Went from crusty feces on hen's bottom, to lethargic, to laying extremely thin shelled egg, and now purple comb

[Rosegiraffe]

First I just have to thank everyone who posts on here. In my 4 years of owning chickens this site has helped me many times.
My lady (a leghorn) had a crusty bottom for over week, maybe two, when I finally decided that it wasn't going to get better on it's own and decided to swish her behind around in some cold water. She has been eating very well, drinking, and laying during that time so I really wasn't concerned, but she was starting to act a little tired (although it is very very hot here) so I thought I would do something about it and cool her off as well. I want to mention here that it was a very hot day and the water was quite cool because I saw another post where the person put hen in cool water and ended up losing the hen. Not sure if there was some thing bad about using such cool water and such a hot day.
She protested for a few seconds when I put her in the water, but then seemed to enjoy it. However, it did not help much, so I got some scissors and cut off some of the badly crusted feathers. I had her on her back while I did this. When I put her down she was very dazed and wouldn't move. It was late afternoon, so we just kept an eye on her and she went to roost at night (in their normal spot which is a windowsill) and she was out on the ground and drinking water the next morning so thought all was okay. However, that afternoon she is even more lethargic, tail on the ground, whole body drooped low, never moving, comb is turning purple. She laid an egg today but when we picked it up it broke because the shell was so thin. She has either peed or pooped, I don't even know it is just a small bit of watery fluid and she sits right in it. He rear end is red and looks sore but not impacted as far as I can tell. I mean, there is a hole there and I can see it fine it is not crusty just the feathers around it.
She looked like she is going to die any second so I got the electrolytes, probiotics, and vitamins to put in her water. I also used a syringe to put some apple cider vinegar (diluted 50% w/water) down her throat. I was also advised to try some VetRX underneath her wings, which I did. I put some on her comb too. After all that she is standing a little taller-doesn't look deathly, but very very sick. Tail still down and comb is nearly flat on her head and still purple. Pretty sure she has stopped eating. Have no idea how to check her crop, but it seems to be okay to me I can't feel anything but I am not sure I would know if I did.
I am about to go put some olive oil on her red behind and will probably add a small drop of ACV to it before I do. Will also put some of the electrolyte/probiotic vitamin water down her throat since I cannot tell if she is drinking it. She is inside. BTW I was not able to find any antibiotics and was told now I have to go to a vet to get antibiotics for chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your hen. If a vet is possible, that would be her best chance. Giving her electrolytes and water, would be good. Scrambled egg, watery chicken feed could be offered to her to eat held up to her beak. She could be suffering from the heat, dehydration, or a reproductive problem, such as ascites or an infection. Can you feel of her lower abdomen between her legs to check if it is enlarged or swollen? Since her egg today was thin shelled, could you try to give her some calcium, in a half of a Tums or human calcium tablet? Here is a picture of a full crop, and tell us if hers feels empty and flat, full or puffy, firm, or doughy?
https://the-chicken-chick.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/crop3-1024x900.jpg

 

[Rosegiraffe]

Thank you-oh my gosh her crop is huge. I have always been feeling in the wrong place. I thought that it was more toward the neck. I couldn't see that her crop was enlarged, but when I felt it it is like a huge balloon-full and puffy. I couldn't feel anything on her abdomen, but I am going to try again. How would I administer the calcium. I do not have Tums but I do have a high quality powdered coral calcium. I could put it in the water and then give it to her with a syringe.
Should I give her her electrolyte/vitamin water with the syringe. She wouldn't take the egg, and pooped (runny water with just a couple solid pieces in it) when I tried. She turns away from me when I enter and she is the nice chicken who is always my friend so I know that she does not feel well at all.

 

[Morrigan]

It's hard to say what is going on. Chickens can suffer greatly in the heat, and it is possible that the cold water and various treatments added to her stress. Unless you see some other obvious indication of a problem -- impacted crop or swelling between her legs, I would treat her as I would a hen suffering from heat exhaustion.

If it is still really hot and she is still acting listless, I would bring her inside, out of the heat, and put her in a quiet place, with plain water and some scrambled eggs/mashed with chicken food and see how she does. If she starts improving out of the heat, that would be a good sign, that the hot weather got to her. If she doesn't, it's possible that she has some underlying condition that may be difficult to treat.

If she doing better, and it cools off at night, I would put her back in the coop for the evening, and then collect her in the morning and return her inside for the day. Keep doing this routine for a couple of days, until she looks close to 100%.

I had a chicken nearly die of heat exhaustion a few years back. The reading I did suggested that it may take some time for a chicken to fully recover and they will be very sensitive to hot weather for a while until their internal thermometer returns to normal. In my case, after 3 days of night in the coop/days inside, the weather cooled off a bit and my hen made a full recovery.

 

[Morrigan]

I just read your updated post, while I was typing. A huge, balloon-like crop suggests she may have an sour crop. There are a lot of resources here for treating that, and I would type "sour crop" into the search feature of this forum. The usual approach is to withhold all food and even water for some period of time, so let her crop try to recover. Some have had good luck using yeast treatment products like Monistat.

 

[Rosegiraffe]

She died last night. There were just so many things going wrong and I think that she was just too weak to fight. I do believe that putting her in the cool water while it was so hot outside was a bad idea. That was when things went from bad to deathly. She is buried near her favorite spot in the yard. Thank you for all of the good advice.

 

[Morrigan]

I'm very sorry to hear that she didn't make it. Unfortunately, sometimes things just happen that are beyond are ability to help. I know you were trying to do your best by her.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. It is hard to know what killed her, but don’t beat yourself up about the cold water. She may have been suddenly very sick with infection or something like fatty liver disease that caused a hemorrhage. When I lose a chicken, if I cannot get a professional necropsy by the state vet, I will do one at home to look for any obvious cause of death.