Very, very sick hen.. Please help

[Shaycres]

Okay... So I have a very sick Ancona hen. For the past few days she's been acting a little strange, but I have been extremely busy and unable to examine her very thoroughly. A couple nights ago she also never came in to roost.
Anyways, she is insanely lethargic. She just kind of lays down on her side and doesn't move. I can lift her up and she walks two steps before sitting back down. She is dangerously thin; her breastbone is very prominent after examining her. I thought it could be egg binding. I felt her abdomen but nothing seemed out of place, maybe swollen but I'm not sure. I used a glove and petroleum jelly to check inside the vent, but I'm not sure how far I can push in without hurting her. I felt all the way to the point where it gets 'tighter' and no egg. Upon doing this, she expelled some gross runny white poop. It didn't exactly smell very pleasant. She also has poop dried onto her undercarriage feathers.
I also checked under her wings for mites and she was clean.

I don't know what to do, how far it acceptable to push into the vent? Please help

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I don't think she is egg bound. It is probably something more going on that you won't be able to see. It doesn't sound good, but you could try to find an Avian vet. Otherwise, make her comfortable, offer yogurt, egg, water with electrolytes. All too often hens don't tell us they are sick until it is too late.

I hope someone else can offer a bit more than what I did, but I wish the best for you and your hen.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

She is not egg bound or you would have felt the egg within the first inch.

I agree it sounds more internal such as liver disease (as indicated by a swollen squishy abdomen, or ascities) or ovarian cancer.

That means a trip to the vet (who may not be able to offer much other than a big bill) or make her comfortable.

I too do not feel it looks good for her.

LofMc

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? Reproductive disorders, cancer, or egg yolk peritonitis are very common in hens over 2, and in some younger. Crop impaction or sour crop can also be common. I would try giving her water with electrolytes, and offering scrambled egg and watery chicken feed from a cup. Unfortunately, many times we don’t know what is going on until after death when we can do a necropsy to look for any problems. Getting her drinking, keeping her warm, and isolated so that she doesn’t get hurt is best.

 

[Shaycres]

How old is she? Reproductive disorders, cancer, or egg yolk peritonitis are very common in hens over 2, and in some younger. Crop impaction or sour crop can also be common. I would try giving her water with electrolytes, and offering scrambled egg and watery chicken feed from a cup. Unfortunately, many times we don’t know what is going on until after death when we can do a necropsy to look for any problems. Getting her drinking, keeping her warm, and isolated so that she doesn’t get hurt is best.

Thank you for the reply. She isn't even a year old yet. I'll give the electrolytes and try to get her to eat a bit. Is there any type of medication I can administer?

 

[RooandherRooster]

Will she eat and drink on her own? I don't have much to offer outside of what everyone else said with giving her yogurt, egg, and electrolyte water. Does her comb and wattle look normal? Does her crop feel normal, or does her breath stink?

 

[Shaycres]

UPDATE: Sadly little Annie passed away around chore time yesterday. She never ended up touching her food or water, but I tried to make her comfortable in a nice shady spot. Sometimes this is just a sad fact of keeping feathery friends, you can't always save them all. The only upside is she was a very flighty hen who wasn't a favorite.

None of my other chickens appear ill or anything. Would it be appropriate to do a deep cleaning of the coop and/or run or is this necessary?

Thanks for everyones help <3

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'm sorry she passed.

It doesn't hurt to give a good clean after a bird passes, but not absolutely always essential.
Personally, I do a tidying of the coop, especially in that bird's corner, but unless she was making a lot of poo messes (which I definitely would clean up deeply), anything she had has totally been exposed to the flock by now.

It is very, very likely with her symptoms that it was internal cancer of some sort.

RIP Annie.
LofMc