Sullen Hen

[FarmerGirl101]

Hi! I’ve got a hen who looks like she’s sulking and sullen and waddles when she walks. She’s been this way for about a month but I haven’t been home to address it. She’s got a lot of poop around her vent so I’m gonna give her a bath later today to remedy the waddling walk. Her tail is pretty much always down and is puffed up with her head tucked into her leaving her looking like she has a short neck (pretty much the photo I posted).

I’ve got poultry cell and nutridrench that I’ll give her when I bring her in. Is there anything else I can do or give to help her? I have a feeling that she might just be uncomfortable walking with the poop around her vent making her acting this way as I believe I’ve had this happen before (coincidentally with another leghorn).

 

[Bawkbok]

Is she laying eggs? When was the last time she laid? Could she be egg bound? You may want to give her a Calcium Citrate vitamin with D3 if you think she needs help expelling an egg. One vitamin a day for 5 days. Pop it in her mouth, she can swallow it no problem, despite the large size. Buy it wherever vitamins are sold.

What color is her poop?

Have you felt her crop? Is it emptying over night and empty in the morning? How does it feel - hard, soft, squishy?

Does she have any goo in her eyes or nose?

Is she eating and drinking normally?
What does she eat?

Is she interacting with flock mates or off by herself?

I'm sorry she is going through this; she definitely does not feel well by looking at the picture. I hope she recovers.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Neither of my leghorns have resumed laying so I don’t think it’s that. She also started behaving like this before our girls started laying again.

Her poop is normal with no goo in her eyes or nose. She’s been eating and drinking fine. She eats DuMOR Layer Pellets 16% protein and is also free ranging 24/7 but she hasn’t been sratching or digging at all. She doesn’t always follow the flock but will sometimes. She’s mainly in the sun under the lemon tree like in the photo. She doesn’t move away if the flock joins her.

As for the crop, I’m not sure. All my chickens are hard to catch and hate being picked up but they do follow me around which allows me to answer the questions I can determine visually.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Little update. I took her for a bath and her crop was empty and she had a super hard and swollen abdomen. I believe she may have a mass as she is super heavy despite her being a little underweight.

I think I need to look at her quality of life since she doesn’t feel well, waddles everywhere, and doesn’t go with the flock all that much.

 

[Bawkbok]

If her crop is empty you can offer her some scrambled eggs, canned tuna, blueberries to get her to eat.

Her condition sounds exactly like what we are going through with one of our (lead) hens. She wants to but she can't most days. Once she removes herself from the flock or wanting to engage with others, it will be the hard choice. I completely understand your position.

A hard belly could be a reproductive issue, water belly or cancer or who knows what. Difficult to say. Maybe she is just in a funk and will snap out of it, but it's been going on for a while.

The only other question is have you introduced new members to the flock recently?

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like she has a reproductive disorder, probably salpingitis, but hard to know for sure. They can sit around more, and be mopey, have a poor appetite, walk with a wider stance, and be a little lethargic. I would offer her some scrambled egg and mushy wet feed. If she seems to be suffering at some point, it might be kind to put her down. I have had a few linger around, but they seemed to enjoy just hanging out with their flock. Eventually they may get a crop disorder from the pressure inside the abdomen which slows down digestion. They may have messy vents, and I have had some who the flock started to peck or bully. That is when I put them down. When they die I usually open the abdomen and do a brief necropsy to look at the liver, intestines, gizzard, oviduct and anything that looks off. Many post pictures of their finding here for any opinions.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

Yeah, the issue is she doesn’t move very much. She gets out of the coop and run in the mornings but she doesn’t move much if she can.

I don’t think it’s water belly as it’s firm and water belly seems to be soft and squishy. The complete opposite of her abdomen currently.

We introduced new chicks back in August but nothing since.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

They may have messy vents, and I have had some who the flock started to peck or bully. That is when I put them down. When they die I usually open the abdomen and do a brief necropsy to look at the liver, intestines, gizzard, oviduct and anything that looks off. Many post pictures of their finding here for any opinions.

Her vent is definitely messy but no bullying yet. My issue is I can’t gauge if she wants to still be with the flock or not. She gets out of the coop and run in the mornings and will sometimes follow if they are let out in the yard. I do think she may have gotten worse since I was last home.

I think we will end up putting her down unfortunately. I’d rather it be a day too early than a week too late although I fear I may be making this decision a little late. I will post the pictures if I feel comfortable opening her up. As much as I know that death is a natural part of the life cycle, I still get squeamish seeing my dead birds. Also, what are the best and quickest ways to cull a bird? It’s our first time doing so and my dad wants to do the broomstick method but I want to confirm if there is a better way. I don’t want her to suffer.

 

[Eggcessive]

The hard belly is common with salpingitis and egg yolk peritonitis. Internal laying causes masses to form inside the abdomen. Here is a link with a picture of the lash material sometimes found:
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2114e/

 

[FarmerGirl101]

The hard belly is common with salpingitis and egg yolk peritonitis. Internal laying causes masses to form inside the abdomen. Here is a link with a picture of the lash material sometimes found:
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2114e/

Thank you! I’ll use this as reference if I do open her up.