Common chicken illness?

  • 5 Replies
  • 41766 Views
*

zygchicks

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Location: USA
  • 2
Common chicken illness?
« on: June 22, 2006, 12:49 »
Hi all,
I have a question...maybe, someone can help.

One of our chickens, a white Plymouth Rock, suddenly started looking
lethargic and strange yesterday. She'd stand alone away from the flock,  eyes closing, tail down and then snap out of it for few minutes and then resume the same behavior. When offered fresh water, she'd drink a large quantity. Although when my husband picked her up to exam her backside, liquid came out of her beak. She, also, makes a gurgling sound.

I've been researching the web and books but I'm looking for other members who've had similar experiences with their chickens. Is this a common illness and could she die from it? Right now, she's isolated from the rest of the flock. If she recovers, should we still let her back into the hen house?
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
zygchicks

*

hermon

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Location: Brecon, Wales
  • 539
Common chicken illness?
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2006, 13:11 »
water does come back out when they have drunk, wings and tail down are a sign of feeling unwell,has she laided recently? have you checked her crop in the morning it should be empty also if her breath smells bad thats not good. make sure she doesn't get attacked as when they are ill and away from the flock they are picked on. practicalpoultry website has some good help on the forum (can i do that?)

*

becky

  • Experienced Member
  • ***
  • Location: devon
  • 118
    • http://chickentopia.blogspot.com/
Common chicken illness?
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2006, 13:56 »
Hi there, sorry to but in with the conversation. Does your chicken smell a bit funny, did the liquid smell a bit funny? Pick her up and feel her crop, if it is squishy, it could be sour crop, and i had a chook die from this because i hadnt realised what it was! They get sour crop from eating too much long grass, i think the long grass bungs up the crop and starts to ferment, like silage, in the crop. Has she been like it for long? If she hasn't been like it for long, try giving her some natural yoghurt ( one of the ones with the good bacteria in), it may clear it up. Try looking at www.countrysmallholding.com, they have a good forum for poultry. Good luck.
Peas out!

*

zygchicks

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Location: USA
  • 2
Common chicken illness?
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2006, 16:55 »
Hi and thanks for the advice.

To update: We put the Plymouth Rock into isolation for 2 days with plenty of water and food. By the second day, she was back to her old self...alert and peppy. I noticed her tail end was still a bit dirty (she's a white chicken) and but her tail was up. So we kept her in the pen for the day without the other chickens around to bother her. As of today, she's back to her normal healthy ways. Research leads to egg binding or some intestinal bug. The other chickens appear fine, as well.

zygchicks

*

hermon

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Location: Brecon, Wales
  • 539
Common chicken illness?
« Reply #4 on: July 01, 2006, 10:02 »
becky, does sour crop always smell from their beak? i had a hen that was offish for a week then she had a bad day saturday and i found her dead sunday morning, i felt her crop it was squishy but no smell from her mouth. i 'm going to be so upset if it could have been avoided i loved her to bits :cry:

*

becky

  • Experienced Member
  • ***
  • Location: devon
  • 118
    • http://chickentopia.blogspot.com/
Common chicken illness?
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2006, 22:12 »
Hi there, Yes, the smell comes from the beak, like a bad breath sort of smell, because of the fermentation of the grass in the crop, along with bacteria growing in there. I was totally gutted when my bird died because of it, and felt totally that I had let her down. But with recolection, she was a bad bird from day one, only laying 2 eggs, that were off within the shell, which should have been an indicator that something else was wrong, but I ignored it thinking she would sort herself out. I think I had just bought a duffer, and chose to learn from the experience. There are lots of things that hens die from, it might not have been sour crop, look on http://wiki.thepoultrykeeper.co.uk , it has some usefull info!
  Glad the "rock" is ok though!!!



xx
chicken illness

Started by ptucker on The Hen House

3 Replies
1713 Views
Last post June 06, 2010, 18:37
by ptucker
question
Chicken Illness

Started by Lyn on The Hen House

1 Replies
1700 Views
Last post July 18, 2010, 17:08
by carolbriar
xx
Chicken Illness

Started by Le Coq on The Hen House

0 Replies
3289 Views
Last post September 30, 2006, 07:53
by Le Coq
sad
Illness - Please Help

Started by propermanor on The Hen House

1 Replies
1787 Views
Last post February 24, 2011, 14:12
by joyfull
 

Page created in 0.235 seconds with 40 queries.

Powered by SMFPacks Social Login Mod
Powered by SMFPacks SEO Pro Mod |