Chicken lethargic, tail feathers pointing straight down-please help!

[tweetzone86]

My 10 month old RIR wasn't showing a lot of interest in apples yesterday where all the rest of my 12 bird flock went nuts, so I thought she was just full. But today my girls got me and she was standing on top of the feed bin with her tail feathers pointing straight to the ground NO interest in the spilled scratch in the shed (others are in a frenzy over it). Picked her up, there's a slight bulge between her legs and her crop looks full, white cloudy watery poop (not 100% positive it's hers but it was on the bin), and when I put her down she just laid under the roost bar.

First flock, please help! Is she egg bound???

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like possible ascites, which can occur in heart failure or liver disease, which can be secondary to internal laying and other reproductive disorders. The crop can be slow to empty due to the abdominal pressure. How does it feel—soft, firm, or tight? That is all just a guess, and if a vet is possible, it would be best.

If the bulge is around the vent, that could be egg binding. Can you insert a finger about an inch inside the vent to feel for a stuck egg? Oviduct cancer could also cause a bulge.

If you could post a picture, it might help to see the lower belly/vent area. White droppings can be uric acid from kidney waste, and might be increased is she is dehydrated or if she cannot poop. Have you seen any normal droppings?

 

[tweetzone86]

It sounds like possible ascites, which can occur in heart failure or liver disease, which can be secondary to internal laying and other reproductive disorders. The crop can be slow to empty due to the abdominal pressure. How does it feel—soft, firm, or tight? That is all just a guess, and if a vet is possible, it would be best.

If the bulge is around the vent, that could be egg binding. Can you insert a finger about an inch inside the vent to feel for a stuck egg? Oviduct cancer could also cause a bulge.

If you could post a picture, it might help to see the lower belly/vent area. White droppings can be uric acid from kidney waste, and might be increased is she is dehydrated or if she cannot poop. Have you seen any normal droppings?

The area on her belly feels spongy, for lack of a better word. Her crop doesn't feel full. I examined her internally and didn't feel an egg.

I'm not sure I can get a picture, but I will try. As to droppings, they all share a big coop so the droppings can belong to anybody. She has some dropping residue on her feathers, and it's green and white and darker mixed together. My friend has a dog kennel she's not using right now I'll ask if I can borrow it to isolate her from the others.

 

[Eggcessive]

Unless she is being picked on you could leave her in the coop with others. But the crate would be okay too. Does she normally lay eggs, and have they been normal? If there is ascites or fluid in the belly, it is yellow in color. You might want to see a vet or try draining her belly with a 16 gauge needle and large syringe from the feed store. There is another condition called a persistent right oviduct that can cause fluid build-up and that fluid would be clear and colorless. Normally, they have only a functioning left oviduct, and if the right one does not atrophy, they may get fluid build up in the belly. Here is a video from YouTube of draining a hen with ascites:

 

[tweetzone86]

Unless she is being picked on you could leave her in the coop with others. But the crate would be okay too. Does she normally lay eggs, and have they been normal? If there is ascites or fluid in the belly, it is yellow in color. You might want to see a vet or try draining her belly with a 16 gauge needle and large syringe from the feed store. There is another condition called a persistent right oviduct that can cause fluid build-up and that fluid would be clear and colorless. Normally, they have only a functioning left oviduct, and if the right one does not atrophy, they may get fluid build up in the belly. Here is a video from YouTube of draining a hen with ascites:

Thanks! I will see if there is a vet in the area. In the meantime, I'm going to isolate her just in case so I don't get the rest of the flock sick.

 

[tweetzone86]

Unless she is being picked on you could leave her in the coop with others. But the crate would be okay too. Does she normally lay eggs, and have they been normal? If there is ascites or fluid in the belly, it is yellow in color. You might want to see a vet or try draining her belly with a 16 gauge needle and large syringe from the feed store. There is another condition called a persistent right oviduct that can cause fluid build-up and that fluid would be clear and colorless. Normally, they have only a functioning left oviduct, and if the right one does not atrophy, they may get fluid build up in the belly. Here is a video from YouTube of draining a hen with ascites:

I have a vet appt for 1 pm tomorrow. In the meantime, since she's not moving around I put her in an open top box with feed (with scratch on top to see if she'd eat-she didn't ) and water and some clean bedding. She was still on the counter in the shed where I left her with water to get on here, and she'd pooped whitish-yellowish water. Looked ALMOST like an uncooked scrambled egg but very watery. I didn't feel an egg when I examined her, but is this still pointing toward egg-bound? She hasn't touched the food or water.

 

[tweetzone86]

Unless she is being picked on you could leave her in the coop with others. But the crate would be okay too. Does she normally lay eggs, and have they been normal? If there is ascites or fluid in the belly, it is yellow in color. You might want to see a vet or try draining her belly with a 16 gauge needle and large syringe from the feed store. There is another condition called a persistent right oviduct that can cause fluid build-up and that fluid would be clear and colorless. Normally, they have only a functioning left oviduct, and if the right one does not atrophy, they may get fluid build up in the belly. Here is a video from YouTube of draining a hen with ascites:

Picture/fecal sample #6 on the abnormal list is identical to her poop. So I'm guessing this may be a bacterial infection. Still going to keep the vet appointment but does anyone know if Tractor Supply may have chicken antibiotics?

 

[palolo]

I just went through that and it was a massive bacterial infection in her oviduct. I haven't got the full necropsy report back yet. I took her in today because I knew she wasn't going to make it and the lab told me they prefer to get them while their still alive. She ended up dying while i was doing the paperwork. I also thought she was egg bound.

 

[tweetzone86]

I just went through that and it was a massive bacterial infection in her oviduct. I haven't got the full necropsy report back yet. I took her in today because I knew she wasn't going to make it and the lab told me they prefer to get them while their still alive. She ended up dying while i was doing the paperwork. I also thought she was egg bound.

Earliest I could get her in was 1 pm tomorrow

 

[palolo]

Hope it's something they can take care of.