Sweet N Sour, a 3 year old Buff Orpington started laying again a couple weeks ago. She's toward the bottom of the pecking order, so seeing her hanging out by herself didn't set off any alarm bells. She just finished her molt, but not tending to her growing feathers like normal. She did bow and squawk when I was checking her saddle/tail feather area. Because some of my hens are in molt, I offer more protein to them. Since some are laying, I also leave out oyster shell for them. They are free to choose however Sweet N Sour isn't. She's staying away from the flock which in self was unusual. My hens tend to get more aggressive with another when they start laying eggs again
I notice last week, a hen had watery clear and greenish diarrhea and smelled really bad. Clear in spots and green colored in other areas. I ID'ed the hen and watched her. Sweet N Sour would eat but not much. Her crop was fairly empty. I set up chicken jail in the house, so I can keep a close eye on her.
Her feather where caked around her vent and the normal fluffy butt feathers. I gave her a nice warm bath with epsom salt. Sweet N Sour got so relaxed in the sink, she laid down in the sink and was fighting a nap. She enjoyed the hair dryer. Her skin was red. Feels full but not hard. She wasn't cleaning her feathers.
She's normally running around the yard pecking and scratching. She's a calm lady that usually doesn't run and doesn't mind being picked up. She'll lay on my lap from time to time. Sweet N Sour just stands or lays in one spot. She keep her tail feather bowed down. her tail feathers are moving up/down, trying to push. when she walks around, she waddles like a penguin.
I finally found a vet today that treats chickens, more then just feet like my old vet. Sweet N Sour had an egg break inside and caused a massive infection. Her belly was full of fluid. The vet gave her a 25 -30% chance of surviving with treatment, so I put her down. I didn't want her to suffer anymore. RIP my sweet little girl. I'll be burying her out in my dad's farm.