Very concerned now!!! Updated with video in 3rd post. 2 yo sex link hunched and can't get on roost

[Nambroth]

Yes, sadly, my peritonitis hen had a "hard" and full feeling to her abdomen, but my cancer hen (a red sex link) just felt soft, and a bit "big" but not lumpy or firm. The cancer was revealed with an ultrasound and x-rays. I hope you can find out what might be wrong with your girl, she's very lovely.

 

[Deltabwa]

Dang. Did she do the weird thing in the video?

 

[Nambroth]

Not often; my birds will occasionally "adjust" their crops, even healthy ones. But she did have the overall posture. I'm not saying this is what your hen has, but it's a possibility. How is she doing today?

 

[Deltabwa]

The same. I brought her back in last night . She doesn't want to eat the pellets but devours the egg I give her. Her abdomen doesn't feel as soft, it feels a little harder, and I didn't check it completely, but I will later, I wonder if she is going to lay and that's why it feels harder and smaller. She is drinking but still has a small crop. I know when I put her out both days, the 1st thing she did was eat a bunch of grass.

 

[Eggcessive]

It can be difficult to know exactly what is going on for sure in their abdomens unless there are xrays and vet care, and many of us only discover what was going on by doing a necropsy after they die. I have had hens die of what I thought was internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis, and did not do a necropsy. Lately, I have lost several older hens who were slowly wasting away, not laying, or who had sour or impacted crops. When I did necropsies, I found ascites or fluid in the belly, or blocked crops with either a blocked gizzard or a necrotic area in the intestines, but no EYP. None of the ones with ascites had the hard as a drum abdomens, but just slightly full ones.

What I am getting at here, is just to point out that we can only guess what is going on. Vetcare may not be available for many of us, and competent vet care from a chicken vet is even more rare. We cannot really do a whole lot for the common reproductive illnesses they suffer.

In my state, I don’t even think I could receive that good of help if I wanted a state vet necropsy, since some will only communicate through a local vet, or are only interested in outbreaks of avian flu. In other states, there are some who really do thorough necrospies, and have an interest in educating their clients. We get to read some of their results here when people post necropsy results.

I always learn so much from those who take the time to get a necropsy. The more necropsies you do yourself at home, it helps you to actually see certain problems to know how to spot them in the future.

 

[Deltabwa]

No, I understand that. I guess I am just wondering, there is really nothing I can do for her then? Is that what is the general consensus?

 

[Nambroth]

Outside of competent veterinary help, you can guess along with us. With her posture, something is quite wrong, but as Eggcessive said, it's hard to know what. I think a lot of us experience crop slow-downs and stasis in (older, not chick) birds that actually have a bigger problem happening further down their GI tract; infection, cancer, peritonitis, ascites, necrosis... the list goes on.
You can give her comfort care, nutritious foods, monitor her weight/feed intake/ droppings, and do a few things for common, "fixable" problems, just in case they are part of her problem. Worming her probably wouldn't hurt. You can try a broad spectrum antibiotic if you feel she might be fighting infection, but you'd want to give her a full course (depending on the antibiotic, usually minimum 5-7 days). Maybe Eggcessive or other members here might have other, or better suggestions. I'm one of those that is fortunate enough to have an avian vet that really knows chickens, so normally I have a bit more of an answer about what is going on. Even with vet care though, sometimes there just isn't any knowing for sure until they pass and you (or the vet) do a necropsy.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is another good thread about crop problems and how to spot them in addition to the one I posted earlier:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...d-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments.67194/
Laying and reproductive problems are the most common cause of death in hens over 2 years. There is no really great article on reproductive problems that explains why hens get these problems. Here is a simple one:
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/
And another about birds with EYP:
https://wagwalking.com/bird/condition/egg-yolk-peritonitis

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally would cull. Most birds that get sick in my flock never recover long term. I have on occasion gotten a bird over an initial issue only to have it die within the next few month. I have no luck treating birds. Chickens tend to be healthy up until they are not. We cull when a bird is suffering or it's apparent it will die anyways. Sorry.

 

[Deltabwa]

thanks for your help. She is the last of our original girls so it's sadder than the others. Thanks again.