 

[sleckie]

Also, still gargly breathing. Perhaps this is what I heard described as "Darth Vador" sounds...

 

[2greenboyz]

Yes Sleckie, based on the swelling and bottom moving a lot my opinion is that you are probably correct in an egg gone wrong or infection. If she doesnt have a "cold" or respiratory infection, the sounds may be caused by pressure on her internal organs from swelling. Their lungs are not like ours. Keep an eye on her and look up EYP (egg yolk peritonitis) and see if that seems likely. I don't know if there's much you can do to turn it around other than make sure she's comfortable and feeding. Why nature plays this trick I don't know, it doesn't seem fair.