chicken with diarrhea won’t walk! Help

[Alby Farms]

Chia is an almost 3 year old hen. She has inflamed scales on her feet and legs in some areas. But it doesn’t look like scaly leg mites. We found her laying in the middle of the yard unable to walk 3 days ago. I immediately isolated her from the rest of my flock. She could only waddle and from past experiences, I thought she may have been egg bound. She stopped laying eggs about 5 days ago but I didn’t think much of it. Convinced she was egg bound, I gave her a warm bath and did everything I knew to treat it. She has now stopped waddling and can stand again, so I quit trying to treat egg binding because she wasn’t exhibiting any more symptoms. She now has green watery diarrhea and while she can stand now, she still won’t walk but a few steps. Her feathers below her vent are extremely dirty from poop. I have one other chicken with a slight case of diarrhea right now, but it seems to be going away. I have no idea what could have caused this. I put vitamins and probiotic in her water and she is eating and drinking well and seems very alert. There is only one poultry vet in my area and she does not have a good reputation and is very expensive. If possible, I would like to be able to treat Chia at home, but if it comes down to it, I am willing to take her to the vet. (My chickens live in a run and are let out into the yard for a lot of the day).

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you please post photos of her, the legs/feet/bottom of feet, the vent and poop?
Thank you.



Give her extra calcium like 1 Calcium Citrate tablet daily, see that her crop is emptying.
Look her over for lice/mites. If her vent is dirty, then she may need a good cleanup.

When was the last time you dewormed and with what?

 

[Alby Farms]

I haven’t dewormed her super recently. The two pictures of poop on the blue towel happened about three minutes apart which is super confusing

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does she have any swelling of the foot or scabs on the bottom of her foot?

I'd work on hydration and her eating her normal feed. Get some calcium into her. If she's not lethargic, then giving her a soak in a warm epsom salts bath may be helpful.

 

[Tiffhill01]

Did you ever figure out what was wrong with her? I have lost 1 a few months ago with these same symptoms. Now I have another one doing the exact and thing. I can't figure out what it is, or how to treat it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Did you ever figure out what was wrong with her? I have lost 1 a few months ago with these same symptoms. Now I have another one doing the exact and thing. I can't figure out what it is, or how to treat it.

Welcome To BYC

The one that is now acting off - when was her last egg?
Getting Calcium into them can often help if they are having trouble expelling an egg.

If you happen to lose her in a short period of time, getting a necropsy would give you answers. You can find your state lab here https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Tiffhill01]

She laid two days ago but I don't think she is egg bound. They have egg shell and oyster shell in their run. I soaked her in a tub of warm water to clean her, but she's still sick today. Worse even. She hobbles around and uses her wings for balance. There's no sign of respiratory symptoms but this is exactly like what happened to my hen a few months ago. I desperately need to find out what's going on so I can treat she prevent this from happening again.
Thanks for your reply. Any information is appreciated.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Extra Calcium can help them expel material like lash eggs, membranes, etc. She may not be "egg bound" but she may be having trouble expelling some material if she's been having troubles laying an egg.

It's not uncommon for laying hens to have reproductive issues like EYP, Salpingitis, Cancer, etc. which can cause similar symptoms like you are seeing. She may be suffering from one of those.

A lot of times it's hard to know what's happening, so treating symptoms is sometimes the best you can do. Make sure the crop is emptying, look for lice/mites, deworm, treat for infection if you suspect it.
If you lose her, then having a necropsy through your state lab will give you the best information as to the cause of decline. This information can let you know if treatment can be given or if any changes need to be made. If you can't get necropsy through your lab, then doing your own informal investigation can often reveal the cause of the symptoms you see.