Weird combo of symptoms: egg membrane in vent, poop red/stringy, eyes closed, feathers fluffed, limping

[Ali123123123]

I would love some help!! I am quite worried about my lovely girl. There are so many symptoms with so many different treatments I can't figure out what's wrong overall.
- poop sticking to feathers under her vent for about 3 weeks
- 2 days ago her poop had long red stringy things in it. (worms or intestinal lining shed??). She was slower to walk about and more quiet, eyes closed, head in and fluffed feathers.
- Yesterday I took her to a vet in the city. The vet cleaned up the vent area (no obvious problems) and found a egg membrane in her vent, which she pulled out (is there an egg problem?). The vet said there was nothing obviously wrong with her. She could be put back with her other 2 coop mates. She was making big gulping movements as if something was caught in her throat, then shaking her head on the car ride home. She isn't doing that today. The chicken was eating and drinking yesterday afternoon/evening. When she wanted to run back to the coop with the other chickens she started to limp a lot. This continues today, but only when running still.
- Today she is still quite (eyes closed, feather ruffled, head tucked). She managed to fly to the roost last night. Poop still looks weird. Small and watery with maybe a bit of red still in it.

Thanks so much! I really love this one.

 

[proudchickenmom]

i don't know about the other symptoms but her limping might be caused by bumblefoot, a staph infection in the foot.

- to check for bumblefoot look at the bottom of her foot and check for a sort of black (sometimes can be yellow) scab.

-to treat bumblefoot soak the foot in warm water with Epsom salt until you can peel the scab off. underneath that there will be a yellow cheesy core referred to as the bumble. scrap the core out, pack the wound with antibacterial cream, and wrap the foot in a bandage.

a less invasive way to treat bumble foot is to soak the foot in Epsom salt water for a couple minuets per day, clean the foot regularly, put antibacterial cream on it, then wrap with a clean bandage.

i hope that this helps and your chick feels better!!

 

[KiwiandPeachthePigeons]

Can you send pictures or a video?

 

[Ali123123123]

Thanks so much for your help! I just soaked her injured foot in Epson salt water to get the soil off. Looks quite clear. No black or any scabs.

 

[Ali123123123]

You can’t see it very well in this photo sadly and I gave the red stringy stuff to the vet.

What other photos or videos are helpful?

 

[Ali123123123]

Looks like there’s blood in her poop now.


Should I leave her with her 2 coop mates? Seems relaxed with them around. Or take her inside? I wonder if that will be stressful for her.

 

[proudchickenmom]

What other photos or videos are helpful?

what does the chicken look like in general, like whenever she is feeling bad and feeling good?

 

[Ali123123123]

She is normally lively and comes right over to me. She runs around the garden and seems like the healthiest of the 3 I have.

Now she’s mostly just calm, eyes closed and neck retracted into her body.

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet do a fecal test for worms and coccidiosis? Can you run some droppings in to them tomorrow? She may be feeling bad, due to passing the egg membrane, which could be signs of a reproductive problem with her oviduct. Have her egg shells been hard and normal looking before? You could get some calcium into her for the next several days to see if that makes her shells hard and eggs normal. But sometimes this is a sign that she has a major problem. I would try the calcium or Tums 1/2 tablet daily x 3. Get her drinking, and try to interest her in eating some wet chicken feed, scrambled egg, or canned cat food. The blood streaks could be related to her egg laying problem, but also could be worms or coccidiosis.

 

[Ali123123123]

Thanks so much! Her eggs have been normal before. There was a very tiny egg in the nesting box yesterday. I'm pretty sure it was hers.

I will try the calcium. I mixed in oyster shells into her wet food and she ate some of that, but will try just calcium.

The vet did not do a fecal test. I will call them. Thanks so much!