Chicken is lethargic with foamy, light yellow poop. Any ideas?

[ChicknTendr]

Hello. My golden comet hen (almost 2 years old) has been acting strange for a few days. She hasn’t been moving around much, has her head tucked in, seems puffed out, and keeps closing her eyes. I have four other hens who all seem fine. Normally, the five of them free range my backyard most of the day, but there’s been heavy snow and ice on the ground recently so they’ve stayed in the run/coop. I’m not sure if she caught some disease or infection while being cooped up so much recently. She usually lays an egg almost every day, but hasn’t now for about a week, besides a fairy egg roughly 4 days ago that I believe was hers. I’ve looked at a lot of resources online and my best guess is she has an issue with her crop, potentially sour crop. I brought her inside the house yesterday evening and gave her some water with electrolytes. She’s been drinking regularly but hasn’t had much to eat besides a bit of regular feed this morning. I’ll attach photos of her and her poop (which does have a sour smell). Yesterday, her crop felt like a water balloon, while today it feels smaller. If it is sour crop, what else should I do besides massage her crop and put apple cider vinegar in her water? Or does this seem like a different issue (like internal laying), and how should I proceed? I’m worried about her and haven’t had any sick hens until now, so any insights would be appreciated.

 

[OrpingtonManiac]

Has she been wormed recently?
The yellow poop and not laying eggs makes me think of some kind of reproductive issue, but someone much more experienced will hopefully know more.
@Eggcessive and @Wyorp Rock

 

[ChicknTendr]

Has she been wormed recently?
The yellow poop and not laying eggs makes me think of some kind of reproductive issue, but someone much more experienced will hopefully know more.
@Eggcessive and @Wyorp Rock

I treated my entire flock for worms last summer after suspecting one of my hens (not this golden comet) may have had them. Everything was fine after a week of treatment.

 

[KellyJonDon]

Hello. My golden comet hen (almost 2 years old) has been acting strange for a few days. She hasn’t been moving around much, has her head tucked in, seems puffed out, and keeps closing her eyes. I have four other hens who all seem fine. Normally, the five of them free range my backyard most of the day, but there’s been heavy snow and ice on the ground recently so they’ve stayed in the run/coop. I’m not sure if she caught some disease or infection while being cooped up so much recently. She usually lays an egg almost every day, but hasn’t now for about a week, besides a fairy egg roughly 4 days ago that I believe was hers. I’ve looked at a lot of resources online and my best guess is she has an issue with her crop, potentially sour crop. I brought her inside the house yesterday evening and gave her some water with electrolytes. She’s been drinking regularly but hasn’t had much to eat besides a bit of regular feed this morning. I’ll attach photos of her and her poop (which does have a sour smell). Yesterday, her crop felt like a water balloon, while today it feels smaller. If it is sour crop, what else should I do besides massage her crop and put apple cider vinegar in her water? Or does this seem like a different issue (like internal laying), and how should I proceed? I’m worried about her and haven’t had any sick hens until now, so any insights would be appreciated.

This sounds like it might be Coccidiosis.

 

[ChicknTendr]

Thanks for the replies so far. I should clarify that my flock was treated for coccidiosis last summer with amprolium. I was under the impression that it’s the same as worms, but I’m realizing now that’s not the case.

My golden comet’s crop feels like a water balloon again. She’s still drinking water but I’m unsure if I should offer her food in case it is sour crop (since advice I saw online said they should fast for a bit, if possible). If it is a reproductive issue, are there any ways I could confirm it? I’m attaching another photo of her poop since occasionally it looks like this, but most of the time it’s just the yellow, foamy liquid.

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow urates in the poop may be from bile and reproductive infection or water belly. I would offer fluids and water feed. Does she normally lay eggs? Can you check the crop early in the morning to see if it has emptied overnight? If not, let us know how it feels. Is her tail held up or down? Does she have any enlargement of her lower belly under the vent that could be fluid? What are you feeding her?

 

[ChicknTendr]

The yellow urates in the poop may be from bile and reproductive infection or water belly. I would offer fluids and water feed. Does she normally lay eggs? Can you check the crop early in the morning to see if it has emptied overnight? If not, let us know how it feels. Is her tail held up or down? Does she have any enlargement of her lower belly under the vent that could be fluid? What are you feeding her?

She’s had lots of fluid today and a little bit of scrambled eggs. Usually she lays an egg every day but recently it’s been about one every other day, probably due to the weather. However, she hasn’t laid an egg in about a week besides that fairy egg I mentioned. I’m going to check her crop again in the morning but right now it feels like a sizable water balloon. I’ve been massaging it and it seems to be helping. She’s a bit more active than she was earlier, and her poop is becoming less yellow and more brown, although still mushy. Her tail is being held up; I haven’t seen her leaning back at all. I didn’t feel anything abnormal on her lower belly yesterday, but I will check again tomorrow.

I’m fairly certain she has sour crop, but I know it could be the side effect of another issue. For now, she seems to be doing okay.

 

[Brahmas Beauty Homestead]

She’s had lots of fluid today and a little bit of scrambled eggs. Usually she lays an egg every day but recently it’s been about one every other day, probably due to the weather. However, she hasn’t laid an egg in about a week besides that fairy egg I mentioned. I’m going to check her crop again in the morning but right now it feels like a sizable water balloon. I’ve been massaging it and it seems to be helping. She’s a bit more active than she was earlier, and her poop is becoming less yellow and more brown, although still mushy. Her tail is being held up; I haven’t seen her leaning back at all. I didn’t feel anything abnormal on her lower belly yesterday, but I will check again tomorrow.

I’m fairly certain she has sour crop, but I know it could be the side effect of another issue. For now, she seems to be doing okay.

This water balloon feel you get is sour crop. I would bring her in withhold the feed give her some plain Greek yogurt and miconazole vaginal yeast infection cream in her mouth about 1/2 inch of it out of the tube, not the suppository the cream in a tube. Give her only Greek yogurt for 24 hours and the medicine by mouth twice a day and slightly massage her crop after a day off the feed. Don’t ever tilt her over to make the fluid come out unless life threatening because she could aspirate. Hopefully after 24 hours and the medication 2-3 times you feel the crop has decreased. If it has decreased then add a tiny bit of scrambled egg to the yogurt and see if it will also digest. If it does then give her more egg in the yogurt for 24 hours again now your on day 2 continue the medication. If on day three her crop feels almost normal or is emptying on its own you can add some ostmeal to the egg and yogurt continue the medication. So by now it should be working as normal. If it is then slowly introduce the feed again. You can give her a little table spoon of mash you make with gbe feed and see if in a hour it has digested and not stayed in the crop. If at any point the crop stops again then go back to the day you previously was on in the feeding like Tony bit of egg and yogurt only then continue forward again . If no improvement at all then a vet might have to call in some antibiotics for the yeast infection. It has always worked for who ever I have given it to, always keep fresh clean water in front of her even a tiny bit of ACV or garlic in the water could help, if you have some sav a chic probiotic powder sprinkle a tiny bit on her yogurt. Water balloon feel is the determining factor here.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@ChicknTendr can you give an update on your hen? Thanks!