Lethargic, tail down, weak chicken - help please

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Hi

Marge is two. A light sussex and a great layer. She has always been a wheezy bird but in good health. Today she appears listless, weak and not able to walk / stand. Her comb is red and eyes bright. She is drinking and pecking at food but not with enthusiasm. Her crop is fine. No sign of mites or in her feathers. Her vent has been dirty for a while now, so I gave it a wash and removed the lumps of poo. She's a bit bald but not sore. I cant feel anything hard or egg like between her hips or anything squishy or broken egg like. Shes gone to roost tonight but Im not sure what to do for her tomorrow - any suggestions what might be wrong? Shes a lovely bird and I dont want to lose hr :(

Thanks
 
How about worms? Is she still talking? Has she lost weight? Poos runny but colour OK? Our Gracie has just been brought in for overnight observation. All same symptoms and same age as Marge but bottom is clean. Think she's been eaten fallen and rotten fruit but breath is OK. Not talking so in pain. Crop a bit mushy but no smell on breath. May be start of sour crop? I'll check egg bound in morning but she laid a 126 gramme egg earlier in year so unlikely it is that. We've both got our fingers crossed then.
 
Comb is pink but she's not at all vocal - normally has a lot to say about being picked up. Going to worm her tomorrow and sit her in a warm steamy bath just in case she is egg bound. She has had some apples over the last couple of days - I wonder if there is a link? Her crop is fine....as you say fingers crossed X
 
Gracie's comb keeps going very pale. She's poo'd a lot of fluid overnight which is very smelly. She won't eat inside as she is frightened (pupils dilated), having never been inside before. So we've taken her back into the run with the others and hopefully that will encourage her to eat something as keeping her in any longer is doing no good. We'll pick up all the fallen fruit before the hens are let out -big dangerous job as lots of wasps.
The apples may have fermented in Marge's crop and perhaps she's drunk! Maybe that's the problem with Gracie? We gave Gracie probiotic yoghurt as some signs amongst flock of coccidiosis and perhaps that's made the fermentation worse. It only takes the tinyest bit of alcohol to affect birds. Poachers used to soak grain in whisky to catch pheasants -they ate it and then just fell about and could easily be caught.
 
Hi, welcome to the forum! :-)99 :-)99
if you cant find out whats wrong, contact an avian vet.
 
Well, after a worrying night she seemed a bit better this morning. We brought her in and sat her in the kitchen sink full of warm water - which she really seemed to enjoy! I massaged her rear end, removed all the poo lumps and snipped of the nasty feathers - still cant feel an egg or anything untoward, but she did have an old necrotic wound that had been hidden by nasty feathers. She was then towel dried and blow dried - which she just loved and she stood on the draining board preening and turning herself about to get to the warm air. She had a little chat, ate a tomato and a nibble of corn - and loos brighter and happier. I gave the old wound a spray of iodine and took her back outside where she seems almost her normal self. So no idea what the problem was but the crisis is (fingers crossed) over - PHEW!! Hp[e Gracie and Marge are felling and looking better this morning?
 
Pleased Marge is improving -talking again shows a big improvement. Gracie ran out of the run to look for pears -they all did and there aren't any as I've removed every trace. So then off to the damson trees. Ate two in seconds but maybe they won't affect her like rotting pears do. I do think drunk was a possibility as she couldn't find the pop hole last night! Will keep checking her and Ollie, who is incubating a large freezer pack wrapped in a tea towel. Ollie has gone broody yet again (her Mum is the same) so we are trying the Practical Poultry reader suggestion. She's uncomfortable but steadfast in her job. Tried a small freezer pack first, but within two hours it was warm to the touch!
 
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