Sick chicken and I'm inexperienced, please help?

[Nikki90]

Hello, I have a sick chicken who is basically just standing still in my yard most of the day puffed up. Her comb and face have turned really pale and she isn't eating or drinking much but will if you put it in front of her for a little.ive checked her for mites/lice I don't see anything and I checked her poop I don't see any worms? She has no discharge from her eyes or anything and her breathing seems fine. She's been this way for about a week. All my other chickens are doing fine? I've put electrolytes in their water to see if that would help but doesn't seem to be working. Any help would be appreciated, I am very new and don't know much about chicken ailments. Thank you for reading

 

[azygous]

She may be suffering from egg binding. Given the few clues, runny poop, behavior, and recent laying history, it would match up.

I suggest installing her in a pet crate on several old absorbent towels in a dim, quiet place. Provide her regular feed and water with a little sugar in it to elevate her glucose. Most important, give her a calcium citrate tablet directly in her beak. This will stimulate contractions to help expel the egg. Tomorrow give her another tablet if she still habn't passed the egg. There could be two eggs involved. Her behavior will change suddenly back to normal once the egg(s) are expelled.

This is what to buy.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The crop (in front) is where food is stored temporarily. Sometimes called, colloquially, the "craw." Food is digested in the proventiculus and gizzard, aka the equivalent of the stomach. Grit in the gizzard grinds grain and seeds, because chickens don't have teeth. You should always provide a separate bowl or dish of crushed granite grit for your chickens for this reason. Also, in another vessel, crushed oyster shell, for making strong egg shells. Only laying hens will eat that. Forgive me if you already know some of this.

 

[azygous]

Giving calcium to a hen is like giving her food or water. She needs these things regardless of her current health crisis, so no harm will be done if calcium isn't one of her issues. If it is, calcium can save her life if she is experiencing a deficiency. Calcium is needed for bones and feathers and making egg shells, but it's also crucial to keep her heart beating.

Just this past week we had a hen that was egg bound die immediately after resolving an egg binding episode. In such cases, a calcium deficiency can cause the egg binding, but all the available blood calcium goes to making a shell so the egg can be expelled while none is left to keep the heart working. Early intervention with calcium is simple, safe, and may save a life, preventing a heart attack in the hen struggling with the stuck egg.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

No dumb questions here, if you don't know, ask. Just feel her chest. Do it now and you'll feel a lumpy area, probably on her right side, that feels like a pocket full of food. That's what it is. She will digest that during the night. When you feel it in the morning it should feel flat. Let me see if I can find a diagram.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

unfamiliar and new to all of this sorry. I feel like I'm coming off as a dumb a**...

Please don't feel like that! We were all newbies once. Everybody has to learn and this is the BEST place to do that. There are so many people here with years of experience, training and research, and all they want to do is help people like you and their feather babies. That's why BYC exists, so ask away! Everyone is here to help.

 

[Nikki90]

I live in South Carolina and got them from tractor supply when they were a few days old. They are now almost 3 years, they were labeled as easter eggers but that's a guess. I have 6 hens and a rooster. No compost pile, yes they free range and her poop was a little runny but wasnt much of it. She laid and egg about 5 days ago, a few days after she was showing weird signs. They were normal eggs. She laid I think 3 while she was acting funny. Thank you

 

[Nikki90]

She may be suffering from egg binding. Given the few clues, runny poop, behavior, and recent laying history, it would match up.

I suggest installing her in a pet crate on several old absorbent towels in a dim, quiet place. Provide her regular feed and water with a little sugar in it to elevate her glucose. Most important, give her a calcium citrate tablet directly in her beak. This will stimulate contractions to help expel the egg. Tomorrow give her another tablet if she still habn't passed the egg. There could be two eggs involved. Her behavior will change suddenly back to normal once the egg(s) are expelled.

This is what to buy. View attachment 3798675

Thank you for your reply! I will go to the store in a few minutes. I'm just wondering if that isn't what's wrong with her, if it would hurt her more by giving it to her? Obviously doing something is better than nothing though. Her comb has also been a little purple on the ends. Here is a pic of her now I also didn't add that she has trouble getting on/off the roost lately....I have to come out in the morning and get her down

 

[Nikki90]

Sorry to hear about your bird. If you are able to, separating her can make it easier to treat her.

Is she eating much?

She is pecking at food once in a while but unsure how much she's actually eating. I am separating her tonight

 

[Nikki90]

Her crop looks pretty engorged, not abnormal for this time of evening. Can you put her in a crate over night and check her crop in the morning before she eats or drinks anything and report back whether it is empty (flat).

Yes, I have her in a cat carrier in my laundry room tonight. It might sound like a dumb question but how would I tell if her crop is empty in the morning..? Or full?