Sick hen: hunched, tail down and slow movements!

[BBrandon]

Hi all- I found a thread from back in 2015 about a similar situation, but wanted to hear thoughts from someone who has more experience than the newbie I am at this! Here are my details:

My egger gal was not herself this morning…

1. She is an egger of sorts- going on 2 years and pretty stout- haven’t noticed weight loss in her at all. She is usually one of the best of my group in size and active wise , this was a very sudden downturn.
2. She is hunched, tail down kinda waddling, but not moving a whole lot- was nestled down when I found her this morning.
3) she has had symptoms of not wanting to move/eat since this morning, bum has droppings on feathers, drooped tail, hunched, slow walking, flopped over comb that is darker than usual, watery stool. Have checked two knuckles length of my index finger for egg bound possibility showing no egg there, is “ballooned” in lower abdomen, crop is mushy and full since this morning, did notice some reddish colored mites? Scurrying away from her vent when I checked on her this evening, so applying lime to run and coop tonight)
4) No others are acting like this, but a couple months ago I had another hen act similar.
5) no signs of trauma
6) we feed scraps to our chickens when able, so possibly she got something she shouldn’t have? I may have inadvertently tossed some bad apple pieces in with our scraps- could mold have caused this?
7) Feed is a non- GMO layer feed, with kitchen scraps, water with ACV
8) poop is runny and green with some white
9) have administered olive oil, calcium-mag citrate dissolved in water, ACV and some homeopathics and cell salts
10 ) we don’t have a local avian vet- looking to stabilize as best I can with the means I have ( I can’t house her inside our home, so I’m treating her as best I can in our run and coop)
11)
12) coop with deep litter (we just spread some first Saturday line inside and outside tonight in case of bug issue) and outside run with access to garden space for winter months.

 

[azygous]

Had she been laying? How long ago did you see the last egg?

Is her abdomen swollen in front of her legs or behind her legs and under the vent? Does the swelling push her legs apart so that she walks with a waddle like a duck?

Does the poop have a strong, sharp, unpleasant acrid odor? Is it very brown and watery? Or is it yellow?

Your hen is very sick. Maybe in pain. I need you to answer the above questions so we can get a better feel for what to focus on.

She may have symptoms of a chronic reproductive infection, and if the poop is yellow, that further points to it as her issue. Brown watery poop could be from egg binding. Try pressing your hand against her vent. Does it cause her to squat and try to poop?

But liver failure could also be an issue, and both of these could affect her crop function. And yes, if you are fairly certain there was mold on that apple, then that would be the first thing to treat.

 

[BBrandon]

As soon as I let the hens out this morning I will assess her and reply back!! Thank you!

 

[BBrandon]

Had she been laying? How long ago did you see the last egg?

Is her abdomen swollen in front of her legs or behind her legs and under the vent? Does the swelling push her legs apart so that she walks with a waddle like a duck?

Does the poop have a strong, sharp, unpleasant acrid odor? Is it very brown and watery? Or is it yellow?

Your hen is very sick. Maybe in pain. I need you to answer the above questions so we can get a better feel for what to focus on.

She may have symptoms of a chronic reproductive infection, and if the poop is yellow, that further points to it as her issue. Brown watery poop could be from egg binding. Try pressing your hand against her vent. Does it cause her to squat and try to poop?

But liver failure could also be an issue, and both of these could affect her crop function. And yes, if you are fairly certain there was mold on that apple, then that would be the first thing to treat.

It’s been a couple days since I’ve seen her eggs in the boxes.
The stool was very watery and green and white- I’ll post a pic from what it looked like yesterday- it’s sat overnight, though.
The swelling is definitely between and behind her legs. Her stance and walk is widened and duck like.

 

[BBrandon]

It’s been a couple days since I’ve seen her eggs in the boxes.
The stool was very watery and green and white- I’ll post a pic from what it looked like yesterday- it’s sat overnight, though.
The swelling is definitely between and behind her legs. Her stance and walk is widened and duck like.

Still cannot feel an egg, but she expressed liquid stool like this when I removed my finger (went in just over two knuckles of my index finger). It does smell off- a little more pungent than usual- if this is what “acrid” would smell like.
I tried to take an image of her vent- sorry for blurriness
When I try to touch her vent she doesn’t squat more- rather she tries to walk away- like it’s uncomfortable.

I certainly want to help her within my means, but if she’s too far gone, I don’t want her to suffer unnecessarily and prolong her pain.

I got a bit of coconut oil and some yogurt into her this morning- along with some water- should I be trying to induce vomiting over massaging the crop because of the possible food mold?

 

[azygous]

No, do not try to make her vomit. You can give her activated charcoal to absorb the mold in her system. You can find it where they sell vitamins. Give two right away, just shove the capsules into her beak. And give two around noon, and another two this evening. You may continue tomorrow if she's still feeling badly..

There is a chance she has a soft egg stuck in her oviduct too far in to detect. Often two eggs back to back are involved. It will not hurt to treat for that, as well, just to be sure. Give one tablet of any calcium supplement you have on hand, or pick up some calcium citrate with D3 when you buy the charcoal capsules.

The crop issue will resolve when either of those other two issues resolve. Did you read the article? It explains when happens when an egg gets stuck and how calcium works to fix it.

 

[BBrandon]

I actually have activated charcoal on hand as well as a calcium- magnesium citrate, but the capsules/pill are quite large. Can chickens swallow something that large?

 

[BBrandon]

No, do not try to make her vomit. You can give her activated charcoal to absorb the mold in her system. You can find it where they sell vitamins. Give two right away, just shove the capsules into her beak. And give two around noon, and another two this evening. You may continue tomorrow if she's still feeling badly..

There is a chance she has a soft egg stuck in her oviduct too far in to detect. Often two eggs back to back are involved. It will not hurt to treat for that, as well, just to be sure. Give one tablet of any calcium supplement you have on hand, or pick up some calcium citrate with D3 when you buy the charcoal capsules.

The crop issue will resolve when either of those other two issues resolve. Did you read the article? It explains when happens when an egg gets stuck and how calcium works to fix it.

I haven’t read a specific article on here, but I’d love to- I’ll search for an egg bound/stuck article as soon as I give the charcoal and supplement!

 

[theoldchick]

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/egg-yolk-peritonitis-in-backyard-chickens
https://poultrydvm.com/condition/egg-peritonitis

 

[azygous]

Terrific! Chickens can swallow very large things whole such as mice and lizards with no problem. They are cousins of the dinosaurs, after all. Here's my article on egg binding and related issues. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/