Young hen exhibiting "puffed up" appearance, no other symptoms

[TwoJacks]

Hello all - we have a young (I'm guessing 18mo to 2yrs old) Columbian Wyandotte hen we got from a commercial farm a few months ago. She came with three others hens, all were in pretty tough shape (they'd be cannibalizing each other's tails, were underweight, one had vent gleet, just obviously had been really stressed and none were laying.) This Wyandotte in particular had a puffy appearance even back then, but she gained weight, her feathers came back, she ate and drank and seemed quite content and then started laying again about 6 weeks ago.

However, she's maintained a droopy-tailed, puffy appearance since we brought her home. It's more apparent now because she grew back actual tail feathers.

She's been dewormed and otherwise seems in good health. She's very, very mild-tempered and always has been and seems content except for this hunched up, droopy, puffy posture.

She stopped laying suddenly about ten days ago. I've palpated her but she's not egg bound. She continues to eat and drink well. It's bitterly cold in Vermont right now and because we don't know what's wrong with her we brought her into the house for the next few days until the temperature evens out so we can keep an eye on her. Everyone else in the flock seems healthy and happy.

I believe this posture is a general "unwell" or pain posture in hens, but because we can't pinpoint any other symptoms I am not sure what to do for her.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Can we get a picture? How inactive is she? Does she walk normally?

 

[sdm111]

May want to give her a round of corid. It's for coccidiosis. Search it.

 

[TwoJacks]

Yes, walks normally. She's been a bit more inactive lately since she stopped laying.

 

[Razzlefrazzle]

Yes, walks normally. She's been a bit more inactive lately since she stopped laying.

She looks pretty good in the picture to me, though I can't really see what it going on with her tail feathers. Does her vent and rear look clean and normal? No swelling or squishiness in her belly or lumps around the vent area?

As long as she is eating and drinking normally and still moving about with the flock I wouldn't worry too much about her. It's not unusual for hens to take a break after laying for a month especially in the winter.

 

[TwoJacks]

That's the thing, she's really not. She's mostly staying up on the perch lately, the other hens are far more active than she is. Haven't seen her eat or drink much since we brought her inside last night. Now that we've got her isolated we can see her manure isn't terribly well formed: greenish, kind of mucus-y.

Her vent is clean and looks fine. I bathed her bum last night and she does feel a bit lighter to me.

I'll treat everyone for coccodiosis.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello all - we have a young (I'm guessing 18mo to 2yrs old) Columbian Wyandotte hen we got from a commercial farm a few months ago. She came with three others hens, all were in pretty tough shape (they'd be cannibalizing each other's tails, were underweight, one had vent gleet, just obviously had been really stressed and none were laying.) This Wyandotte in particular had a puffy appearance even back then, but she gained weight, her feathers came back, she ate and drank and seemed quite content and then started laying again about 6 weeks ago.

However, she's maintained a droopy-tailed, puffy appearance since we brought her home. It's more apparent now because she grew back actual tail feathers.

She's been dewormed and otherwise seems in good health. She's very, very mild-tempered and always has been and seems content except for this hunched up, droopy, puffy posture.

She stopped laying suddenly about ten days ago. I've palpated her but she's not egg bound. She continues to eat and drink well. It's bitterly cold in Vermont right now and because we don't know what's wrong with her we brought her into the house for the next few days until the temperature evens out so we can keep an eye on her. Everyone else in the flock seems healthy and happy.

I believe this posture is a general "unwell" or pain posture in hens, but because we can't pinpoint any other symptoms I am not sure what to do for her.

What did you deworm with, the dose and duration?

You mention "young hen" from a commercial farm...egg farm or?

Her stance still says she doesn't feel very well. Do look her over to see if you see signs of molting (pin feathers coming in), if you don't, then the sudden stop of laying is a bit of a concern.
Photos of the poop would be good.
I'd treat for Coccidiosis, but I'd also give her extra Calcium for 3-5 days. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 at stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Just pull down on her wattles to open her beak, pop the tablet in and let her swallow.

Re-check for lice/mites and see that her crop is emptying overnight.


Corid liquid dose is 2tsp or Corid Powder is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given as the sole source of drinking water for 5-7 days. Don't add any extra vitamins or supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) to their food or water during the course of treatment.

 

[TwoJacks]

What did you deworm with, the dose and duration?

You mention "young hen" from a commercial farm...egg farm or?

Her stance still says she doesn't feel very well. Do look her over to see if you see signs of molting (pin feathers coming in), if you don't, then the sudden stop of laying is a bit of a concern.
Photos of the poop would be good.
I'd treat for Coccidiosis, but I'd also give her extra Calcium for 3-5 days. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 at stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Just pull down on her wattles to open her beak, pop the tablet in and let her swallow.

Re-check for lice/mites and see that her crop is emptying overnight.


Corid liquid dose is 2tsp or Corid Powder is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given as the sole source of drinking water for 5-7 days. Don't add any extra vitamins or supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) to their food or water during the course of treatment.

Deformed with fenbendazole about 1mo ago, just one round. We actually had to treat the whole flock for winter mites at the beginning of January, so I can confirm that's not an issue.

I'll see if I can get a photo of her manure and check out the calcium supplementation. She's started on Corid as of this afternoon. I don't see signs of molting.

 

[TwoJacks]

What did you deworm with, the dose and duration?

You mention "young hen" from a commercial farm...egg farm or?

Her stance still says she doesn't feel very well. Do look her over to see if you see signs of molting (pin feathers coming in), if you don't, then the sudden stop of laying is a bit of a concern.
Photos of the poop would be good.
I'd treat for Coccidiosis, but I'd also give her extra Calcium for 3-5 days. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 at stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Just pull down on her wattles to open her beak, pop the tablet in and let her swallow.

Re-check for lice/mites and see that her crop is emptying overnight.


Corid liquid dose is 2tsp or Corid Powder is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given as the sole source of drinking water for 5-7 days. Don't add any extra vitamins or supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) to their food or water during the course of treatment.

And yes, she was from a local farm - I say commercial because they sell eggs but not a huge operation. They were thinning their flock because many birds weren't laying enough to meet production needs, which wasn't surprising given the state of health they came to us in.

 

[TwoJacks]

Her poo from earlier today. She is not eating much or drinking much while inside right now.