Sick Hen

[halleyd591]

This will be the third time in 3 weeks that my hen has acted this way. She is a Polish 9 mos old. Once a week she will get really sick, puffed up, straight tail, not moving around, sleepy, etc. I am not SURE how to check to see if she is egg bound but I don't feel anything hard in her vent or abdomen. Her belly does feel swollen but squishy. Also, her crop looks to be bulging as well. It isn't rock hard, it's squishy. I haven't seen her eat anything since Monday. So my questions are:
1. How do you know for certain if hen is egg bound?
2. Is there anything I can do for impacted crop? I don't think she has sour crop; her breath doesn't smell.
3. Will antibiotics help either situation?

I soaked her in warm espom salt bath for 30 minutes, only thing that seemed to get her to do was poop. Her poop is runny but not terribly alarming.
I have given her Rooster Booster Vitamins and Electrolytes with Lacto Bacillus in her water. Alternating with ACV. I tried to give her yogurt as well but she wasn't having that.
I read on here earlier to crush a half of a tums and put it in the water so I did that this afternoon.
She is drinking fine but not eating anything.
I now took out her food and am offering only grit due to the fact she may have something going on with her crop. They free ranged on Saturday and she started acting funny on Sunday afternoon. They are usually in a pin with grit and oyster shell served free choice.
I have also seen her lay a shell less egg 1 hr after a regular egg exactly one week ago today when she was acting the same way.
I got her out of the kennel yesterday to let her walk around a bit to see if that could maybe get things moving. She ran out to her sister in their pin so she can definitely walk and stand up she is just choosing not too i guess.

Thanks in advance! Any info is appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This will be the third time in 3 weeks that my hen has acted this way. She is a Polish 9 mos old. Once a week she will get really sick, puffed up, straight tail, not moving around, sleepy, etc. I am not SURE how to check to see if she is egg bound but I don't feel anything hard in her vent or abdomen. Her belly does feel swollen but squishy. Also, her crop looks to be bulging as well. It isn't rock hard, it's squishy. I haven't seen her eat anything since Monday. So my questions are:
1. How do you know for certain if hen is egg bound?
2. Is there anything I can do for impacted crop? I don't think she has sour crop; her breath doesn't smell.
3. Will antibiotics help either situation?

I soaked her in warm espom salt bath for 30 minutes, only thing that seemed to get her to do was poop. Her poop is runny but not terribly alarming.
I have given her Rooster Booster Vitamins and Electrolytes with Lacto Bacillus in her water. Alternating with ACV. I tried to give her yogurt as well but she wasn't having that.
I read on here earlier to crush a half of a tums and put it in the water so I did that this afternoon.
She is drinking fine but not eating anything.
I now took out her food and am offering only grit due to the fact she may have something going on with her crop. They free ranged on Saturday and she started acting funny on Sunday afternoon. They are usually in a pin with grit and oyster shell served free choice.
I have also seen her lay a shell less egg 1 hr after a regular egg exactly one week ago today when she was acting the same way.
I got her out of the kennel yesterday to let her walk around a bit to see if that could maybe get things moving. She ran out to her sister in their pin so she can definitely walk and stand up she is just choosing not too i guess.

Thanks in advance! Any info is appreciated.

How is she doing?

Do a crop check - feel the crop at night - it should be full and firm when she goes to bed, then check her first thing in the morning before she has had anything to eat/drink. The crop should be flat/empty.

Since she is also having difficulty with laying eggs she may be having some reproductive issues as well. Crop problems are usually a symptom of an underlying condition like reproductive/internal laying disorders, cocci or worms. If you have a vet that can test a fresh poop sample they can test for cocci and worms.

As for your questions:
1. How do you know for certain if hen is egg bound?
A hen that is truly egg bound is in trouble - she will usually have a penguin stance and be in distress - there are other conditions like Egg Yolk Peritonitis, Ascites, Salpingitis, cancer or tumors that have similar symptoms. Dehydration and insufficient calcium are some major causes, it can also occur more frequently in new layers. Usually an egg bound hen recovers fairly quickly, while with any of the above conditions, they are very slow to bounce back if at all.
Here's a bit of a comparison:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/07/chicken-egg-binding-causes-symptoms.html
http://luckyhensrescuenorthwest.weebly.com/egg-bound-henegg-peritonitis-help-sheet.html

2. Is there anything I can do for impacted crop? I don't think she has sour crop; her breath doesn't smell.
Crop issues can be difficult to treat - check her crop first to see if it's functions - crops will go up and down during the down as the hens eats/drinks and poop - the best way to check is overnight as instructed above. If the crop is impacted and she is still able to poop, you can try giving stool softener as instructed in the article below. I do recommend that you read the whole article carefully before trying any treatment. Vet care is always best.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

3. Will antibiotics help either situation?
Antibiotics are generally not need if a hen is egg bound or if they have an impacted crop. The only time to give antibiotics with laying issues is if infection is suspected. Something like Salpingitis, if caught early may be treated with antibiotics, but results are usually short term and the meds are more for supportive care/comfort.

Impacted crops can turn sour - this is usual fungal, so usually a vet will prescribe an anti-fungal medication (like Nystatin), but they may recommend antibiotics if testing shows they would be beneficial.

Let us know how she's doing.

 

[halleyd591]

She passed away yesterday afternoon. She had a good day after starting the antibiotics but yesterday she was so sick. She died in my arms so hopefully she went a little more peacefully. She hadn't eaten in 6 days so I knew it was coming.
I suspect EYP or internal laying was what happened.
I'm glad she isn't suffering any more and she's at peace. This is the first one I've lost so it is hard. I raised my flock from day old chicks and she passed so young. But animals are Gods creation and he allowed me to have her in my life. He gave is dominion over the animals...And I pray i did the best I could to help her and keep her comfortable in her last days.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She passed away yesterday afternoon. She had a good day after starting the antibiotics but yesterday she was so sick. She died in my arms so hopefully she went a little more peacefully. She hadn't eaten in 6 days so I knew it was coming.
I suspect EYP or internal laying was what happened.
I'm glad she isn't suffering any more and she's at peace. This is the first one I've lost so it is hard. I raised my flock from day old chicks and she passed so young. But animals are Gods creation and he allowed me to have her in my life. He gave is dominion over the animals...And I pray i did the best I could to help her and keep her comfortable in her last days.

I'm so sorry for your loss