Two Rescued Chickens with back end & respiratory issues (Photos)

[blackforestbirds]

Situation: I moved a flock of chickens from crowded, unsanitary conditions yesterday to a new location and they all appear to be doing well today. However two of the birds appeared to be suffering illness or injury so I brought them home with me hoping to treat them. Due to the spike in covid where I live, only a few vets are seeing animals and none of them treat birds. I have never owned chickens but I have successfully raised and cared for dogs, cats, ducks (and several children)

Available Resources: I can purchase antibiotics and vet supplies online, there is a farm supply store in my town and I have some basic medical training.

1) Small White Chicken
Current condition: This little white chicken does not look like the rest of the flock. It's less than half the size of the others, all of whom are red or peachy beige. This bird is white with grey markings and has a tuft or crest of feathers on it's head. I assume it's female but could be wrong.
It has a very pronounced limp but gets around ok, is feisty and seems to be eating fine this morning. The owner said it was very small and couldn't walk when hatched, did not expect it to live. As you can see in the photos it appears to have what I assume is fecal matter hanging underneath it's body.
Questions: I have never owned chickens but have read they can get blocked vents. Is it ok to bathe it? Is there anything I need to know about bathing chickens before I start? How can I tell if the vent is blocked and what is the treatment?

2) Large Red Hen
Current condition: Active and eating well today. Her back end is red and raw, feathers look perpetually wet and matted. She also makes a croaking sound and I can hear her breathing when I picked her up. None of the others sounded like this. I read chickens can get upper respiratory infections and assume this is probably the case.
Questions: Should I treat her with antibiotics? Can someone suggest which one and recommend dosage?
Any ideas about what's wrong with her back end and treatment advice would also be very much appreciated. Thank you!

I took video of her breathing and backside

 

[InterestingChickens]

How is she going? @Eggcessive or @Wyorp Rock and other experts may be able to help you out.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Small White Chicken
Current condition: This little white chicken does not look like the rest of the flock. It's less than half the size of the others, all of whom are red or peachy beige. This bird is white with grey markings and has a tuft or crest of feathers on it's head. I assume it's female but could be wrong.

Questions: I have never owned chickens but have read they can get blocked vents. Is it ok to bathe it? Is there anything I need to know about bathing chickens before I start? How can I tell if the vent is blocked and what is the treatment?

She also makes a croaking sound and I can hear her breathing when I picked her up.

Should I treat her with antibiotics? Can someone suggest which one and recommend dosage?
Any ideas about what's wrong with her back end and treatment advice would also be very much appreciated

I took video of her breathing and backside

Little white chicken looks like a Crested something...(no good at breeds!) Looks like a hen/pullet (girl) to me. @Overo Mare may be able to i.d. the breed.
Anyway, she's not going to be as large as one of those big dual purpose layers like the red hen. Just a difference in breed and sizes there.

Little white chicken doesn't look tooo bad, just wet and dirty. It wouldn't hurt to gather her up and examine her to see if she's got lice/mites (look around the vent, under the wings, etc. for bugs). Examine her feet (bottom of feet too!) for any injury, scabs, irriation, swelling, etc.

Limping can be from a number of things, may be from an old injury, possible genetic deformity or similar, but it's a good idea to make sure that something like bumblefoot is not an issue or that the webs of her feet are not packed up with dirt/debris.

As for the vent being clogged - you would see that when you examine her. If she's pooping, then it's not clogged. Chickens can get poop stuck to the fluff of their feathers and sometimes it needs to be removed. Just give her a good look over.
As for bathing her. You can if you wish. If she has access to some nice dry dirt, then she may take a dust bath and after a few times of that she will look better, but if you really want to bath her, then do it. Use a mild soap (baby shampoo or a few drops of original dawn). Dry her well. If the weather is cool, then dry her with a hair dryer before putting her back outside.

Large red hen. In the video she is very happy and excited, she's making happy satisfied noises over something she's found and is telling others about her find.
For her abdomen, she is a little bloated looking. If she's having trouble breathing when you pick her up, then I would suspect she's got fluid in the abdomen (Ascites). This can be a symptom of reproductive problems like Cancer, Peritonitis, tumor, Salpingitis, etc. When picked up, the fluid (or masses) press against the air sacs found in the abdomen and makes it more difficult to breath. Over time, more fluid can accumulate and make it difficult to breath even when not being held. Fluid can be drained either by you or a vet. It's a supportive measure since, sadly, there is no cure. Depending on the cause, a hen may live for quite a while with the condition or she may decline.
Up to you whether to drain or wait and see how she does. For me...if they are active, eating/drinking then I leave them be until I notice a decline. Then I decide what I need to do.
You can give her vent a wash up. What's happening is she's got the distended abdomen and poop is getting on the skin causing irritation. Hen Healer, Nustock or similar can be put on the skin to help sooth it. Trimming some of the fluff can also help too, but she may need a periodic washing off.

As for seeing her breath from behind. It's not ideal really, but likely it's due to the fluid and she's breathing a bit heavier than the others. Her vent is more bald than the others, so you may see more "action" of the abdominal air sacs there as well.

Hope this all helps. Keep us posted.

 

[blackforestbirds]

Little white chicken looks like a Crested something...(no good at breeds!) Looks like a hen/pullet (girl) to me. @Overo Mare may be able to i.d. the breed.
Anyway, she's not going to be as large as one of those big dual purpose layers like the red hen. Just a difference in breed and sizes there.

Little white chicken doesn't look tooo bad, just wet and dirty. It wouldn't hurt to gather her up and examine her to see if she's got lice/mites (look around the vent, under the wings, etc. for bugs). Examine her feet (bottom of feet too!) for any injury, scabs, irriation, swelling, etc.

Limping can be from a number of things, may be from an old injury, possible genetic deformity or similar, but it's a good idea to make sure that something like bumblefoot is not an issue or that the webs of her feet are not packed up with dirt/debris.

As for the vent being clogged - you would see that when you examine her. If she's pooping, then it's not clogged. Chickens can get poop stuck to the fluff of their feathers and sometimes it needs to be removed. Just give her a good look over.
As for bathing her. You can if you wish. If she has access to some nice dry dirt, then she may take a dust bath and after a few times of that she will look better, but if you really want to bath her, then do it. Use a mild soap (baby shampoo or a few drops of original dawn). Dry her well. If the weather is cool, then dry her with a hair dryer before putting her back outside.

Large red hen. In the video she is very happy and excited, she's making happy satisfied noises over something she's found and is telling others about her find.
For her abdomen, she is a little bloated looking. If she's having trouble breathing when you pick her up, then I would suspect she's got fluid in the abdomen (Ascites). This can be a symptom of reproductive problems like Cancer, Peritonitis, tumor, Salpingitis, etc. When picked up, the fluid (or masses) press against the air sacs found in the abdomen and makes it more difficult to breath. Over time, more fluid can accumulate and make it difficult to breath even when not being held. Fluid can be drained either by you or a vet. It's a supportive measure since, sadly, there is no cure. Depending on the cause, a hen may live for quite a while with the condition or she may decline.
Up to you whether to drain or wait and see how she does. For me...if they are active, eating/drinking then I leave them be until I notice a decline. Then I decide what I need to do.
You can give her vent a wash up. What's happening is she's got the distended abdomen and poop is getting on the skin causing irritation. Hen Healer, Nustock or similar can be put on the skin to help sooth it. Trimming some of the fluff can also help too, but she may need a periodic washing off.

As for seeing her breath from behind. It's not ideal really, but likely it's due to the fluid and she's breathing a bit heavier than the others. Her vent is more bald than the others, so you may see more "action" of the abdominal air sacs there as well.

Hope this all helps. Keep us posted.

 

[blackforestbirds]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate the thorough explanation. I bought a poultry probiotic supplement to sprinkle on their food and Poultry Drench to put in their water along with raw apple cider vinegar. I also bought them a high quality poultry feed, dried worms and scratch grains. I was able to pick up the little white one and lightly sponge bathe her. She looks 100% better. I would like to fatten her up a little before winter but it's impossible to keep the red hen from vacuuming up whatever I feed them as fast as she can. I know I probably need to separate them for feeding but she's terrified of everything including me and sticks to the red hen like velcro. I've had them for a couple weeks now and hoping they will warm up to me. I bought a plastic tub for bathing the red hen but she won't let me pick her up and I really want to avoid stressing her out which makes her breathing worse. I agree with you, she looks puffy rather than fat/muscular and now sadly recognize what you described. I took them from a very poor living situation and they now have unlimited access to grass, weeds and an herb garden. I have them in a large dog kennel on my large sunny deck, right beside my sliding glass kitchen door so I always have an eye on them. I change their straw bedding every other day and provide them fresh food and water every morning. I give them treats like worms, sunflower seeds and millet several times daily. They seem happy. The red hen is extremely excited by food and she loves tearing up the grass (I have over an acre so I don't mind at all) I wish they weren't scared of me, but hopefully that will change in the not too distant future. I had intended to treat them topically with VetRx after bathing them. I initially bought it because I thought the red hen had a respiratory infection but now I'm wondering if it would be good to treat or prevent mites. Is it effective for that? I also read some people deworm their chickens regularly. Would that be a good idea since they were living in unsanitary conditions when I rescued them? Thank you so much for your help and advice!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

 

[InterestingChickens]

Situation: I moved a flock of chickens from crowded, unsanitary conditions yesterday to a new location and they all appear to be doing well today. However two of the birds appeared to be suffering illness or injury so I brought them home with me hoping to treat them. Due to the spike in covid where I live, only a few vets are seeing animals and none of them treat birds. I have never owned chickens but I have successfully raised and cared for dogs, cats, ducks (and several children)

Available Resources: I can purchase antibiotics and vet supplies online, there is a farm supply store in my town and I have some basic medical training.

1) Small White Chicken
Current condition: This little white chicken does not look like the rest of the flock. It's less than half the size of the others, all of whom are red or peachy beige. This bird is white with grey markings and has a tuft or crest of feathers on it's head. I assume it's female but could be wrong.
It has a very pronounced limp but gets around ok, is feisty and seems to be eating fine this morning. The owner said it was very small and couldn't walk when hatched, did not expect it to live. As you can see in the photos it appears to have what I assume is fecal matter hanging underneath it's body.
Questions: I have never owned chickens but have read they can get blocked vents. Is it ok to bathe it? Is there anything I need to know about bathing chickens before I start? How can I tell if the vent is blocked and what is the treatment?

2) Large Red Hen
Current condition: Active and eating well today. Her back end is red and raw, feathers look perpetually wet and matted. She also makes a croaking sound and I can hear her breathing when I picked her up. None of the others sounded like this. I read chickens can get upper respiratory infections and assume this is probably the case.
Questions: Should I treat her with antibiotics? Can someone suggest which one and recommend dosage?
Any ideas about what's wrong with her back end and treatment advice would also be very much appreciated. Thank you!

I took video of her breathing and backside

Your 'small white chicken' looks to be an EE, and the 'red hen' looks like a production red. Good luck with them, Wyorp Rock gave you some great advice!

 

[Painted Calls]

Little white chicken looks like a Crested something.

She looks like a CCLB mix to me as well.

 

[Eggcessive]

Very good advice and very thorough from @Wyorp Rock .

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I wouldn't separate them for feeding, just put out their feed free choice.
You don't necessarily want fat chickens, this can be hard on them. Excess fat can cause fatty liver disease, make laying eggs more difficult and lead to prolapse, etc.
I think the Crested gal looks to be ok - she's not going to be a big fluffy Gal.
Go easy on those treats! I know I know I love giving mine treats, they are like beggars and it so easy to be generous/heavy handed since they get so excited over goodies.
I got tickled over your mentioning the Red Hen vacuuming up treats, some do that, scatter the treats just a little more so the little White one can get a few tidbits

If you don't see any bugs on them, then I would not treat for bugs. As for deworming, ideally getting a fecal float is best. If you have a vet that can do that for you it would be good. No need to deworm if there's not a problem.

As for being scared of you. Some are skittish and may be from now on. Try sitting down near them and when it comes treat time (especially those mealworms). Toss a couple near your feet. Let them come to you. Every day, toss the worms closer until they are right next to you. Then see if they will take treats from the hand while your sitting. Taking a treat from the hand may be the best you get, but they may warm up even more, you never know.

Good luck with your new ladies, I think ya'll will be just fine.