Hey chicken Linda was acting lethargic and not eating and I noticed she has a big swollen bottom. I took her in and have been giving her Epsom salt baths cause I thought she was egg bound but now I’m second guessing. Any advice helps!!! Thank you
It looks like she has been feather picked. She could be doing it herself or others have done it due to bullying or overcrowding. Does her lower belly seem more enlarged than your other hens? When it is bare it can look larger, but may be normal. If it is enlarged, she might have a reproductive problem (salpingitis) or water belly (ascites.) Does it feel solid or squishy? Is she able to poop normally? If a stuck egg is suspected, a human calcium tablet with vitamin d can be given orally. Usually an egg bound hen cannot pass droppings. Is her crop emptying overnight, or is it full and firm or squishy? What do her droppings look like? What do you feed her? Is she eating? Be sure to look her skin over for evidence of lice or mites.
We give her laying pellets from our local feed store along with oyster shells on the side for them to pick at. She hasn’t eaten today unfortunately. She has what I think is white poop coming out, but she keeps closing her eyes and looking lethargic. She was in the nesting box when I found her yesterday but seemed lethargic. I went back about a hour later and she was still in there so that’s when I gave her the salt bath and brought her inside. She felt squishy, I can check the crop.
What felt squishy, her crop or her lower belly? If she hasn’t eaten all day and her crop is squishy, it could be a sign of sour crop. Does she breath smell bad?If you can buy some miconazole or Monistat cream, that can be given orally in case of sour crop. Here ia good article by azygous about crop disorders: https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/