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.