Slow moving hen

My daughter's beloved Bantam, Pink Feet, is sick and I need your help. She is 4 years old and has, within the last week, started exhibiting symptoms of illness. She is a little larger than a robin, does not have diarrhea, but is walking and moving very slowly with her feathers puffed out and her wings held slightly down. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! No other hens are ill at this time. She also does not seem interested in eating some of her favorite foods.

Sounds simple enough, I hope I'm right. I'm guessing bacterial infection or coccidiosis. But maybe just a small injury some where, as you said no diarrhea. Could be she ingested something that didn't agree with her. You could try flushing her system. Is she still laying? Check if she's egg bound just incase. Lastly maybe a vitamin deficiency? Hopefully someone more knowledgable picks up the thread. Good luck.

Do you worm your chickens very often, and have you checked her for mites and lice? Have you added any new birds lately?

What do I do if she is egg bound? I know she is not laying eggs because she's my only Bantam and she lays tiny eggs compared to the others.

A silly question...but can you buy chicken vitamins? According to some of the articles on this site, the chickens may not be getting adequate nutrition because of a few egg conditions I've seen (thin shells and speckled shells). Although that would surprise me because they get scraps from the house and they free-range sometimes.

I have never wormed my chickens. Is that something I can get from a local veterinarian? I'll call tomorrow.

Also, two of my other hens are bare around the tail and thin on the wings. At first I thought it was molting but now I am suspecting lice/mites. We have no rooster and they have been bare all summer. Another item I can get from a vet or local farm supply store?

Thank you so much for your suggestions.

You need to go shopping at your local feed stores, LOL--they have all kinds of things such as Sevin dust and Permectrin II (permethrin spray) for lice and mites, Valbazen and SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer for most or all chicken worms, and several varieties of poultry vitamins. They also carry Corid for coccidiosis, and antibiotics for respiratory and intestinal diseases. To check for egg binding, put on a rubber glove, and feel inside the vent an inch or so for a stuck egg. A warm soak in a shallow bath massaging the abdomen toward the vent, and a dose of calcium--a Tums or calcium tablet., crushed egg shell or oyster shell, given orally may help to relax the muscles to lay an egg.

Annshens said:

I have never wormed my chickens. Is that something I can get from a local veterinarian? I'll call tomorrow.

Also, two of my other hens are bare around the tail and thin on the wings. At first I thought it was molting but now I am suspecting lice/mites. We have no rooster and they have been bare all summer. Another item I can get from a vet or local farm supply store?

Thank you so much for your suggestions.

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First thing I would do is pick this bird up and check her carefully all over, look for lice/mites. Check her body condition, has she lost weight, see if there is any bloating in her lower abdomen, like between the legs on back to the vent area. At her age there are some serious things that become common and cause these symptoms but it may also be as basic as a big worm or mite load.

If you suspect lice or mites get some poultry dust or Sevin dust and dust them all. You need to strip and treat the coop as well. I like the Sevin spray for the coop since it's easy to really get it in all the nooks and crannies where the bugs hide. Make sure you retreat both the coop and the birds in 7 to 10 days since none of this will kill the eggs. If you don't retreat then the eggs hatch and your right back at square one.

Don't go to the vet for dewormer, they are most likely going to give you some kind of Ivermectin product and ivermectins have been shown to be ineffective wormers in poultry due to their overuse in treating mites. Just go to a feed store and look for Valbazen or liquid Safeguard for goats. Standard size birds get 1/2 cc, bantams get 1/4 cc. Repeat the dose in 10 days. Valbazen is especially good since it works slowly, so in birds that have never been dewormed and might be carrying a big load of worms you don't get a big worm kill-off all at once and risk blockages or dead worm toxicity.

Yes you can buy chicken vitamins, you might find them at the feed store n the chicken department or you can order them on line. I like Avian Super Pak.

Good luck with your bird, hope you are able to figure her out.