Urgent 8/20/18: Lethargic Buff Orpington

Jodi Keilman

Songster
5 Years
Jan 24, 2018
41
37
105
Glendale, AZ
44FCC905-DFE0-4DA1-93ED-34048AD74943.jpeg
9-month-old Buff Orp Hen laid her usual egg yesterday, then I lost her. I thought she had escaped so I made signs and posted all throughout my neighborhood late yesterday. My dog sniffed her out a couple hours ago - turns out she had wedged herself in the garage & never returned to the coop last night. She never made a sound over the last 24 hours even tho I have unknowingly passed by her a dozen times during my searches. Thank heavens she’s still alive, but she’s not well. Here’s the facts:
- Lethargic but opening her eyes
- Sitting in relaxed position with head down, for the most part
- Won’t eat - tried her favorite hard-boiled yolks & also tried a vet’s suggestion of raw liver
- She has taken some drinks
- I live in AZ (108 degrees), but I religiously have mister on, provide ice cube water, lots of shade, frozen jugs of water in coop & she’s never shown any signs of overheating before.
- quite a bit of liquid poop on her bumb & on floor where I found her (I immediately put her in a tub of cool water for 5 minutes and rinsed her whole body as soon as I found her)
- I have brought her inside my house to cool her body temp down in case that’s the issue, set up a huge dog crate with fresh hay for her in my office; she’s been inside for 2 hours now.
- what else can I do for her?
- any idea of what could be wrong?
- she has always been healthy, charismatic, answers to her name (Hei Hei), follows me everywhere, very vocal, been laying eggs for the last 2 months regularly, no issues at all.
Please help me figure out what’s wrong & what more I can do for her.
Thank you, everyone- Jodi
 
Have you added any new chickens to your flock?

Have you checked her vent to make sure she isn’t egg bound?

When you say wedged do you actually mean stuck, or just hiding in a small space?

I used to live in Tucson. Our garage was not air conditioned and would be every bit of 100 degrees.

If she’s been without water for 24 hrs I’d do ever I can to get her rehydrated. add electrolytes to the water you’re offering. Or sugar, honey, fruit juice...

If you have any fruit in the house, from applesauce to grapes... watermelon ....

Drip fluids on her beak and let it roll into her mouth. Only do this if she’ll swallow it mind you.
Let’s get some big guns in here to help you on this emergency.
@casportpony
@KikisGirls
@Wyorp Rock
@ronott1
 
Thank you Staceyj !I

am very new to this and do not know how to check for egg bound, etc.

Have you added any new chickens to your flock? No

Have you checked her vent to make sure she isn’t egg bound? Don't know how

When you say wedged do you actually mean stuck, or just hiding in a small space? Not exactly sure, she appeared wedged, but she could have been just intentionally hiding

I used to live in Tucson. Our garage was not air conditioned and would be every bit of 100 degrees.

If she’s been without water for 24 hrs I’d do ever I can to get her rehydrated. add electrolytes to the water you’re offering. Or sugar, honey, fruit juice... Done & done

If you have any fruit in the house, from applesauce to grapes... watermelon ....

Drip fluids on her beak and let it roll into her mouth. Only do this if she’ll swallow it mind you.
Let’s get some big guns in here to help you on this emergency.
@casportpony
@KikisGirls
@Wyorp Rock
@ronott1[/QUOTE]
 
Question, is her comb always floppy?

Good pic! That’s a nasty butt. Excellent that you got a picture (first). Now you can clean her off.

@casportpony is the resident poop expert.
Also shoutout to here to @Eggcessive for help .

To check to see if a hen is egg bound, which means an egg is stuck, you start by feeling her lower abdomen, do you feel a hardness that could be the size of an egg?

Step 2 , gently insert a gloved ( or very clean) , lubricated finger in her vent.

Your going to be in there an inch or two. Feel an egg, broken shell?.. etc.

Treatment for that includes calcium supplements to help her coordinate the muscle contractions which expel the egg.
Warm soaks in water with a hand full of Epsom salts. Lubrication. And Massage.

Sometimes the relaxation of the soak makes the egg plop right out.
 
Keep her cool and make sure she is drinking water. Vitamins and electrolytes in the water will help. I would give her save a chick electrolytes. TSC sells it here.

After that, vitamins like rooster booster for two days. I would give the electrolyte to the flock for a couple of days once a week when it is 110 out
 

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