sick hen- weight feels light?

[kristip]

ok so I have a three year old BO that was healthy until last night/this morning. When I pick her up she feels really light. Her comb is also floppy and pale and she is not moving much. when I isolated her she drank alot of water, which I have now put electrolytes in. wanted to eat greens but not touch crumbles.
she is just listless.

it has been hot lately, although alot of rain yesterday. dehydration?

 

[speckledhen]

Has she been laying at all lately? Is she a hatchery hen? Her age is when they begin with egg yolk peritonitis and/or internal laying. It usually shows up around 2-3 years of age, especially in the most common hatchery breeds.

 

[kristip]

I know she had been laying recently, but not sure up to what point. She is a buff orp so fairly common breed. Anything that I can do? Anyway to tell exactly if she laid internally?

 

[speckledhen]

I know she had been laying recently, but not sure up to what point. She is a buff orp so fairly common breed. Anything that I can do? Anyway to tell exactly if she laid internally?

Well, if you don't know for sure how recently, could certainly be ascites (basically fluid retention) caused by infection (egg yolk peritonitis). I'm dealing with a Buff Orp right now who was laying very recently, but went into her first molt, which is when some egg issues can happen, and now, she is having trouble-she is going to the nest daily several times, but no egg, bloaty abdomen.

All you can do is give a massive round of penicillin (other drugs are prescription or too weak to do any good for this), meaning twice the normal dose for 3-4 days, and then wait and see. You can't really tell if she is laying internally for sure until and unless she dies and you open her up and find cheesy masses of cooked egg and solidified infection in there, but the outward symptoms of EYP and internal laying and ovarian cancer (seen usually in much older hens) are similar, unfortunately.

A normal dosage for a standard size hen would be 1/2 cc/ml daily. For suspected EYP, we give 1 cc/ml daily for 3-4 days, injected into the breast muscle.

Hot weather and not drinking enough can exacerbate any health issues she's having, certainly.