Sick hen, tail and rear end tucked under with low energy

[Toulouse-Lautrec]

My hen has been sick for 4 days now. Her tail and rear end is tucked under or "droopy" and she isn`t really moving (walks like a penguin) but really only sitting there. She layed an egg on the first day of her sickness, so I do not believe she is egg bound. She isn`t eating her regular layer feed, only certain food items that I feed her such as: cooked eggs, Japanese beetles, tomatoes and berries. She`s drinking a little bit but not too much. I`ve been giving her warm baths every day and giving her some electrolytes, but she`s still acting the same. She also appears to be very hot under her abdomen as if she was "sweating".
Can anybody help me?

 

[ReseisCL16]

Unfortunately, I have seen birds in this position before, usually just before they die. It sounds like something is seriously wrong, but chickens are somewhat dedicate animals and sometimes things can just go wrong in their bodies and there's no way to treat them. Is she having dihearea?

All that to say, miracles to happen. I for one have had a couple. For the rest of your flock's safety, you should quarantine her (I've used dog crates in the past). Feeding her scrambled eggs like you've been doing is great and the electrolytes are awesome too. Just do your best. I hope she gets better!

 

[rebrascora]

My guess would be that she has a reproductive problem. How old is she? If she laid a normal egg as recently as the first day of her sickness my guess would be that she probably has a soft shelled egg in her system that is proving hard to pass. They can be very hard on hens and often happen at this time of year as their system winds down into moult. Unfortunately not eating her layer feed means that she may not be getting the one thing that will help.... calcium. I would give her a direct calcium supplement..... a human calcium tablet crumbled over some scrambled egg or broken up and coated in peanut butter and a good soak in a warm Epsom Salts bath..... water should not be too deep that she cannot keep her feet on the bottom as that will panic her and do not leave her unattended whilst soaking in case she collapses and drowns. A darkened steamy room usually helps them to relax. Gently massage her abdomen and vent if she is comfortable for you to do that.
Another possibility is ascites which will make her abdomen feel like a water balloon. This can be caused by a number of ailments. It can be drained to give her some relief but will return as there is an underlying issue that causes it. If you think this is what it is, I can post a link to a really good video that shows you how to drain it.

 

[Toulouse-Lautrec]

Thank you for the replies! I had a hunch she might not be getting enough calcium, so I`ll try that today (crushed up Tums in her food) along with another Epsom salt bath.
I THINK she might have ascites, like you said, since I noticed today that she has a red/pink soft belly, which I believe might be the cause of her "penguin" walk and limited movements. If I find any other symptoms I`ll let you know.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi again.

This is the video I mentioned....

 

[Toulouse-Lautrec]

Thank you for the video. Unfortunaltely, my beloved chicken has died during the night. The last symptoms I noticed were: diarrhea (yellow and green), pale face (on the last two days) and had difficulty breathing (on the last day). Her body temperature was also very hot last night before I put her to bed. She didn`t have any bumps and her abdomen didn`t feel like a water balloon, so I`m not sure what is was. She didn`t walk at all yesterday so I had to pick her up and place her around the yard. However, she still ate the bugs I fed her and drank water, which gave me hope. But at least she is no longer suffering...

 

[snow5164]

I’m so sorry for your loss,
I have learned to quickly remove those that aren’t acting “ normal”, I have a few dog crates with food dishes and a perch ready .

It seems if they are going to die it happens fast , poop is the indicator of poop health .

Sorry , but I’m glad she didn’t suffer

 

[rebrascora]

I'm so sorry.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Bear hugs!!!!

 

[Toulouse-Lautrec]

I’m so sorry for your loss,
I have learned to quickly remove those that aren’t acting “ normal”, I have a few dog crates with food dishes and a perch ready .

It seems if they are going to die it happens fast , poop is the indicator of poop health .

Sorry , but I’m glad she didn’t suffer

Thank you for the advice. She had been sick for one week exactly, and I know she was hurting during this time. I was very hopeful that she would recover, that`s why I didn`t want to make a decision too soon. However, I`m glad she was sick for only one week and not longer. This is a learning process for me, and maybe I`ll act more quickly if this ever happens again.