Hen Just Standing around, Posture is like a ball

[IvanK]

Hi!
Ok, so as of today I have a visibly ill hen and I've not yet encountered these symptoms (or lack of) before. Here's a breakdown of her behavior and my observations. I'd really prefer not to lose her, so thanks in advance for any help/ideas offered

1) She is on her feet and moves with the flock but is curled up in a ball shape...she looks like a bowling ball on feet.

2) Her neck is constantly tucked in and her tail is horizontal and slightly upward...not as high as the others. She'll close her eyes often.

3) Her crop has been empty all day.

4) I lifted her up and pressed on her abdomen. It was nice and soft. I felt nothing hard. She was notably easy to pick up and offered little resistance.

5) I offered my flock water with ACV for the first time ever hoping she would take some and she did. She also pecked at a little cabbage as well that I offered everyone as a treat...but I wouldn't say she even came close to nourishing herself. Strangely enough, this morning she was only interested in the grit plate I put out. I'm pretty sure she took a lot in.

6) Out of 30, she is the only one with this issue and because I have many hens I can't tell if she is pooping or how it is. That also goes for if she laid an egg today...I couldn't tell.

7 ) The hen is an ISA Brown and about 1 year old.

8 ) Her vent area is clean as are her nostrils and beak area...no debris or mucous.

9) She is not being picked on.

This goes beyond my ability to diagnose. Perhaps this is respiratory? Should I isolate and put her on a cycle of penicillin? Ideas? Thank you kindly.

 

[micstrachan]

Great information.
Can you compare her abdomen to a couple of her flock mates? Soft isn’t necessarily a good thing if it’s soft and squishy like a water balloon. Also, what color is her comb? Has it paled recentky? A ln actual photo of her body language would be helpful. Can you have a look at her vent and see if it looks at all messy ir irritated? Finally, can you tell if she’s been dropping feathers at all?

 

[IvanK]

Great information.
Can you compare her abdomen to a couple of her flock mates? Soft isn’t necessarily a good thing if it’s soft and squishy like a water balloon. Also, what color is her comb? Has it paled recentky? A ln actual photo of her body language would be helpful. Can you have a look at her vent and see if it looks at all messy ir irritated? Finally, can you tell if she’s been dropping feathers at all?

I need to go shut the barn down for the day so I'll see if I can get her off the roost. If not I'll follow up tomorrow after I have a chance to examine her vent more thoroughly and compare her abdomen to other hens.
I can tell you that her feathers are great and I did check her comb...bright red. I checked for external parasites and all clear. I've attached a pic that I took this morning. Not sure if it helps you. She's bunched up like that constantly with her eyes closed a lot of the time. Thanks!

 

[micstrachan]

Sorry, just realized you already said her vent is clean. I assume you would have noticed if it were red or swollen. Poor thing definitely doesn’t feel well based on the photo and your post. The fact that she did not resist being handled makes me lean toward a digestive or reproductive issue vs starting to molt. Can you have a fecal float performed on her poop? Most vets can do this even if they don’t treat chickens.
Is your grit actual grit made from granite or other hard stone and not oyster shell or coral? The fact that she wanted some might help diagnose her. While we try to figure this out, can you put vitamins and electrolytes in her water? I think you might want to bring her indoors and provide a warm, dark, quiet area while you sort this out. Could help her chances for recovery. Good job noticing she was off and coming here for help!

 

[IvanK]

Sorry, just realized you already said her vent is clean. I assume you woukd have noticed if it were red or swollen. Poor thing definitely doesn’t feel well based on the photo and your post. The fact that she did not resist being handled makes me lean toward a digestive or reproductive issue vs starting to molt. Can you have a fecal float performed on her poop? Most vets can do this even if they don’t treat chickens.
Is your grit actual grit made from granite or other hard stone and not oyster shell or coral? The fact that she wanted some might help diagnose her. While we try to figure this out, can you put vitamins and electrolytes in her water? I think you might want to bring her indoors and provide a warm, dark, quiet area while you sort this out. Could help her chances for recovery. Good job noticing she was off and coming here for help!

Thanks for your help! Yes, this is a head scratcher for me.
She was way back on the roost and there's no way I could get to her tonight. I'll look her over again in the morning just to be sure and perhaps something will be more obvious as this develops.
Perhaps worth mentioning is that some of her flock mates did begin to molt a few weeks ago but I haven't noticed her losing any feathers...
Up where we are it is -41 C (-41.8 F) She is always kept in a heated barn to wait out the worst of the winter days...so she's comfortable temp-wise.
The grit available here is something that looks like small white rocks which is supposed to provide calcium as well. It's what everyone uses so I assume it works with no ill effects. My flock also has sand baths and they peck at that as well.
The only thing that I have on hand is something called super booster which is a vitamin and antibiotic premix. I may isolate her in the morning and give her this to see how she responds. The blend claims to stimulate appetite and promote health/vigor while preventing or treating CRD and other illnesses. It can't hurt IMO. I hate using antibiotics but if my child was sick, I'd do the same. At the very least, the vitamins will help her and isolation will let me get a look at her poo.
Thanks again for your help. I'll follow up when I have more information

 

[micstrachan]

If she was going for the calcium grit (likely coral) she may be egg bound, possibly with a soft shelled egg. If she developes a penguin stance, this will be more likely. If she is egg bound, you will need to act fairly quickly. You need to know if she’s pooping. Do you know when she laid her last egg? When you closed the barn, how did she look? Can you go back out and see if there is fresh poop under her roosting spot? If not, please check first thing in the morning. Not being able to poop would kill her.
Another reason to go for grit would be a crop issue, but you said it’s empty, right?

 

[micstrachan]

I should also mention that I would recommend a grit without calcium with a calcium grit or oyster shell separately. That way each chicken can take what her individual needs are at the time. Grit is needed for digestion and calcium is needed to form egg shells. Extra calcium isn’t always needed, and excess can be hard on their organs.
I sincerely hope we are able to help you help this little sweetie.

 

[IvanK]

Hi! Just following up after a long day.
She's still got the same posture going on BUT I did see her eat a little of her feed and drink her acv water so I held off on medicating her for now. Her abdomen feels fine compared to the others and I confirmed that her vent area is fine. I also sourced some crushed rock (granite etc) for grit and put it out.
This morning under her roosting spot there was a mess. There were other hens there so it's hard to say what's hers. There was a big "what the heck" moment when in that mess I spotted an egg. So either she dropped it while roosting or another hen had an accident.
If this was her, perhaps she's having trouble passing her eggs routinely? She's definitely not 100% but seeing her eat and drink seems like a baby step in the right direction. If she couldn't pass her poop I think she'd be a lot worse and half dead by now. From my experience, it's a pretty fast fade when that happens.
Tomorrow's going to finally be a nice day and the flock will be outside if they choose. I'll see how she responds...my hope is that she won't just sit around but go play with the others. I'll update when I have something new.

 

[micstrachan]

This is good news that she ate and drank. I think outside time will be great for her! By “mess,” you mean poop and not feathers, right? I still think it would be worthwhile to bring her in at least for a bit so you can monitor her poop and eggs. I had a sick hen after a few “oops” eggs under the roost and she rapidly declined, ending up with egg yolk peritonitis. Something went totally haywire with her reproductive system very quickly. I’m not suggesting this is what your hen has, but the egg under the roost could be a big clue. I think you may need more help than I can offer, so I’m going to call in a few helpful folks since no one else chimed in yet.
@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @casportpony @rebrascora @TwoCrows @azygous

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

Was the egg you found in the mess under her roosting spot a normal egg with a hard shell or a soft or shell less egg? The latter take a lot of effort for hens to lay and it really takes it out of them. That hunched posture with a rounded back is an indication that she is straining.
What do you normally feed them....main feed as well as treats?