Holly is poorly

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One of our hens has been poorly for a couple of months. She has an abnormal posture, more like a penguin than a hen, with her bottom drooping and her head hunched. We thought she had diarrhea, but the vet said she was OK. She has been treated for worms, and even had antibiotics (Métoxyl) in case of coccidiosis. All to no avail, and her bottom is sore and needs bathing, and she is losing feathers. But she eats and waddles (slowly) around, but can't get on her perch at night.
Any advice very welcome - we are new to this. One of our hens died two days ago - we think it was the effort involved in laying a (large) egg. Is there anything we can do to avoid this? Our hens are quite young, about 8 months old.
 
Hi Bidoshens,

These sound like they are having some laying related problems - are they high production hybrids? If so, you are more likely to see problems like this - they can also lay huge eggs from time to time that are great for us but a real eye watering experience for them!

For the sick hen - If she is swollen around the abdomen, there is a possibility she has Peritonitis - this can be caused by an egg breaking inside or getting stuck. You don't always see it but as the infection starts, the back end can swell up and drag on the floor and goes bald and then gets sore as it is dragged around.

There was a post from another user on the forum that described this in a Runner Duck: http://poultrykeeperforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=645&p=2577&hilit=peritonitis#p2577

An extract:

"The vet did a post mortem & found a whole unshelled, but in tact egg, literally 'poached' in the peritoneum. It hadn't ruptured at all, even the yolk was unbroken, and it was sitting in over a litre of fluid, obviously warmed by body temperature, and became a poached egg!
He explained that as the egg is normally moved along by backwards & forwards peristalsis type movement, the backwards movement is sometimes stronger and this causes the egg to be pulled back and dropped into the peritoneum. It is usually when the egg is in the top 25% of the duct, and is at that point unshelled."

As I'm sure you appreciate, it is hard to say if this is the problem though but would fit in with your description.

For the hen that died - Did she have blood around the back end? If so, it could be prolapse where part of the oviduct has come out during laying. They get the back end pecked out quickly by other chickens unless you find them really quickly.
 
Thanks for all these helpful comments. I now attach a picture - and the diagnosis seems likely - she began to be poorly just when the other hens started laying. Is there anything we can do, or a vet could do (apart from the obvious)?
Not sure what type they are - the chicken farmer we bought them from described them simply as black ('noir') and two of the others are all black, but the one who died was browner, and Holly is in-between.
No, the hen that died (Lulu) had been perfectly healthy, and there was no sign of blood at all - and she was found lying on the egg, having died v. recently. We think it must have been a heart attack.
I don't think we are over-feeding them (layers' pellets and a few kitchen scraps) - they scratch happily around the garden during the day. But maybe this is just one of the risks.
On a brighter note, we do have six chicks ( 3 black, 3 yellow including a stripey one)from eggs we put in an incubator during the period we were administering antibiotics to the hens, and these seem to be doing well.
Thanks again for your help.
 

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Poor Holly-looks very uncomfortable. If the vet cant help is it worth getting her looked at by the man you got her from? If he breeds and sells them he has probably seen most things? Does her crop always stick out like that -- if so ? impacted crop Ros
 
Whenever any of mine are ill I bring them inside and keep them by the aga where it is very warm - they seem to respond very well to warmth - and give them vitamin supplements. You could try the guardian angel formula from the birdcare comapny - http://www.birdcareco.com/ - it is for sick or stressed birds and has probiotics/vitamins/minerals etc. IT has always done the trick for mine. Best of luck and I really hope she gets better.
 
What is the plant she's sitting amongst? Just wondered as it looks like watercress in the picture-but I am looking on a tiny screen! IF it is watercress ?poss. Liver fluke? Ros
 
It's clover! No, I took her to the vet yesterday afternoon - I think it is peritonitis, with an egg stuck and surrounding fluid etc. The vet couldn't reach the egg or help remove it, so we have got some antibiotics to help with the infection. She also advised massages to see if we can help ease the egg out. But I am pessimistic about this. We will try the antibiotics (Baytril) for a few days and see if this helps...Her crop is not impacted, just a bit saggy in the pic., it's the angle.
We could try to see the chicken man but he only comes to the market occasionally when he has an order.
No Aga here I am afraid! But it has been sunny and warm here this week.
 
Hi again,

Yes, I would go for Peritonitis looking at her posture (easy to say after the vet said it hey?!)

They can draw off the fluid sometimes - however the antibiotics are required to halt the infection.

Your 'Noir' is a Bovans Nera hybrid by the look of things. This is a Rhode Island Red X Plymouth Barred Rock. The most famous of these crosses is called a Black Rock in the UK but to call them that, they have to be from Muirfield Hatchery (trade name) and from their parent strains. These are usually very hardy birds and they can lay lots of eggs. Plymouth Barred Rocks in France are normally Amrocks since loads of these were brought to Europe by the Americans after WW2 mind you. They are sex-linked which means you can sex the chicks at day old allowing the breeder to kill the cockerels without growing them on.

One thought is at 8 Months she will have been growing during decreasing daylight hours (over the winter) which means she will have had increasing daylight too soon, this can cause hens to lay too soon, before their reproductive systems are fully grown and can increase the chances of laying problems. Ideally, they should have be hatched earlier (Nature = Spring) or had increasing / constant lighting for 14 hrs over the winter and first part of spring (but I don't know of anyone who does this!).

At first, they should ideally be laying smallish eggs but if too much protein is fed as a grower, this can push egg size up sooner - they do this commercially to get bigger eggs faster but have a reasonable number of losses too..
 
Thanks for all this most interesting information, Tim. We will make a decision on Monday re. Holly, but meanwhile will continue with the medicine and the massages.
Re. the chicks, does that mean we should already be able to sex them? They are two weeks old now....I'll look this up, but I suppose it is obvious...?!
 
The Bovans Nera that Chicken Man sells can be sexed at day old - so if you have bought chicks from him, they should all be sexed and look the same colour and should all be hens....

If you have hatch from these girls, you will not get the same thing - since they are Hybrids. Heinz 22 is what you get ;)
 
Poor Holly is no more - our (French farmer) neighbour dispatched her this morning. Thank you so much for the advice and support - as I said, we are new to this, but we have learned a lot, and we will be more alert to similar problems in the future. Meanwhile, we are making a new home for the six chicks...
 
I'm sorry to hear that.

You have done all you could and have IMO made the right choice. Sometimes we have to do these things...
 
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