Sick Hen!! HELP!!!!

[alissa338]

I have a hen that was in her nesting box for 2 days and now is under the weather. Her comb was purpley blue and I thought maybe she got frostbitten but now she is really lethargic, not eating, not drinking but still pooping. She's not even eating bread which to my chickens is an absolute treat. I pulled her out of the coop and have her in the basement in a cardboard box open at the top. She is not egg bound I just checked and her gullet doesn't feel full. She was drooling when I picked her up before and I don't know what is causing it. She's not weezing, or having difficulty breathing just seems off. None of my other chickens from the flock are sick and I am worried that she might not pull out of this.

 

[Judy]

I'm sorry, I have to agree this does not sound good. I could hazard some guesses, as I'm sure others could, likely more expertly than I, but they are all things that you can't do much about: heart disease, ovarian cancer, internal laying (especially if there is any abdominal swelling.) I suppose there could be a serious infection, perhaps botulism, perhaps an intestinal infection. At least it doesn't sound like anything contagious.

Here are a couple of links that might help:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

http://www.poultry.msstate.edu/extension/pdf/diseases_poultry_diagnosis_symptoms.pdf

 

[alissa338]

My hen passed last night. I was considering sending her off for a necropsy but none of the rest of the flock is sick. She didn't have any abdominal swelling so I will chalk it up to an acute something or other that caused her to fall ill. She has produced some pretty abnormally large eggs so maybe she had an internal lay that did her in. Just to be safe I washed and disinfected the waterer and feeder and will be keeping an even more vigilant eye on the rest of my flock.