Chicken looks lethargic, Is her poop abnormal?

Amazing_chicks27

In the Brooder
May 13, 2024
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This morning I found one of my hens in the roosting house. I noticed that her feces was a bit runny. She is slow to react, her left eye burly reacts when an object gets close. I watched her for a bit and noticed she was hurdled up, moved slowly, has a pale tongue, and doesn't want to drink water. She ate a little bit of food but doesn't really want to drink. I want to get a clue on what she has based on her feces. Can the feces give me a clue on what my be going on? And is the feces shown in the pictures bad?
 

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How old is she? Is she showing any signs of molt? Do you know when she last laid? I can't zoom in on any of the pictures to get a closer look, which might help. I do see one dropping that appears to have some intestinal shed in it...
Dropping1a.jpg

That is sometimes a sign of intestinal irritation, could be from internal parasites, or other causes like eating something different.
Internal parasites can also cause runny droppings. She does look pale, so I wonder about molt as well, molt can make them feel bad sometimes and they may not eat or drink well. I can't see any pin feathers in the pictures, but sometimes they molt so gradually that it's hard to see. Look her over well for any pin feathers coming in, under wings, around vent, etc. At the same time, check for any signs of mite/lice.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/
If you have a vet that will do a fecal test for you, that would help to know if there are any parasites, or if it may be something else. If you cannot get a fecal done, then I would probably worm her, if she were mine. You can use Safeguard liquid goat wormer, or Safeguard Equine paste, dose would be .23 ml per pound of body weight, once a day for 5 days in a row.
Worms are usually not seen in droppings, the fecal test looks for the eggs, which are microscopic.
I would also check her body condition in general, how is her weight, is the breast well muscled, or is the keel bone very prominent.
 
How old is she? Is she showing any signs of molt? Do you know when she last laid? I can't zoom in on any of the pictures to get a closer look, which might help. I do see one dropping that appears to have some intestinal shed in it...
View attachment 3994412
That is sometimes a sign of intestinal irritation, could be from internal parasites, or other causes like eating something different.
Internal parasites can also cause runny droppings. She does look pale, so I wonder about molt as well, molt can make them feel bad sometimes and they may not eat or drink well. I can't see any pin feathers in the pictures, but sometimes they molt so gradually that it's hard to see. Look her over well for any pin feathers coming in, under wings, around vent, etc. At the same time, check for any signs of mite/lice.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/poultry-lice-and-mites-identification/
If you have a vet that will do a fecal test for you, that would help to know if there are any parasites, or if it may be something else. If you cannot get a fecal done, then I would probably worm her, if she were mine. You can use Safeguard liquid goat wormer, or Safeguard Equine paste, dose would be .23 ml per pound of body weight, once a day for 5 days in a row.
Worms are usually not seen in droppings, the fecal test looks for the eggs, which are microscopic.
I would also check her body condition in general, how is her weight, is the breast well muscled, or is the keel bone very prominent.
I a not sure but I believe that she is 2 years old, she isn't too old. I believe she already went through the molting process. It seems like she doesn't have any pin feathers. She is a bit light weight and the breast is not well muscled. Her feces doesn't seem to good.

1st pic - 8:56 am
2nd pic - 8:57 am
3rd pic - 10:40 am
 

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Those three pictures, the droppings definitely look more abnormal than the first group of pictures. Do you know when she last laid? How long have you had her? Have you brought in any new birds recently?
How does her abdomen feel, below the vent, between the legs? I'm going to tag a couple other members as well, to see what they think.
@Wyorp Rock , @Eggcessive
 
Is this the same hen with the lump in her neck?https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/bump-above-my-hens-crop.1646087/

I agree, the droppings do not look very good.
Answering the questions previously asked would be helpful.

If she normally lays eggs and hasn't, then I'd start giving her Extra Calcium once daily for a few days. (At least 300mg Calcium Citrate+D3).

Deworming is something to consider doing.
 

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