sick hen... swollen neck (not crop)

mdempsey1350

Hatching
Jan 12, 2021
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I'm at a loss for what is wrong with my girl.

Jerk is about 6-7 months old, started laying back in November and laid consistent beautiful green eggs just about every day.
Right before Christmas, she started laying in odd locations for a few days, then quit laying altogether. Didn't think much of it until last week when we could tell something was off.

I've had her isolated inside for the past week, here are her symptoms:

-Not laying
-bright green watery stool (no evidence of worms)
-upper neck/chest puffy, her stance is just off
-Not super interested in eating or drinking, although she's doing just enough of both to survive
-not lethargic
-crop is not blocked, in fact feels very flat, probably because she's not eating much
-when i take her outside she just stands there, doesn't forage or anything. just looks around.
-no issues with walking or flapping wings
-she DOES seem to have a hard time bending over to peck at the ground
-crop is pale

They are not free ranging except special times when we are out and let them out. All my other chickens are good.

I have dewormed her just in case and given her vitamins every day, also she is not eggbound. She does not seem to be getting better or worse. Pics attached. Just at a loss and i've googled everything, nothing seems to fit her symptoms. Anyone experience anything like this?
 

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does the poop look like this? Is her butt messy? You should start weighing her to see how she does. Could it be a tumor? How old is she? Feel her neck to see if you can feel a hard lump. That would make her not laying or eating much. The green poop could just be something she ate.
 
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When you touch her swollen neck, does it feel solid or does it feel puffy like air under the skin? Was she vaccinated for anything? Her poop is very green, and looks like she is not taking much food. I would offer some scramble egg bits, wet chicken feed, and you can also try tuna or canned cat food to coax her to eat.
 
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does the poop look like this? Is her butt messy? You should start weighing her to see how she does. Could it be a tumor? How old is she? Feel her neck to see if you can feel a hard lump. That would make her not laying or eating much. The green poop could just be something she ate.

poop looks sorta like that but a little curdled and watery looking. No lumps.. no messy butt. What’s odd is I can’t feel anything that feels swollen, just looks like it. Green poop has been a couple weeks now. She’s only 6/7 months
 
When you touch her swollen neck, does it feel solid or does it feel puffy like air under the skin? Was she vaccinated for anything? Her poop is very green, and looks like she is not taking much food. I would offer some scramble egg bits, wet chicken feed, and you can also try tuna or canned cat food to coax her to eat.

i have been giving her eggs and regular food. She’s from rural king so I think vaccinated.. not sure! Nothing feels puffy. Almost like her neck is not sitting in the right spot
 
Well, can you look her over for possible wry neck or a spinal deformity? Wry neck can make the chest appear larger on one side. A spinal deformity can make the backbone look crooked or give the chicken a funny posture. Chickens from Rural King and most feed stores are not vaccinated for Mareks.
 
Well, can you look her over for possible wry neck or a spinal deformity? Wry neck can make the chest appear larger on one side. A spinal deformity can make the backbone look crooked or give the chicken a funny posture. Chickens from Rural King and most feed stores are not vaccinated for Mareks.

spinal deformity makes sense for what is going on, her posture is messed up. But how would it suddenly happen? She was perfectly fine 3 weeks ago
 
For the time being, I would treat her for wry neck, which can include vitamin E 400 IU, human B complex 1/2 tablet crushed into food, and a little scrambled egg for selenium. Can you get a picture tomorrow of her from the front?
 
For the time being, I would treat her for wry neck, which can include vitamin E 400 IU, human B complex 1/2 tablet crushed into food, and a little scrambled egg for selenium. Can you get a picture tomorrow of her from the front?

Sorry for the late reply.

I attached a new pic. She’s still alive but low energy, assuming because she’s not eating much. Today I can only get her to eat grapes and mealworms. I’ve given her vitamins and syringed yogurt with some crushed vitamin B complex. She will happily eat mealworms and grapes but not interested in eggs or her regular food. If it were wry neck wouldn’t she not be able to move it? She can move it ok.. also her pupils seem to be functioning ok.
For vitamin E, is it just a human vitamin E tab crushed?
 

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