Very concerned now!!! Updated with video in 3rd post. 2 yo sex link hunched and can't get on roost

[Eggcessive]

If you do cull or lose her, if possible I would get a necropsy by your state vet to get a diagnosis. Sometimes new information comes out which can help us understand what happened. If you can’t get one, then think about doing a cursory necropsy at home to look at organs. Take pictures to post if possible. This link has state vet and poultry labs contact info:
http://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm

 

[Deltabwa]

Ours is 6 hrs away so I was planning on doing it myself. Last time I took a video and posted it in the necropsy thread so figured I would do the same again.

 

[Deltabwa]

I just went to check on her, and she's over eating with everybody else. Her tail is higher but not fully up and it's leaning towards the left though, but she ran over to me and her crop feels full. I was going to give her a warmer, I thought I had safeguards for the pigs, but I only have the ivermectin for the horses. So I'll pick some up tonight and give her some. And see what happens I guess.

 

[Nambroth]

It sounds like there is no one local to do a fecal float for you for parasites, so if the wormer does seem to perk her up, you might consider worming the rest of the flock too. A pain this time of year when they are starting to lay again, I know!!
Hoping the best for her. I'm sad that her breed/genetics are so against her. My red sex link/golden comet hen was such a good girl, it's sad what we have done to them.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

I am very sad to say that my older rescue hen is succumbing to death right now for some reason similar to this. 3 days ago I was digging in the garden, and 3 of my hens were by my side ready to grab any bug they could find while I dug. She is always one of those 3, loves to get the easy meal. She was perfectly fine that day, and ate a number of worms and probably some other bugs. 24 hours later is when I noticed her crop was squishy and full. I have treated sour crop successfully with 2 other hens in the past, so I immediately made my home remedy and gave it to her after emptying the crop. I was hopeful it would work. The next day she was still standing, but always right at the water dish and kept dipping her beak for water continuously throughout the day. She filled her crop with water, and it didn't seem to go down, so I assisted in emptying it again. I gave her 2 rounds of my home remedy, and even put a drop of pure essential oil on her back to help provide medicine to any "...itis" in her system. But last night she wasn't able to get up on the roost and was not recovering or digesting, so I felt this morning would be an undesirable discovery of a lifeless body. Indeed, she was about 99% dead when I opened the shed. She is so very gone that I could barely get a muscular response from her. There is nothing I can do for her at this point - water is not moving down apparently so she starved for 2 days, and couldn't even hydrate when she drank. I considered her one of my favorites - she always liked following me in the garden, and had an unusual liking of grooming the other chickens heads and faces. I am just amazed that within 2 days a hen can be fine, eating bugs, and a day later be on her way to death! It clearly is the worms - she ate more than her digestion could handle and something must have gotten blocked and there were probably too many pathogens within the worms for her system to handle, starting a bacterial infection. What a horrible way to go. I feel bad she has suffered this way! I was hoping she would recover, but even so, I am not capable of culling anything... I instead always try to save any living thing, and then hope for the best. She is laying peacefully to complete her death, which as of this a.m. was already 99% along. Sad day. When I lose a hen, it makes me feel like I should rehome them all... death is overwhelming for me to handle. :'(

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Performing a necropsy may be good to find out a possible cause of death. Take pictures of organs and what is found for any help. Crop problems frequently are a result of other problems, such as internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am very sad to say that my older rescue hen is succumbing to death right now for some reason similar to this. 3 days ago I was digging in the garden, and 3 of my hens were by my side ready to grab any bug they could find while I dug. She is always one of those 3, loves to get the easy meal. She was perfectly fine that day, and ate a number of worms and probably some other bugs. 24 hours later is when I noticed her crop was squishy and full. I have treated sour crop successfully with 2 other hens in the past, so I immediately made my home remedy and gave it to her after emptying the crop. I was hopeful it would work. The next day she was still standing, but always right at the water dish and kept dipping her beak for water continuously throughout the day. She filled her crop with water, and it didn't seem to go down, so I assisted in emptying it again. I gave her 2 rounds of my home remedy, and even put a drop of pure essential oil on her back to help provide medicine to any "...itis" in her system. But last night she wasn't able to get up on the roost and was not recovering or digesting, so I felt this morning would be an undesirable discovery of a lifeless body. Indeed, she was about 99% dead when I opened the shed. She is so very gone that I could barely get a muscular response from her. There is nothing I can do for her at this point - water is not moving down apparently so she starved for 2 days, and couldn't even hydrate when she drank. I considered her one of my favorites - she always liked following me in the garden, and had an unusual liking of grooming the other chickens heads and faces. I am just amazed that within 2 days a hen can be fine, eating bugs, and a day later be on her way to death! It clearly is the worms - she ate more than her digestion could handle and something must have gotten blocked and there were probably too many pathogens within the worms for her system to handle, starting a bacterial infection. What a horrible way to go. I feel bad she has suffered this way! I was hoping she would recover, but even so, I am not capable of culling anything... I instead always try to save any living thing, and then hope for the best. She is laying peacefully to complete her death, which as of this a.m. was already 99% along. Sad day. When I lose a hen, it makes me feel like I should rehome them all... death is overwhelming for me to handle. :'(

I'm very sorry to hear about your hen

Personally, out of kindness and mercy, I would end her suffering. It's always hard to lose a favorite.

Without a necropsy or further investigation, there is no way to know for sure what has caused the crop to back up. Older hens can have inflammation, infection, cancer or egg masses that can eventually block the intestines. Internal parasites and Coccidiosis are also a common cause of crop problems.
Refrigerating and sending her body to your state lab is a good way to get more information or if you are up to it, perform an informal investigation yourself looking in the crop, gizzard and inside the body cavity along with internal and reproductive organs.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

If I had some way of euthanizing her on my own, I'd do that to help end her suffering. But, chopping off heads is something that disturbs me deeply... for any living thing. It feels so very, very wrong in my heart and soul... heads are so personal, in fact, really they are the location of our personality. Removing a head from a living animal, or human (since it talks about such things in history, and even in the future in ancient texts), is the most insulting and vile thing that can be done to some 'one'. Just my opinion and feeling. But this hen went to bed last night with enough life that I still had hope, even minimal hope, and this morning was 98-99% gone, so I lost the chance to end her suffering either way. She was unresponsive this morning; coma toast, so she already moved past the point of feeling her suffering, which is both good, and bad, because either way I would have loved to do more to keep her alive! Her deformed beak (having been clipped by some idiot way back in her chick days) was her most adorable feature! I will miss that!! About necrospy.... well, I could probably handle doing that myself, maybe...
:'(

 

[Nambroth]

Poor girl. So sorry for her passing. Given her genetics (rescue production hen), without a necropsy, I will guess that the had a reproductive illness that slowly took her from you. It's the most common cause of death in production layers over 1.5 years old. These ailments frequently slow or even stop the digestive tract over time as you experienced. I don't think it was the worms she ate.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

Poor girl. So sorry for her passing. Given her genetics (rescue production hen), without a necropsy, I will guess that the had a reproductive illness that slowly took her from you. It's the most common cause of death in production layers over 1.5 years old. These ailments frequently slow or even stop the digestive tract over time as you experienced. I don't think it was the worms she ate.

The first night of her illness, I was happy that next morning that she was still up on the roost and had not fallen. Below her in the litter was a soft egg, but she roosted next to another older girl who I have suspected was the one dropping the soft eggs, so I can't say even now that I was suspicious this rescue hen had any issues prior to eating bugs 4 days ago. She was always otherwise healthy appearing, and I never knew how often she laid an egg but was sure it was on occasion. I went out just a while ago to see if she finished passing, or had a miraculous (literally) recovery... well, she is cold and stiff now... I am so bummed! I seriously loved her flawed face... that beak was something else, but oh so cute with her tongue sticking out and fetching food off other hens faces!!

Thanks everyone!