Sleepy hen with some runny poop on her behind, what's this?

[msbien]

Hello,

My little bantam Cochin hen, Marilla, is lethargic and when I pick her up and pet her she nearly falls asleep. She just sits, and is doing nothing else. She has some runny poop on her behind, but not enough that I would necessarily notice if it weren't for her other symptoms. What could this be? I just de-wormed about 6-7 weeks ago with Wazine, and then Ivermectin about 5 weeks ago. At that time I had another hen who was doing lots of tail bobbing and acting drunk. She's all better, and now Marilla has something. Could these be related?

Thanks for any advice you may have!

Stacie

 

[heatherkh]

Have you seen any visible worms? How long has she been acting this way? Does the runny poop appear to be egg matter (white or yolk) or is it poop? Does she have any swelling below her vent? I'm wondering if she's egg bound or has egg yolk peritonitis?

Woah - sorry for all the questions!

 

[msbien]

Don't apologize for questions, I appreciate your response!

She has been like this for a couple of days, and the matter on her bottom looks like white poo. She is older 5-6 years old, and hasn't laid eggs for quite a long time. She has always been a pretty broody little thing. I honestly can't remember the last time she laid an egg; I think it's been years. I haven't seen any worms, the reason I brought it up was that I know my girls had a problem with that a month or two ago, and I wasn't sure if this could mean that it wasn't taken care of adequately.

A little bit ago I brought her some scrambled egg, and she was slightly interested, but didn't really eat anything.

Thanks again for your response. Any ideas?

 

[heatherkh]

Unfortunately, I don't. I had a hen go down due to internal laying, she was similarly lethargic (puffed, not eating/drinking, isolating herself) and messy about the bottom, but was also passing soft eggs and egg matter.

It sounds like she has some kind of infection, tho - no matter what the cause might be. Do you have access to an avian vet or antibiotics for home treatment?