Re: Sick Hen - please help

Chris wrote:
Hi there,

One of our ex-battery hens is looking a bit sick, she is moving quite
slowly, wings drooping and tail lowered. She has done this several
times before and I assumed she was egg bound, funny thing is i've
never managed to get her to pass an egg but she has always recovered
after a few days.
I've just felt around and under her vent and its far harder to the
touch than the other hens - some sort of pressure down there.

Surely if she was egg bound she would not recover as she has done in
the past without passing eggs. Any ideas what it might be and ways to
help her?
Thanks in advance,

Chris (in the UK)

Cancerous tumours are common in these birds, as is egg peritonitis [a
cracked egg inside]
;(

Is she passing anything?
Is she eating and drinking?
What condition is her comb?

If you can afford it, you might try the vet to see if a more anatomically
knowledgeable pair of hands can help you. At least you get an opinion on
the bird from first hand experience.

--

regards
Jill Bowis

Pure bred utility chickens and ducks
Housing; Equipment, Books, Videos, Gifts
Herbaceous; Herb and Alpine nursery
Working Holidays in Scotland
http://www.kintaline.co.uk

Jill,

Thanks for that.

She has had an episode similar to this several times over the last few
months - I have been treating it as if she was egg bound, not seen any eggs
etc passed but the hen just seemed to recover (i.e. back to normal). Most
recently she looked quite poorly, I thought I was going to loose her.

This time round i'm not sure about droppings as yet, i'll check in the
morning where she is roosting. Last time round she was passing watery dark
green and white droppings from memory - at least definitely not solid and
quite unlike normal. But they did return to normal when she recovered.
Nothing egg like though.

She is still eating and drinking but not with the usual vigour you would
expect.

Comb is quite firm but last time turned a little darker than normal and
possibly a little shrunken (dehydration?)

I noticed this time how bulbous her abdomen looks and how firm it is
compared to our other healthy hens.
I was thinking about the possibility of tumours but if that were the case I
wouldn't expect her to 'recover'?

I have also done a little internal exam with a latex glove and some oil to
make things easier, I couldn't feel any obstructions of any kind at least
most of the length of my little finger! She didn't complain too much about
it either so it couldn't have been painful.

Yes I think our local vet may be the best option - although they don't seem
that knowledgeable about hens.

Chris.


.

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