What could be wrong with this hen? With pics

[ChickieKat]

My Black Jersey Giant came out of the coop this morning looking a little more bedraggled than usual. She is missing some feathers on her back from rowdy roosters, but this morning she was moving a bit more slowly and holding her tail at a funny angle. I let it go for an hour or so until my 8 year old came inside and mentioned that she was acting strange.

I went out to give her a good look and realized she was not walking well at all so I brought her in to the bathroom. She now can barely stand and will only flop around a bit. She is bright eyed and is eating and drinking. She is holding her tail very upright and seems to be quivering a bit on her back end.

I was worried that she might be egg bound, but I can't seem to find anything that lists symptoms, only treatment. So far I have given her a warm soak in the sink, put some lube on the outside of her vent, given her a crushed calcium tab mixed with yogurt and I have her a dish of food and water. She isn't any worse, and had only passed one strange looking poop and a couple of tiny runny poops. I have no clue.

Here she is with her tail up:

This is the large strange poop from earlier:

 

[dawg53]

You're going to have to look through her feathers and fluff to thoroughly inspect her for injuries, maybe puncture wounds. Check under wings and lower area on her sides as well. While you're inspecting, keep a look out for lice/mites. Consider purchasing her a chicken saddle and/or separate the roosters away from her.
I might add that I've seen broody's act like your JG hen. Not sure if that's it though.

 

[ChickieKat]

She is definitely not broody. She was once before and was much more lively. I just looked her over much more carefully and no puncture wounds anywhere on her, but I did notice that she won't let me lay her on her left side. She will flop over on her right side no problem, but it seems to hurt her to lay on her left. She can't support her weight either. Her legs and feet look fine and she will grip my finger with her toes, but she just plops down when I try to stand her up. She is still eating and drinking and her vent looks clear. I just have no idea.

 

[dawg53]

She might have some type of injury on her left side, kinda like a bruise on a human. All you can do is give her comfort care and wait for her to heal on her own. As long as she's eating and drinking normally, I'm sure she'll be fine eventually. You can give her buttermilk with scrambled egg mixed in her feed if you wish. Buttermilk is a much better probiotic than yogurt and will build up her immune system. The scrambled egg is extra protein to help build up her strength. Good luck.

 

[ChickieKat]

So she laid an egg late last night and this morning she is looking much worse. She is laying on her side breathing heavily. I am going to try more calcium and lube on her vent and watch her closely for the next few hours. I am home alone with my 2 kids today and really don't want to have to put her down with them present. This is definitely the hardest part of chicken keeping.

 

[dawg53]

I'm sorry to hear this. It sounds like she might have some type of internal injury. Soaking her in a container of warm water up to her sides for about 30 minutes will help relieve pain. What does her feces look like? I dont recommend aspirin in case there's internal bleeding, you would see blood in feces.

 

[ChickieKat]

I started her in Pen G antibiotic in case it is an infection. I also have been trying like crazy to get water into her. She has had a very large poop when I picked her up this morning to look her over again. I sort of rested her belly on my hands to see if she could bear any weight on her legs and she sort of exploded out of her backside.

I also put more lube on her vent in case that was helping at all. I will definitely give her another soak too. She was super limp this morning but seems a bit perkier a few hours later with her 2nd dose of antibiotics, more water and having pooped.

 

[ChickieKat]

She fell right to sleep in the sink. Her breathing sounds a bit better and she doesn't seem to be in distress. After I take her out I am going to crack her egg that she laid last night and if it is normal, I am going to scramble it for her.

 

[ChickieKat]

Well, she is currently inhaling her scrambled egg with a healthy dose of garlic in it. She is gasping a bit in between bites, but she can't seem to get it in fast enough. Hoping this helps. I have to leave her for a few hours, we shall see what this afternoon brings.

 

[dawg53]

Well, that's good news. Warm water soaks are soothing to them and helps with pain. It works for me as well. Scoffing down scrambled egg is great. Even though she laid an egg last night, I hope there isnt any impactation going on. Warm water soaks are good for that as well, helps to expand innards so the egg can move along. Did her poop look normal?