Sleepy Chicken, please help!

[RRLaney]

So I'm pretty sure our 1.5 yr old buff orpington hen, Bri, is sick.

About a week and a half ago it was 106 degrees here and we had to pull her inside for a day because we thought she had heat stroke. We found her laying outside unresponsive. She slept for about 12 hours in the air conditioning and then we were able to get her to eat and drink a little bit of electrolyte water. A day later she seemed perfectly fine and she went back outside with the rest of the flock and has been eating, drinking, and acting normal.

When I let them out of the coop this morning she walked out and immediately laid down and fell asleep. She normally hates being held and will run away when we get close unless we have treats, but she didn't even notice me walking up to her and did not move when I touched her.

She looks like she did when she had heat stroke (if that's what it was). But it was stormy last night and it is cool and windy this morning. Definitely not hot enough for that again.

Yesterday her poop looked fine. I have not seem her poop today.

All of the other hens seem perfectly fine.

I can't get her to drink water right now, but she does have access to a lot of electrolyte water. I was able to get her to eat, and she seemed to have a little energy when I put snacks out. She fell straight back to sleep immediately after she was done eating.

Last fall we lost 4 chickens all of which had these sleepy chicken symptoms. We haven't had any problems since, but I'm worried that is what Bri has! We took one of the hens last year to the vet and they ended up putting her down and doing a necropsy. Even with that we were never given a diagnosis of what was causing them to die. I really don't want to lose any more chickens to this!

Does anybody have any ideas what is causing this and/or how we should treat it?

 

[Fanci Feathers Marans]

I can't really say what she has, but if you have lost chickens to it before, I would keep her separated. Give her treats to get her to eat. If you run out of electrolytes, Gatorade is fine.

A picture might help someone figure this out.

Check a few places.

• Bottom of foot
• Under the wing
• Under the saddle feathers
• Vent
• Eyes, nose, comb
• Smell down her throat
• Feel her crop
• Feel her abdomen

Let us know your finding!

 

[RRLaney]

I can't really say what she has, but if you have lost chickens to it before, I would keep her separated. Give her treats to get her to eat. If you run out of electrolytes, Gatorade is fine.

A picture might help someone figure this out.

Check a few places.

• Bottom of foot
• Under the wing
• Under the saddle feathers
• Vent
• Eyes, nose, comb
• Smell down her throat
• Feel her crop
• Feel her abdomen

Let us know your finding!

Will do! Thank you! Will update in a little bit.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do her ankles appear swollen at the joints? If so, also check the upper leg joints. Is she having any labored breathing, nasal or eye drainage, or any reddened spot or scab on her breast bone area? Her ankles look thick in the picture. Sometimes it takes some time to access what is going on, and the advice above may help. Having a vet do a fecal float on some fresh droppings could rule out possible coccidiosis or worm overload. Just make sure they can do the fecal float the same day in their office, and not have to send it away. Crop impaction or sour crop can be a problem, and make sure that her crop is mostly empty before she eats in the morning, and not puffy or hard. Look at her droppings for color and consistency. It can help to confine them to a dog crate overnight on a puppy pad or old towel to gather fresh dropping. Make sure that she has food and water. Look at her skin under her vent and around her neck and wings for any lice or mites. Is she laying eggs? At her age she could be getting ready to start a molt, or have a reproductive problem making her lethargic.

 

[Kiki]

Can you post a close up pic of her feet/legs. I second taking poop in to the nearest vet.

 

[RRLaney]

I can't really say what she has, but if you have lost chickens to it before, I would keep her separated. Give her treats to get her to eat. If you run out of electrolytes, Gatorade is fine.

A picture might help someone figure this out.

Check a few places.

• Bottom of foot
• Under the wing
• Under the saddle feathers
• Vent
• Eyes, nose, comb
• Smell down her throat
• Feel her crop
• Feel her abdomen

Let us know your finding!

Her feet look normal
Checked her skin everywhere (under wings and saddle feathers) and didn't see anything abnormal
Her vent was clean and normal looking
Eyes, nose, comb normal, but her mouth looked like it had clear sticky substance in it (maybe from dehydration?) - I saw her drink water today!
Her mouth didn't smell bad
Crop and abdomen felt okay as far as I know

She has had an appetite all day. Eating normal, if not more than normal.

 

[RRLaney]

Can you post a close up pic of her feet/legs. I second taking poop in to the nearest vet.

I'll try to get one soon, her legs look normal to me though. She's a big girl.

What would swollen legs mean?

 

[Kiki]

Yes, swollen legs can mean something.

A few things...
I'll be back with answers...I don't know what it is called off the top of my head.

 

[RRLaney]

Do her ankles appear swollen at the joints? If so, also check the upper leg joints. Is she having any labored breathing, nasal or eye drainage, or any reddened spot or scab on her breast bone area? Her ankles look thick in the picture. Sometimes it takes some time to access what is going on, and the advice above may help. Having a vet do a fecal float on some fresh droppings could rule out possible coccidiosis or worm overload. Just make sure they can do the fecal float the same day in their office, and not have to send it away. Crop impaction or sour crop can be a problem, and make sure that her crop is mostly empty before she eats in the morning, and not puffy or hard. Look at her droppings for color and consistency. It can help to confine them to a dog crate overnight on a puppy pad or old towel to gather fresh dropping. Make sure that she has food and water. Look at her skin under her vent and around her neck and wings for any lice or mites. Is she laying eggs? At her age she could be getting ready to start a molt, or have a reproductive problem making her lethargic.

Legs look normal to me. What do swollen legs/joints mean?

No labored breathing, no drainage.
No lice or mites that I can see.
No red spot/scab on her breast bone area.

She will be sleeping inside in a dog crate tonight in the AC. It's so hot out. I can bring a stool sample from overnight to a vet.

Not sure if she is laying eggs right now. All of our chickens have slowed down on laying for the last month or two because of the heat (i think). With 12 laying hens we are only getting about 3-4 eggs a day.

Thanks!

 

[Kiki]

I live in Houston TX..it's HOT here...My chickens have not slowed down that much because of the heat.