Would love some help! Chicken is hunched, not eating as usual, yellow urates/watery poop....??

[FlockinAround]

**WARNING POOP PICS**

Hi our 6.5 month old Lav Orp isn't acting like herself today- she's standing hunched during free range time and not eating like normal. I brough over half a zucchini and some black oil sun flower seeds for a treat and she did eat some but not the usual appetite. She's drinking water. Her crop looks puffed in the pic but does not feel full. Vent is pulsating and looks clear, she laid an egg yesterday, nothing today but she sometimes skips a day and we have only had chickens since they were hatched in April so I'm VERY new to all of this. I don't feel anything hard around her back end. Her comb is a little more floppy than usual too. It's hot today- about 80 and very dry. She pooped the more solid poop first then the second more watery one about 15 min later. Any idea what could be making her feel crappy and what I can do to help her? Electrolytes in the water? TYSM.

 

[azygous]

If we knew your location, it could offer important clues.

Has she been eating any greens? Or has her appetite been severely curtailed for several days?

Could she have gotten into anything toxic? Mold, insecticide, picking up grit under leaking machinery?

Have any of her eggs ever been shell-less?

Has she ever been wormed?

The best time to check a crop for possible issues is first thing in the morning before the chicken eats or drinks anything. The crop should be flat and empty. If not, try to distinguish what the crop feels like - soft and squishy, hard and lumpy, full of liquid like a water balloon.

 

[FlockinAround]

If we knew your location, it could offer important clues.

Has she been eating any greens? Or has her appetite been severely curtailed for several days?

Could she have gotten into anything toxic? Mold, insecticide, picking up grit under leaking machinery?

Have any of her eggs ever been shell-less?

Has she ever been wormed?

The best time to check a crop for possible issues is first thing in the morning before the chicken eats or drinks anything. The crop should be flat and empty. If not, try to distinguish what the crop feels like - soft and squishy, hard and lumpy, full of liquid like a water balloon.

thank you so much for your reply- I'm near Los Angeles, coastal Southern California- it was like 45 degrees last night which is pretty darn cold for us and then about 80 all day today and very dry, much more so than usual. Her appetite seemed totally normal yesterday and I only noticed today when I got the sunflower seeds out to give them as treats she didn't chomp em as voraciously as usual.
She has been eating greens- the grass in our yard, same as always, no food or routines changed- and nothing toxic anywhere around she could have gotten into- it's a suburban backyard and we have young kids and dogs so we're pretty careful about everything out there.
All her eggs have been good and she laid one after I first posted this and it looks totally normal, she lays pretty much daily.
She's never been wormed.
After she laid the egg she came out and ate a bunch but still doesn't seem like her usual self to me (and to the kids). crop felt very empty this afternoon when I was feeling it, but will 100% check back in the morning! I really appreciate you taking the time to reply and ask questions that will help me find answers!!

 

[azygous]

Chickens are very sensitive to temperature swings, especially when it swings from cold to hot. Two summers ago, one of my younger hens walked up to me and collapsed at my feet. It had been almost exactly the kind of two day temperature spread that you just had. Thankfully, I recognized what was going on and swept her up and treated her with electrolytes immediately, and within two hours she was behaving normally again.

It's possible your hen could be suffering a touch of hyperthermia, and giving her electrolytes with added sugar could bring her out of this. I used tepid Gatoraid and added a teaspoon of sugar to it to get her glucose jacked back up. This does no harm whatsoever if we're not right about this being climate related. Since she's not going unconscious as my hen was just about to be, I would wait until after you examine her crop in the morning. If she has a full, squishy crop, it could be turning yeasty, and sugar would be the last thing you'd want to give her.

Here's more information about crop disorders so you can be more informed as to what to look for. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

The green poop is not the type of green that indicates starvation. Eating grass does cause that color in the poop. But the poop is still a little "off", though not off enough to point in a solid direction. We talk about poop in 90% of these threads, so no need to be shy about it. Poop offers important clues when behavior is also off.

Do you have other animals, especially dogs that poop in the same areas that the chickens roam? If so, it may be a good idea to put your chickens on a twice a year worming schedule.