[didsomeonesayellie]

I think my hybrid hen, Parsely, is really ill.
She hasn't had any jabs, and has had a badly healed broken toe in the past (before I got her).
She spends most of her time sitting down, her stools are very white and runny. She's become completely docile - I can leave her standing on the draining board for five minutes and she'll still be there when I get back. I think she's lost some weight too.
She's taken to sleeping on the floor of the coop, and she has always been a bit wheezy when she's breathing, but it's got worse lately.
I'm really worried about her, any idea's about what could be wrong and what I can do? I'm only 16, and my parents are quite against shelling out vets fee's for us to be told there's nothing wrong.
Thank you.

[joyfull]

how old is she?
have you checked her temperature?  Feel under a wing then using the same hand feel under a healthy hens wing.
Is she eating and drinking ok?
Does she still lay eggs? If yes when did she last lay?

[didsomeonesayellie]

We bought her last September, at the same time as two of my healthiest hens. The man we bought them from assured us they were only a year old, but we've begun to suspect that it could have been a fabrication and Parsley is quite a bit older than the rest.
I've seen her drinking recently, but not eating. When I give them all grain, she won't come over and have some, so I'll take some over to her, but she won't eat it.
She's always been an erratic layer, we put this down to her being older, she last layed on Monday the 4th, but she often lays very thin shelled eggs, and regardless of how much calcium and grit I give her, this rarely gets better.
She's not running a temperature compared to the other chickens.
Thank you very much.

[kegs]

Has she been wormed recently, what does her crop feel like (morning and evening) and does her breath smell?

[hillfooter]

Hi ellie.
Sorry to hear about your sick chicken.

Could you describe your chx diet a little more?  What do you feed them and at what times of the day.  Have you been feeding her calcium in the form of limestone flour in her food over a long period for example?  The white runny droppings indicate a possible kidney problem.  Is her comb pale and shrivelled?  What makes you think she is older than one year?  When did she start laying?

Unfortunately they sometimes get sick and there's little that can be done so you may have to be brave about it and accept that they don't live forever.  If you can take her to the vet that would be best but if not is there anyone you know who is an experienced keeper and can look at her.

Best of luck
HF

[didsomeonesayellie]

We give them worm pellets about every 2-3 months.
They all have pellets available all the time in their pen, and sometimes they get cabbage leaves and bread and left over rice and pasta in the afternoons.
I've only ever given them calcium in grit form and we had a calcium and protien enriched food for a while, but the only poultry feed retailer in our area stopped selling that.
Her comb has always been smaller than the other hens, as she's a hybrid I thought that this was just an aspect of the breed, but it's a healthy red.
I've nearly had her a year, and she's been laying since she finished her moult (she started moulting straight after we got her). We were assured when we bought her that she was laying and healthy.
She's not as lively as the rest of the hens, and spends most of her time sitting down, I very rarely see her running, for food or by being chased by the 'head hen'.

My mum suggested that she was egg bound, because she had a lot of the symptoms, so we put her in a nice, warm bath of water for half and hour. While she was in the bath I was feeling for a swollen abdomen (to back up the egg bound theory) and we noticed something that looked like an egg membrane (she sometimes lays shell-less eggs) half way out of her vent. My dad suggested we help by pulling gently on it, but I told him to check by touching it that it wasn't her egg duct and she was having a prolapse. She showed no discomfort or pain when it was touched.
We were able to pull it out, and it was the thickest membrane we'd ever seen! We put her in a box with plenty of straw and a dish of water in the study overnight (its the warmest room) so she could dry and recooperate. She's gone back outside this morning, and seems to be wandering around and scratching about normally.

I suppose that the membrane being stuck in her vent could explain the very small runny stools she was producing, but I don't think it explains the colour or the frothiness, so I'll keep an eye on her, and see what else happens.

I really hope it's not a kidney problem, they sound really serious. Thankyou so much for all your help.

[bantam novice]

laying a "softie" can make a hen feel really under the weather.  I am glad she seems to have perked up 

If you see her behaving "under the weather" again in the next few days you can check her vent again, her abodmen (for swelling) and her temperature (you check this by feeling under the wing of one of your other chickens and then with the same hand under her wing to see if she feels hotter). 

If any egg is left inside hens can develop egg-yolk peritonitis and this needs to be treated with ABs straight away as it can be nasty. 

I hope she continues to improve and that the above suggestions are not required.  Good luck and keep us posted 

[didsomeonesayellie]

In the box I put her in overnight, there were some yellow stools, my mum said it looked like egg yolk and that it was probably related to the egg membrane she passed yesterday. Is it possible that she has egg-yolk peritonitis? Is it very serious? Are there any other signs that I should look out for? :/
Thankyou so much for your help.

[joyfull]

egg peritonisis is very serious - she will need to see a vet as soon as possible. Even if it isn't this she will need antibiotics just in case any infection has set in  . Your vet may prescribe - tylan, baytril, denegard or aureomycin - all of these are broad spectrum antibiotics.

[hillfooter]

Hi Elie,

The membrane you describe is what is called a lash and chx sometime produce these when they are coming to the end of their laying lifecycle.  They have great difficulty passing them and indeed it can cause egg binding.  Now that she's passed that she should be a lot brighter but keep her under observation and should she show further signs of depression, waddling or duck like stance, bloated abdomen or high temperature you should take to see the vet.

It is more than likely that the runny droppings were a result of the lash so I wouldn't worry about kidney problems unless she continues to produce a milky droppings.  There's a chance given what you have told us she has had Infectious Bronchitis as a younger bird which can lead to laying problems, soft and misshapen eggs, reduced production and kidney damage which shows itself in later life.

If she has persistent problems you should consider culling her as she doesn't sound like she is a very healthy individual and the chances of her becoming well and productive are low.  You may well be right that she maybe older than you think.  She is at least into her second year as a layer and most chx are starting to see a drastic drop off in therir third year anyway.  For the time being keep her under observation and at the first signs of further depression or illness see the vet and maybe discuss her future with him/her.

[didsomeonesayellie]

Thank you so much everyone.
She's much better now, perkier and running around with the other hens. Her stools have returned to normal and shes eating and drinking normally.
Her breathing is a lot better, so maybe it was just a passing cold?
She was never very productive, but she's such a friendly, docile bird and I'm pretty sure she's healthy again. Which is a wonderful relief.
Again, thank you all so much.
Ellie

[hillfooter]

Thank you so much everyone.
She's much better now, perkier and running around with the other hens. Her stools have returned to normal and shes eating and drinking normally.
Her breathing is a lot better, so maybe it was just a passing cold?
She was never very productive, but she's such a friendly, docile bird and I'm pretty sure she's healthy again. Which is a wonderful relief.
Again, thank you all so much.
Ellie

Chickens do not catch a common cold she most likely had a stress induced respiratory infection called Mycoplasma Gallisepticum or Chronic Respiratory Disease.  Chronic because she will remain a carrier and future outbreaks can be caused by stress like difficulty in passing and egg, moulting, heat stress or any other infection she pickes up.  The trigger can be apparently quite trivial.  It strikes when her immunity is lower when challenged by any stress.  Don't mix this bird with healthy stock or breed from her.  Commercial breeders would cull such birds as the diseased is very contagious.

[Catsmuvva]

... but the good news is that she has perked up so much in the last fortnight! That's a bonus for both of you. If she had EYP she'd have gone downhill pretty rapidly by now, in fact I'd be surprised if she was still with you. I'm guessing you wouldn't be breeding from her anyway, it sounds like she's just your pet (with the odd bonus of an egg...)

You've done what you can for her and I wish you both well. Don't hesitate to come back to the forum with any problems, there are always folk with plenty of experience happy to help out!