Sick hen. I think shes dying

[TaylorGlade]

I have a very sick 1 year old hen that I found motionless in the run this morning. She doesn't appear to be egg bound and there are no sign of mites. I brought her in and gave her a bath. She won't move. If I lay her on her side. She just stays there. She finally pooped and it was mostly water with some white bits and one piece of solid. I will post a picture.

Her comb and waddle are bright not pale. But I cannot even get her to eat scrambled eggs. I gave her some nutrient drench.

 

[Eggcessive]

Get her warm. Bathing a sick chicken can kill them, so just try to revive her with some sugar water or electrolytes. Cooked egg and wet chicken feed may be offered as well. The dropping looks like it could have some egg white or other material, so giving her a human calcium tablet with vitamin D or a tums if you have it, in case she is experiencing a reproductive disorder. Have you seen any soft or shell-less eggs in the coop recently? Has she been molting recently?

 

[TaylorGlade]

Get her warm. Bathing a sick chicken can kill them, so just try to revive her with some sugar water or electrolytes. Cooked egg and wet chicken feed may be offered as well. The dropping looks like it could have some egg white or other material, so giving her a human calcium tablet with vitamin D or a tums if you have it, in case she is experiencing a reproductive disorder. Have you seen any soft or shell-less eggs in the coop recently? Has she been molting recently?

I have put her in a room with a heater and blow dried her. And yes, David found a shellless egg 2 days ago. He also found a broken egg yesterday. I have offered her some scrambled eggs but she will not eat it. And what size calcium should I give her? Can chickens swallow a pill that big? Also, how often should I do this?

She has not been molting. Some of the other hands have been though. They are already growing their feathers back. Although I did see some sheath bits and her feathers.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes she can swallow a pill that big. She can swallow a whole mouse, the pill is no prob. I get the ones that say 600 mg, mini pills, but it may say on the bottle that it takes 2 pills to equal 600 mg. One pill should do.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh every day for 5 to 7 days.

 

[TaylorGlade]

Thank you both. I happened to have some calcium on hand. We gave it to her. Here is hoping for the best. She still isn't eating or drinking. We put her in a cat carrier in a warm darkened room so she can rest and recover instead of having to lay eggs. She's one of our favorites.

 

[Eggcessive]

The calcium may take a little while to work. I agree give her 300 to 600 mg daily for 7 days. She may have a problem absorbing calcium or she might have something going on in her oviduct, such as a shell gland problem. Continue offering fluids and some food. They usually feel really weak and lousy when this happens. Keep her comfortable and separated for awhile.

 

[TaylorGlade]

The calcium may take a little while to work. I agree give her 300 to 600 mg daily for 7 days. She may have a problem absorbing calcium or she might have something going on in her oviduct, such as a shell gland problem. Continue offering fluids and some food. They usually feel really weak and lousy when this happens. Keep her comfortable and separated for awhile.

So you're not thinking it's peritonitis then? If it is, should I also have some antibiotics for her? If so, what kind?

 

[Eggcessive]

There is no way to know what it is really without a vet and expensive X-rays. I have dealt with a lot of different reproductive problems, and when one died I would do a necropsy to look at the abdominal organs. If they have salpingitis, early treatments with antibiotics may help or it may not. Salpingitis can lead to coelomitis, the newer term for egg yolk peritonitis. But I would give the calcium a try for 7 days, to see if the egg shells become stronger.

 

[TaylorGlade]

There is no way to know what it is really without a vent and expensive X-rays. I have dealt with a lot of different reproductive problems, and when one died I would do a necropsy to look at the abdominal organs. If they have salpingitis, early treatments with antibiotics may help or it may not. Salpingitis can lead to coelomitis, the newer term for egg yolk peritonitis. But I would give the calcium a try for 7 days, to see if the egg shells become stronger.

@Eggcessive She isn't laying eggs. She is barely breathing so I'm not surprised. She absolutely won't eat. I've even put a bit of wet food in her beak and she just closed her eyes and went back to sleep without swallowing. She has pooped exactly twice today - and it's been almost 100 percent liquid and they smell so bad I can smell them down the hallway. I gave her some more vitamins diluted in warm water. We've also been giving her the calcium. She has not moved in two days now. She is sleeping with her beak on the floor.

We have amox 50 mg tablets that was for our cat. They are tablets not capsules. When Should we consider giving that to her? And when should we look at tubing her?