Urgent!! Need Help with a Lethargic Hen

[fmacken13]

Ok...I just went out to her again. I was going to give her a warm bath to start. I felt her crop and it is enlarged but full of water. I gently pressed and she threw up a couple of times. The last time it was mostly black water.

Please advise and I'm calling the vet too.
Thank you
Fiona

 

[Smoochie]

My yearling got really puffed up this year before her molt a couple weeks ago. I put her in the extra storage in the coop in a wire cage with a heat lamp pointed to her on the floor. She laid right next to the heat lamp for a few days then lost all her feathers overnight and a few days after that she was all better. I also gave her some poultry vitamins (stressaid).

 

[swmalone]

My yearling got really puffed up this year before her molt a couple weeks ago. I put her in the extra storage in the coop in a wire cage with a heat lamp pointed to her on the floor. She laid right next to the heat lamp for a few days then lost all her feathers overnight and a few days after that she was all better. I also gave her some poultry vitamins (stressaid).

So how old was she? Mine is about 18 months and she has been losing some feathers so I wonder if this could be in reaction to the molt. did yours eat or drink? I brought her in the house and have probably invaded her far more than she likes. She is in a small box and she just stands there, not moving. I have provided water, yogurt, and layer feed and she won't have any of that. She did take down the live mealworm pretty well though. I wonder if it is the molt or something else. Like I said before her crop is fairly small and squishy. Not hard and large like an impacted crop would be. I felt both externally and internally and did not feel an egg inside, but she has not gone to the bathroom today other than the small amount of extremely runny droppings that came out after the internal inspection.

I appreciate all of the help and the suggestions.

 

[Smoochie]

Possibly she needs to be wormed. Careful about making sure she is completely dry after a bath before going outside as she can catch a chill quickly. Sounds like she is in the house though. I usually blow dry on "cool". Also, chickens are not very hardy animals and will hide illness from the flock and sometimes it is too late. Chicken death is very common unfortunately.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

I was providing a cider vinegar mix until recently. It has been getting cold enough that I had to use the heater and switch back to the galvanized container. I have provided this chicken with a cider water mix, but she isn't drinking at all. I did purchase some worming medicine, I am also wondering if I should find some kind of antibiotic and treat her just in case it is a bacterial infection. If so what antibiotic should I use?

It would depend upon what infection was present, and if it was bacterial rather than a virus. In the event of excessive levels of botulism? Antibiotics have proven mostly ineffective. There are so many possibilities, 'til you go through the steps 'n narrow it down.

 

[Smoochie]

My hen ate nothing during her molt and laid in the corner with her eyes closed for several days. Twice a day I would dip her beak in her water. Slowly she started acting better but it was a good two weeks that she was in the cage before she even remotely seemed interested in life again.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Ok...I just went out to her again. I was going to give her a warm bath to start. I felt her crop and it is enlarged but full of water. I gently pressed and she threw up a couple of times. The last time it was mostly black water.

Please advise and I'm calling the vet too.
Thank you
Fiona

I'd be afraid to get her wet, unless you live somewhere that winter is cozy warm, most esp. 'til I knew what was goin' on.

The links below may be helpful, beginning w/ the one to diagnose diseases based upon symptoms.

Was there any fowl (pun intended) odor from the crop? Also, look in her mouth for any coatings (you can look in the others for comparison ~'-)

I'd put 'em all back on the ACV, and at a progressively higher rate, for at least the next three days.

 

[cowcreekgeek]

Perhaps a malformed egg broke inside her. Bacterial infection may set in. I recommend a vinegar/water flush, like a douche:
Use a large syringe without a needle, mixing 1 tablespoon of WHITE vinegar to one quart of water. Use a full syringe of the mixture and insert the syringe into her vent and gently flush. Use about 3 or 4 syringefuls. The liquid may or may not flow out of her vent afterwards.

She asked about whether an antibiotic of some type might be administered, despite not knowing if any bacterial infection was involved; figured you'd be better able to advise on that, based upon your other posts ~'-)

 

[swmalone]

I picked up a thermometer and her temperature was 105.5 Degrees F. She just turns away from me whenever I try to get her to take food or water. She isn't sitting or laying down she is just standing. If I take live mealworms she will turn away until she notices them moving around then she will eat those. So far that is all I have been able to get her to eat. I have only given her a couple. I dried her with a towel after the bath and have kept her in the house. I will probably keep her inside for tonight at least. Since she doesn't have an elevated temperature and I have not noticed a foul odor from her I am going to hold off on the antibiotics for now. I will have to wait until my wife gets home so one can hold her and the other can see what the inside of her beak looks like.

The chicken that we had die had problems laying since last winter, soft/rubbery eggs, weak shells, a long time between eggs. She had no symptoms, wasn't lethargic or anything. She was running around playing the day before then I found her dead in the coop the next morning. So if it is something contagious it seems that the symptoms are different. I have separated her just to be on the safe side.

She seems far more alert than she was this morning but still not moving much, no eating or drinking, and no droppings. She is at least opening her eyes and moving her head occasionally now.

 

[casportpony]

I'd be afraid to get her wet, unless you live somewhere that winter is cozy warm, most esp. 'til I knew what was goin' on.

The links below may be helpful, beginning w/ the one to diagnose diseases based upon symptoms.

Was there any fowl (pun intended) odor from the crop? Also, look in her mouth for any coatings (you can look in the others for comparison ~'-)

I'd put 'em all back on the ACV, and at a progressively higher rate, for at least the next three days.

I also wouldn't put her in water, but I *might* put her in a room full of steam if I really thought it was an egg laying issue.