What's wrong with her?

[FreeChicken!]

Blanca, my small, two-year-old, White Leghorn hen, was under the coop, standing around with her feathers fluffed up. She's been very slow lately and, while she's normally enthusiastic about food, she hardly seemed to notice when I fed everyone this morning. I finally got her out from under the coop and looked at her. Her backside is all... squashy, yet hard. Do you know what I mean? It's sort of squashy, but harder than usual. And big. Like it's full of fluid. And her feathers back there are all gross and messy and she smells bad. Worse than usual. Like... rotting stuff, almost. And her waste is runny and she only expels it in small amounts. What's wrong with her?

 

[Lothiriel]

One of my hens had the exact same symptoms to a T a couple weeks ago. The only possibility I could think of was worms, so I gave her 2 cloves of garlic (cut up in small pieces and I made her eat them). It took a couple days, but she has now improved greatly. It's worth a try. And while you're at it, it might be a good idea to dose all your birds, just in case, and even if they don't have worms it won't hurt. I gave 1 clove to the others.

 

[FreeChicken!]

Okay, I'll try that and let you know how it goes. Thanks.

 

[FreeChicken!]

Hm... Blanca's gotten way worse. I'm getting pretty scared.
She can barely move and her breast bone is sticking out weirdly.
I got worm medicine for her, but I'm wondering if maybe something else is wrong with her too.