Roosting Hen - Where to start?

One of my hens has been out of sorts for a few days. She has been roosting a lot more than usual. The past couple days she came out with the rooster and other hen in the morning, but would find somewhere outside to roost most of the day. Today she did not even leave the coop. I don't even know where to start with trying to find out what is going on with her. I'm going to quarantine her in a separate coop to see if she is eating and drinking. Should I try to give her any supplements? Is there anything else that I should start right away, or anything that I can check for? I cant say for sure when the last time she layed was, because we have a dog that sneaks into the barn and steals the eggs occasionally. Her abdomen did not feel swollen. My flock is only 2 hens and one rooster. They get let out in the morning to free range, and locked in at night. They're on Purina Layer feed currently, and have grit and oyster shell access. I'm just looking for a good place to start trying to figure out what is going on with her. So far her excessive roosting is the only symptom that I have noticed.

Has she been laying?

ETA oh wait I see the dog steals the eggs...

hmmm....

Separating her is a good idea, that way you can monitor her eating and drinking. I always start off with a couple of cooked egg yolks and a bit of yogurt to help out with any digestion issues if there are any...and fresh water, 2 containers. One with just water and another with an electrolyte blend, like sav-a-chick.


Is she walking okay, not like she's drunk or stumbling? Is her poo normal looking, no blood or possible worms being noticed? Check her backside, by her vent.. Anything unusual, lice, mites, redness, swelling, etc? And her comb, is it nice and red, or is it pale or white?


I've had some hens get out of sorts on occasion, and they usually bounce back in a few days, but it depends on what the underlying issue is.

I got her moved and she does have an injury under one of her wings. I'm wondering if it is from the rooster. She has feathers missing on the same spot on the other side, along with the base of her wings and tail. Our other hen also has broken feathers at the base of its wings and tail. I did not see any mites or lice when I was looking her over.

Well, THAT would explain why she's roosting. She's trying to get a few days off from the rooster so she can heal I bet... Have you noticed if your rooster is extra aggressive lately? It is spring, so he's probably been bugging them quite a bit


Maybe a few more hens would help keep him occupied and help spread the love more evenly instead of harassing just the one....

Her injury looks like its tryi g to heal on its own, so I would just leave it unless it's stinky or festering, then you could clean it up a little and maybe some blu kote or wound powder should fix it right up

I haven't noticed the rooster being more aggressive. We do have 15 pullets that we will be adding to the flock once they're big enough. They are in the same coop as them right now, but are separated with chicken wire. They've been out there almost a week already and everyone is adjusting well. I'll keep the injured hen in the separate coop for at least a week so she can heal. I will be getting chicken saddles for the two hens to help until the others join the flock.

Sounds like you have it covered; he will love the new pullets, I'm sure!