Hen with poopy butt & sluggish

azygous said:

If the egg is collapsed, she may need an oral antibiotic since broken yolk harbors and grows bacteria.

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I've always been curious.. where does one aquire chicken antibiotics? I have dog medications out the whazoo, but I imagine dogs & birds are a totally different ballgame!

Dogs and birds are different species, all right, but bacteria are the same. Whether E.coli or C. perfringens strikes a dog or they strike a chicken, they are the same bacteria at work in both species. Therefore, an antibiotic that treats these in a dog will treat these in a chicken. Or even a human. So, if you have a dog or a human antibiotic prescription, they will work on your chickens as well. The dose will of course be tailored to a chicken's body weight.

Because antibiotics for fish are also the same as for other species, we order these for our chickens because they do not require a prescription. I'm going to take a wild guess as to why you need the prescription for a dog or a cat but not for your tank of tropical fish is because the medical industrial complex derives much greater profit from treating and writing prescriptions for dogs and cats than for fish.

You can get fish antibiotics and general pet antibiotics from KVSupply, ValleyVet, Homelabvet, and Revivalanimal. Google them for the URL.

ThatChickenLady708 said:

This makes sense to me! I have been having to get IV bags every 2 weeks because I'm so sensitive to dehydration! My only concern is the bloating. Do you think that could be a result from the heat as well?

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Yes actually electrolyte imbalance and losing electrolytes in general can cause bloating when the digestion process slows down.

HollowOfWisps said:

Yes actually electrolyte imbalance and losing electrolytes in general can cause bloating when the digestion process slows down.

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This is great to know, gives me a bit of hope!

UPDATE on Big Mama:
I took her inside for the hottest part of the day & let her sit in an old nesting box I had. It wasn't much cooler inside, but I put some reusable ice cubes in the nest (under the straw). I also had the swamp cooler running last night inside their coop, I think that made a HUGE difference.

I fed her some frozen watermelon today & saw her being rude to one of the younger chickens when I brought her out to roam.

Her tail is up more, she seems to be feeling more like herself.. but I'll still be keeping a close eye on her.

THANK YOU to all that gave advice, I truly appreciate it.

That's great news!
I hope she continues to improve.

@Sussex19 @HollowOfWisps @azygous
I know I'm missing people that provided me with advice, but thank you so much to everyone. Big Mama is back to herself again! I think the heat ended up getting to her, I kept her cool for a few days. She was out running for grasshoppers, dust bathing & her tail is up today.

I'm so glad!