Trouble with hen!?

[NestingHillsSC]

Well I gave her some Valbazen. Probably not enough, I left my darn syringes in the cart at TSC.

Had to do something. So we will see what happens to her.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

That hen is not broody, trust me. Considering that she is a hatchery RIR type hen, after losing approx 15 of those to internal laying/egg yolk peritonitis, I'd say that might be what you're dealing with, though she is a tad younger than they usually start showing signs of it.

The yellow-green poop is characteristic of hens who are not eating much and I see it all the time in those who are dying from egg issues. Yes, she could have worms, but none of mine have ever shown signs of worms when this is happening. And they do get wormed about once a year or slightly less often. Upon their deaths and opening them up, you see the oviducts and abdomens full of cheesy gunk, which consists of solidifed infection and egg yolks.

I'm not saying for 100% sure that this is what is wrong as many things can have similar symptoms. A dying hen is a dying hen, unfortunately. You don't want to worm a hen who is severely ill, unless you're pretty sure she is ill from worms. Worming is hard on them.

x2. I think speckledhen is totally right here.
Also worming is poison, so yes if you where to worm her now I think it would bring an end to this lovely little hen.

Good Luck!

 

[casportpony]

Worming is not going to kill her unless way too much is given. What will kill her is dehydration, starvation, organ failure, sepsis or a combo of all four.

-Kathy

 

[theoldchick]

After seeing the video, I agree there is something serious going on with this hen. I'm wondering, as suggested, this hen is suffering from internal laying, or some type of neoplasia on her oviduct. Of course it would be nice to radiograph this chicken to see if she indeed did have abnormalities or a possible foreign body. A fecal would determine if she had worms or coccidia.

Here is a photo of my hen suffering from heavy metal poisoning. She is the one on the left. Note how pale and shrunken her wattles and comb are.





Here is a hen who was suffering from a stubborn egg. She was finishing a molt, too which surprised me that she was egg bound. Manual removal of the egg and a soothing sitz bath helped her tremendously.



If veterinary care is not an option the best thing you can do is give supportive care. Scrambled egg mixed with moistened dry cat food will increase her protein intake.Fresh picked clover will add a bit of fiber and the chlorophyll acts like a natural detoxifyer. You can give her slice apples (No SEEDS) to increase her liquid intake. If she stops eating you need to make the decision to end her life. This is never easy but sometimes it has to be done.

Good luck with her.

 

[speckledhen]

theoldchick made my point about symptoms of various ailments seeming similar with her wonderful photographs. So many things with laying hens are beyond our ability to remedy, beyond even a vet's ability oftentimes. That internal laying malfunction cannot be cured other than by surgery and hysterectomy, if they even would survive that. Most of the time, by the time you realize what is going on, they are so far down, it's too late anyway, even if you had the $$ and could find a vet who knew what he was doing.

 

[NestingHillsSC]

After seeing the video, I agree there is something serious going on with this hen. I'm wondering, as suggested, this hen is suffering from internal laying, or some type of neoplasia on her oviduct. Of course it would be nice to radiograph this chicken to see if she indeed did have abnormalities or a possible foreign body. A fecal would determine if she had worms or coccidia.

Here is a photo of my hen suffering from heavy metal poisoning. She is the one on the left. Note how pale and shrunken her wattles and comb are.





Here is a hen who was suffering from a stubborn egg. She was finishing a molt, too which surprised me that she was egg bound. Manual removal of the egg and a soothing sitz bath helped her tremendously.



If veterinary care is not an option the best thing you can do is give supportive care. Scrambled egg mixed with moistened dry cat food will increase her protein intake.Fresh picked clover will add a bit of fiber and the chlorophyll acts like a natural detoxifyer. You can give her slice apples (No SEEDS) to increase her liquid intake. If she stops eating you need to make the decision to end her life. This is never easy but sometimes it has to be done.

Good luck with her.

Ready to go out to check her this morning. We have a couple of ducks. I use there eggs and feed back to the chickens since my wife don't like the duck eggs. I had a bad mite problem a few weeks ago but cleared that up. I have 2 older hens that looked really pale like the one above. Now that, that problem is cleared up you should see how PINK there combs and wattles are. But now this. I still believe it has something to do with the egg inside. I tried the soaking ing hot water for 20 mins again and the baby oil in the vent. Nothing. I believe like above post she will probably die of starvation or thrust or both if she won't eat or drink. I thought about putting her down yesterday. But had VERY bad storms come through almost all day. But I will have to asset the situation today and take the best course of action. I don't have a problem with putting one down if need be, but don't want to jump the gun either.

She was one of my best layers actually. I have 2 older hens that don't lay any more. One thinks she can. Sits on the nest for 1/2 an hour does her egg song and nothing. Crazy chickens.

As for yours getting egg bound right after the molt. I swear mine really don't stop laying during the molt. Maybe slow down but never stops. I have a few molting right now. Still getting eggs from them. This sick girl is not molting though.

 

[casportpony]

If you think that she might be trying to get an egg out, give her a human calcium pill, I have found that that actually works better than the warm water bathing and it's way less stressful for them. FWIW, I give my hens 500mg to 1000mg.

In addition to de-worming, another thing I *always* do is weigh them on a digital kitchen scale... weight loss or gain is much easier to see this way.

-Kathy

 

[NestingHillsSC]

If you think that she might be trying to get an egg out, give her a human calcium pill, I have found that that actually works better than the warm water bathing and it's way less stressful for them. FWIW, I give my hens 500mg to 1000mg.

In addition to de-worming, another thing I *always* do is weigh them on a digital kitchen scale... weight loss or gain is much easier to see this way.

-Kathy

I was actually ready to put her down. I picked her up and sit her down and she now can't even stand up.

 

[casportpony]

Ready to go out to check her this morning. We have a couple of ducks. I use there eggs and feed back to the chickens since my wife don't like the duck eggs. I had a bad mite problem a few weeks ago but cleared that up. I have 2 older hens that looked really pale like the one above. Now that, that problem is cleared up you should see how PINK there combs and wattles are. But now this. I still believe it has something to do with the egg inside. I tried the soaking ing hot water for 20 mins again and the baby oil in the vent. Nothing. I believe like above post she will probably die of starvation or thrust or both if she won't eat or drink. I thought about putting her down yesterday. But had VERY bad storms come through almost all day. But I will have to asset the situation today and take the best course of action. I don't have a problem with putting one down if need be, but don't want to jump the gun either.

She was one of my best layers actually. I have 2 older hens that don't lay any more. One thinks she can. Sits on the nest for 1/2 an hour does her egg song and nothing. Crazy chickens.

As for yours getting egg bound right after the molt. I swear mine really don't stop laying during the molt. Maybe slow down but never stops. I have a few molting right now. Still getting eggs from them. This sick girl is not molting though.

That is a hen that I would do a cloacal exam on and probably give calcium to. These egg problems can linger for months before you notice depression, weight loss and death.

-Kathy

 

[speckledhen]

That is often the first sign of internal laying, going on the nest for long periods, even straining, then nothing. You, of course, palpate for a stuck egg, find nothing if it's not egg binding. Then, eventually, they quit going to the nest at all. They become lethargic, sometimes the abdomen swells and sometimes, it does not. Near the end, they lose copious amounts of weight, in spite of eating regularly. Then they become unsteady on their feet, weak.