swollen vent, weak and dying. HELP!

[bardyrock15]

hello BYC, i have a few questions regarding my Barred Rock Hen,

just this morning my father noticed that our over weight (she was born that way), less than a year old, barred rock chicken had her large comb flopped over her head. just yesterday it was tall and bright red but this morning it had small white and red-ish dots covering it as it layed on her face. she was acting especially slow today. she is normally slow and dumb (we think she has brain problems) but today she just sat in one spot. her tail was hanging low and she was breathing through her mouth. in the past she has gotten her stool stuck in her back fluffy bum feathers but today it was especially messy. we took her out from all of the other chickens (we don't have roosters) and gave her a warm bath to clean her up. when my dad picked her up she wheezed a little and you could hear gurgling. she was especially calm and quiet but normally she would be afraid or squeal. we also noticed a yellow scab on her stomach. it sort-of looked infected but also as if it was healing. her skin looked strange as well. as my dad was bathing her he also noticed her vent area was bulging and red and swollen. he pressed on it slightly and felt something hard. we believed it was an egg.
he felt her crop which was empty and made kind of a bad smell. her stool was watery and green-ish yellow and had very few bits of solid parts to it. she became weak and we dried her off. i noticed the other day her feet and leg scales were a bit puffy and large. she is currently laying down on a stump in the shade as we feed her moist blueberries and raspberries. she seems hungry and tired, any suggestions? all of our other hens seem strangely energetic and happy. we are afraid our barred rock is becoming too weak to live. please help us! - sincerely,
Mazie

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. Try to post some pictures of the things you are seeing, especially her comb and the swelling around her bottom. Is the scab on her keel or breast bone? She may have a respiratory disease with the gurgling, wheezing, and bad odor. Have you had any sick chickens in the past, or added new birds recently? I would isolate her from the rest, and give her some poultry vitamins with electolytes, and make sure that she drinks them in case she is dehydrated. Do the spots on her comb look anything like fowl pox starting out? Can you check inside her vent to feel for a stuck egg?

 

[bardyrock15]

thank you so much for your response!
we just took some pictures of her and are about to upload them now!
the scab is more on her keel than her breast bone and we have had 3 sick chickens in the past. one had a blocked crop and died. the second one happend later on. she was a new hen. she got bubbles in her eyes but they dissapeared after we got rid of the mites in their coop. the third one was also a barred rock who we believed was this ones sister, she got weak and stopped eating. we didn't know why. eventually we had to put her down as she could no longer walk, she was also slow and strange. were not sure how to check for a stuck egg, do you have any pointers? thanks again! - Mazie

 

[bardyrock15]

 

[bardyrock15]

UPDATE!!!!!!

i think she is on the edge of dying.
shes fully awake but she keeps closing her eyes. i think she is dehydrated so i tried forcing water down her throat through a eye dropper but she wouldn't open her mouth. i need help quickly!

 

[MichelleMC]

Hello, you can pinch her beak open at the back end gently, and give her a few drops at a time. If you put the dropper back towards the beak (closer to face, not the point end) and drop in there it may be easier to control--I don't advise putting the dropper down into her beak. Please make sure you aren't forcing the liquid down, and that she swallows after every few drops. Chickens can drown easily when fed liquid. I hope she improves.

 

[Eggcessive]

MichelleMC is helpful in suggesting you give her water a few drops at a time with a dropper. If you have SaveAChick or other brand of electrolytes, add them to the water. A tsp of sugar with a small pinch of salt mixed into a quart of water, or some Gatorade would do. To check for a stuck egg, stick a finger inside the vent 1-2 inches and an egg may feel hard if it has a shell. I really hope that she makes it. The spots on her comb look like fly bites.

 

[bardyrock15]

thank you so much for your response! we're trying to be as careful as possible. i tried dipping various things (raspberries, leaves, grass...) in the water that we put beside her but she doesn't seem to want to drink it or eat the delicious fruit! i will try again in a moment, thanks again!

 

[bardyrock15]

YES! i noticed some fly's biting me the yesterday and there are thousands in the run and coop! thank you so much! we dont normally buy gatorade but maybe i can run to the store and get some! this was so helpful! thank you so much!

 

[Eggcessive]

Watermelon can be very good also at getting a sick chicken to take fluids.