Lethargic hen, won't eat, white messy bottom

[terrishaver]

Brownie has had a messy bottom for a couple weeks now and I thought was just a bout with diarrhea....but now, yesterday and today, has become slow, lethargic and won't eat.
Is there an general purpose antibiotic I can give her? I tried giving her yogurt and cottage cheese, but she won't eat. I don't want my other hens to get sick too and we just introduced 13 tiny chicks into the roost this week too.
What can I do? She's 2 and has always been very healthy.
Thanks so much for any suggestions you might have.

 

[BoomChickaPop]

A dirty butt is a BAD sign. That means she is sick. Can she walk?
You need to separate her from the rest to be safe. Does she have a full crop?

BCP

 

[terrishaver]

She's had the messy butt for a couple weeks, but just yesterday showed any signs of behavior change. She's moving slower, like won't run like the rest for treats and tends to keep to herself more. Sleeping in nesting box instead of on roost.
I'm going to try to clean it up and make sure something isn't obvious on her bottom.
Guess I don't know what you mean by full crop?

 

[BoomChickaPop]

Full crop is the ball under their neck. if it feels nice and round then she has eaten. if it is empty then she isn't eating and you have a problem


BCP

 

[terrishaver]

Just cleaned off her bottom. Huge hunk of dried feces, caked on her bottom. No obvious sores. Lost many bottom feathers in the cleanup, but she looks much better. Now, how do I tell if she's egg bound. She just felt FULL and firm on her bottom side. What do I do next??'

 

[BoomChickaPop]

Is she palpating? I don't know much about egg bound hens sorry.
But you can give her a warm bath to help if she is egg bound.
Here is a good link to look at if she is egg bound

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=egg+bound

BCP

 

[EmsJ]

Is she palpating? I don't know much about egg bound hens sorry.
But you can give her a warm bath to help if she is egg bound.
Here is a good link to look at if she is egg bound

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=egg+bound

BCP

Ah so sorry to hear this. My little one is the same today slow not laying and a tiny bit of white mess around her bum. Her coup is full but just not herself. The others don’t like me touching her as if they know she is not well.

 

[AChickenBoi]

A really old post, but my hens that showed these signs ended up having fluid in their abdomens and were diagnosed with having egg yolk peritonitis. It’s sadly not something that goes away on its own, and will eventually take her life :C. I made my girls more comfortable in their last months the best I could. They also happened to be around 2-3 years old when they passed.