My chicken won't eat

[2blue]

I have a chicken that is one year old. She is a sassy and fiery chicken with tons of personality but one day I noticed she was very lethargic. Since I no longer live at home, I'm not around to watch over my babies and was startled by the drastic change in temperament. The next day she was back to her old self again and was running around so I wasn't worried. When I came back next weekend, she was very slow again. We took her inside where we have a good size cage for when a chicken gets sick. She refuses to eat, but drinks a little bit every now and again. We have tried pedilyte, plain yogurt, oatmeal, softly cooked eggs as well as raw, everything and she won't eat. She is attentive, but weak, and only grows skinnier and weaker. We cant seem to figure out what is wrong with her, and are quite honestly surprised she is still alive. Her comb is normally colored, not losing any feathers, and otherwise has a completely normal appearance other than weight loss. We also know now that she doesn't lay eggs (4 chickens, 3 eggs daily and when she was brought inside we still got 3 eggs). Has anyone else encountered this before or have anything that can help??
None of my other chickens show any symptoms like that and are happy little fluffy butts.

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi

Glad you could join us here but sorry it's not under better circumstances.

#1 Could she have a crop issue? How does her crop feel? Here is an article with things to look for about the crop ~ https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

#2 Have you wormed your birds at all? A worm burden can cause weight loss/lethargic behaivour.

#3 Could the others be bullying her out of food?

 

[2blue]

Thank you for replying! We did check her crop last week and we emptied it just in case and when we looked online, they said if it had an extremely foul odor it was sour but my father said it had no odor.
As far as worms, we hadn't thought of that. When we were looking up her symptoms we didn't have worms come up but we could have the vet see if she has any.
And it's highly unlikely she would be bullied out of food. She is the alpha female haha

 

[azygous]

Look at this thread by casportpony. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...tube-feeding-guide-pictures-updated-9-15-2016 It will show you how to tub feed. It's important to get nourishment down your girl, as well as hydrate her.

There's another crop condition that causes loss of appetite - impacted crop. It can be caused by too much fibrous material jamming the crop or can be caused by an obstruction such as foreign matter like a piece of wire. Sometimes, you can massage the mass with a little addition of some olive oil or coconut oil given by syringe. Try massaging the crop in a gentle downward motion. You will know if it's working when you feel the mass break up and empty out of the crop.

This hen could also be suffering from an infection, and an antibiotic may help. But already it's getting nearly impossible to buy any without a prescription. A vet may be able to help you with that.

 

[casportpony]

Thank you for replying! We did check her crop last week and we emptied it just in case and when we looked online, they said if it had an extremely foul odor it was sour but my father said it had no odor.
As far as worms, we hadn't thought of that. When we were looking up her symptoms we didn't have worms come up but we could have the vet see if she has any.
And it's highly unlikely she would be bullied out of food. She is the alpha female haha

Welcome to BYC!
If you can afford it, a trip to the vet would be the best thing.

-Kathy