Sussex Hen suddenly poorly

[Pippa154]

I got two chickens for my birthday this year, in June, they have been great up to now but today one of them is very poorly, I think she is probably dying. She seemed absolutely fine yesterday but today she seems to be unable to walk and laid down outside in the covered bit of her coop, she didn't go inside when it got dark like she always does. I picked her up and she just bowed her head and closed her eyes. I've brought her indoors and put her in an open top crate on a towel. She is still breathing but appears very weak. My other chicken seems unaffected so far.

Any ideas greatly appreciated, it's pretty sad.

 

[StephensonC]

Can you get her to take any food or water?

 

[Pippa154]

No, unfortunately not although she is still breathing.

 

[StephensonC]

Is she just laying there or sitting up? Sounds like maybe she is going on to another place? If that's the case, I'm not sure if there is anything you can do. Luckily I haven't had to deal with that yet. Sorry I'm no help, but good luck to her. Maybe someone more experienced will come along with some good advice. I'm sorry

 

[LuvMyChickies13]

Im so sorry.

I hope things get better.

 

[Pippa154]

Yes, just sitting there, her legs seem weak. I can now get her to drink but I have to gently push her head towards the water. She opens her eyes briefly but then closed them again. There is a lump quite high on her chest, just under her chin as it were. I might try bathing her in case she is egg bound as she hasn't laid one for two days. I am very new to keeping chickens, my other one is pacing up and down the run without her pal!

 

[zinkie]

My Rooster was just very week and looked close to dying. I gave him water with honey in it. He would not take anything else. He loved it and then after a while, he started taking a few bites of his favorite things. I re3ally felt the honey water really helped. I just put a heaping table spoon in a cup or so and swirled it around and gave that to him.

Hope this helps!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

There are a lot of things that *could* be going on with your bird - it's time to work through them and figure out which it is so that you can begin the appropriate treatment.
Moving her inside was the first step - so you are doing well there. With a down bird, it may be necessary to provide a little extra warmth, what is the temperature inside your home where the bird is at? Until you know what you are dealing with, good supportive care is the best thing you can offer - keeping the bird quiet, calm, warm and hydrated are key. Since she is taking a little hydration, you need to use that to your advantage and use that to get some supportive nutrients into her system with the water - I would normally suggest a "save-a-chick" type product in the water, but see you are in the UK so am not sure what products you have available there. Essentially you are looking for an electrolyte product that will put some extra "oomph" into the water she is taking in and help combat the lack of nutrition from her not eating. On the matter of eating - have you tried offering some scrambled eggs or other tempting treats that offer a bit of nutrition? You can also make a slurry using poultry feed and water.
So, supportive care out of the way - now we need to figure out what is going on with her.
You say you got them this summer - were they chicks or grown chickens at that time? If they were grown, were you given an approximate age for the birds? Have you thoroughly examined the bird to check for parasites? A heavy infestation can take a seemingly healthy bird down fast once they reach the tipping point. You mention a "lump" - is it hard or soft? Does it move when you manipulate it gently or does it seem fixed in place? Are you familiar with normal chicken anatomy? It may help you to catch and examine the seemingly healthy bird so you can have a comparison point for what you see and feel in examining your ill bird. Is there any discharge from any part of your ill bird? If so, what is the color, consistency and odor of that discharge? When you listen to your bird breathe are you hearing any abnormal sounds (rattling in the chest, wheezing, etc)?

 

[Pippa154]

Okay, I will follow said advice. She is currently in a warm room, 20 degrees or so. I have tried bathing her today, she didn't seem to mind but she is very sleepy so that may be why. I will check my other chicken for lumps to compare them. I got them when they were approximately 17 weeks, so quite young, they took a while to start laying but when they did we were getting one each per day.

I will try honey in the water too just to get something nutritious inside her as at the moment she is only taking water. I made her some loose scrambled eggs this morning but she isn't interested in them.

She hasn't laid an egg for two days so I wondered if she may be egg-bound, I'm not an expert in this and haven't tried the olive oil technique yet, would anyone advise it?!

Thanks for all your help.

 

[StephensonC]

Okay, I will follow said advice. She is currently in a warm room, 20 degrees or so. I have tried bathing her today, she didn't seem to mind but she is very sleepy so that may be why. I will check my other chicken for lumps to compare them. I got them when they were approximately 17 weeks, so quite young, they took a while to start laying but when they did we were getting one each per day.

I will try honey in the water too just to get something nutritious inside her as at the moment she is only taking water. I made her some loose scrambled eggs this morning but she isn't interested in them.

She hasn't laid an egg for two days so I wondered if she may be egg-bound, I'm not an expert in this and haven't tried the olive oil technique yet, would anyone advise it?!

Thanks for all your help.

If you don't have access to poultry electrolytes for their water, you could mix some Gatorade in the water. 50/50
Glad to hear she is atleast still with us.