Please Help!! What is wrong with this chicken - inactive, lethargic

[Bawkbok]

She is a 6 month old EE - quit laying three weeks ago when weather turned extremely hot. (they both did). She was acting fine three days ago but has since progressively been less active. Today, she is just laying around, eyes closed, head hanging low, she quickly reacts when I approach but makes no attempt to move away. Her vent is clean, I check it daily. She does have sticky white / yellow gooey poop and I clean her back feathers 2-3 times a day for the last two days. She is drinking water, but not eating much. She does not have bumble foot, her eyes, nose and mouth are all clean, I cannot find any sign of mites or injury. What would cause a hen to suddenly become disinterested in life? She is not foraging at all. The other hen is acting, eating, drinking as normal. They are on a high quality organic layer feed with minimal treats, but those are also high quality (Grumbly's). they are free access to grit and oyster shells at all times. She did take a few bites of watermelon today, their water is changed 3-4x daily to keep it fresh. I have no idea what to do or what is wrong. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm sorry these pics are so large. I'm new here and still trying to figure things out from a tech perspective.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Dita Orlik]

Hi. I also have sick chicken, vet gave me some reddish fluid to give her one cc twice a day to make her hungry. She had been sick for a month and a half. Before someone tells you what's wrong, try cook meat, boiled meat, plain and cereal or whatever you can smash with milk. My chicken will never refuse when I catch flys or milk with tiny little pieces of food in it. I guess that's why she's still alive to fight whatever she has. She has to eat. The vet had no clue. Worms you would see and coccidiosis if you feed her, she might beat it without medication. I didn't give anything to my chicken because I have no diagnosis so I don't want to give her antibiotics. Force feed her with the fluids few time a day. Good luck to both of us!

 

[ChicNmom]

OP, How does her crop feel? If she's not eating it should be empty.

Try some hard boiled egg or make a mash out of chicken feed to see if she will eat it.

Do you think she is drinking enough or might be dehydrated? Maybe try some chick electrolytes. You may have to put it up to her beak or use a dropper to drop it over the tip of her beak to get her interested.


How hot is it now? Could you put her in a cooler area? I have a fan going in my coop right now.

I'd try that first. The white yellow gooey poop sounds a little like a reproductive issue. If her crop is doughy that would be another clue. But with the heat I would get more fluids and food in her to see if that changes.

It couldn't hurt to give her some calcium. I use calcium citrate with vitamin D. I get the outside of the pill wet and then pry their beak open and pop it in.

 

[Bawkbok]

It is very hot here, been in the mid 90s every day with triple digit heat indexes. We have a small box fan running all day, which when in the run, they lay in front of. If it's windy, we turn that off. Her crop is empty and I have been adding durvet brand vitamins with electrolytes to the water. it contains 9,000 IU of D3 but no calcium so I will get some calcium citrate with D. Do you give that every day?
I've offered milk, they show no interest - but the flies do. They are picky eaters, they won't eat berries of any kind, no bread, apples only occasionally, lettuce sometimes. I will try to get some milk into her with an eye dropper.

 

[Bawkbok]

They are in shade most of the time, they get sun by choice when free ranging. We also put a canopy over the coop to provide additional shade. I get concerned they don't get enough sun but they choose to not be in the sun when they are out. She hides under shrubs and bushes.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Maybe she has vent gleet? But, even with vent gleet she'd still be pretty active. Has it been rainy and wet at all? If so, she may need treated for coccidiosis with Corid. You would need to treat your whole flock.

Her crop is empty? So, she's not eating? Is she drinking? I'd add some nutri-drench to her water. If she's not drinking on her own, you will have to put some in her beak. But, you need to be careful about aspirating her. Look up how to tube feed and photos that show the birds trachea (which you want to avoid when giving liquids).

She needs isolated in a crate with food and water to see if she will eat. If needed, you can make a mash with water and feed. But, don't bother with the milk that's not going to help a chicken. You can try some scrambled eggs. See if you can get her to eat.

Have you checked her roost at night with a flashlight to see if there are mites? Some are only visible at night. If you take a paper towel and wipe it across the bottom of the roost, you will see a smear of red if there are mites.

Also, do you only have 1 other chicken? How many are in the flock?

 

[Bawkbok]

I started treating the water today with Corid, more out of desperation than anything else. I have not seen her eat or drink. I forced her out of the run to see what she would do; she quickly found a spot under shrubs to lay down where she stayed for two hours. When the auto door opened it took them both over an hour to come out - very unusual. Our one other hen is behaving fine, eating and drinking normally. I saw her poop this morning and it is a "pretty" yellow color and runny, the consistency of water. I had to clean her butt feathers again this morning. I tried the scrambled eggs, neither hen will eat them. Next I will boil some chicken breast and see if she will eat that. I will force feed some water. It has been very hot and dry here until yesterday, we received a trace of rain, enough to make it more miserable. It has been mostly cloudy with a slight breeze the last three days so minimal sun. They are on dry ground. I have not checked the roost at night for mites and will do that. Thank you for the suggestion. I will have to research vent gleet; I don't know what that is. Her vent looks clean, despite the diarrhea. Is it ok to put other things (nutri-drench) in the water with the Corid?
Thank you for the response and suggestions. I feel helpless to help her at this point.

 

[ChicNmom]

I would give the calcium for a few days.


If she goes too long without food she will stop feeling hungry as her body will digest her fat and muscle. I have force fed scrambled egg to really sick chickens. It usually works to get them to want to eat something. It's not pleasant but also not hard. Especially if the chicken is weak.

I just put the chicken in my lap, use a thumb nail (left hand) to open the beak and then use that thumb and index finger to keep the beak open a little. Be ready with the right hand to shove a blob of egg in. I do that a few times and then offer more to eat. If they don't eat on their own I do it again. I figure at that point I don't have anything to lose.

I'm not sure if they can taste the Corid in the water. I would be a little concerned that they would stop drinking the water if it tastes bad.

Here are some things I have tried that worked best even if they aren't ideal chicken food:

Canned cat food, I usually use beef flavor but nearly any will work.

Plain Yogurt

Cooked oatmeal ( I just use instant with warm tap water)

Cooked hamburger

Watermelon

White Bread/ white bread soaked in water

I have also gathered insects from the garden that they like to eat. Sometimes that will get their attention.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Corid treated water should just be corid don't add anything else. They should only have corid treated water and no other water offered until treatment is over.

The yellow poo is concerning. Is your other hen laying at all? Can you palpitate her abdomen for an egg that might be stuck? I'd say a warm bath, but it could put her in shock at this point. She also doesn't have the typical egg bound stance. But, it kind of sounds like egg yolk peritonitis where she would need antibiotics. She really needs isolated to a dark and quiet area away from any other animals and maybe even put in a little cooler area depending on your temps she could be too hot.
You might have to tube feed. Be careful with forcing water so that she doesn't aspirate.

Also, you probably need to direct dose any meds and not rely on her to drink on her own at this point.

Has she been wormed recently?
I'm not sure if you're able, but it might be time to seek a vet.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Can you take a picture of her poo? Is it foamy or just runny? If foamy, consider to deworm. Here's a good article about it: https://the-chicken-chick.com/control-treatment-of-worms-in-chickens/
Does her belly feel normal or full of fluid? Is her crop full at morning?