Help! - Daytime Sleeping, Standing Up

My 29 week old Welsummer hen started sleeping while standing up during the day a few weeks ago. She stays in a smaller coop with two, inseparable Cuckoo Marans, that are very bossy. They came from the same breeder, and seemed to play nicely, however I've noticed the Marans try to keep her from feed. I thought maybe they were keeping her from sleep as well, and she was just tired. Yesterday I couldn't find her. Brought out the scratch and mealworms, and every other hen came for the treats…not the Welsummer. She was sleeping under the shed, on the opposite end of all of the commotion. She loves to eat, she drinks, she just sleeps during the daytime. Sometimes she just nods off and her neck drops. Other times she turns her neck and buries her head in her feathers. She has not grown much of a comb, so there is no paleness to note.

Today, one of my Buff Orpingtons is inside the largest coop….sleeping, standing up. It was a dreary rainy day today, and they all stayed inside the run, close to the coops, and under the covered horse stalls, so there was no real free ranging in the fenced pasture. This Buff was one of the first we purchased at 16 weeks in August. All of the flock was dewormed this week with Safeguard. My "Nasty Butt Hen" post from three weeks ago died, however no other hens are showing any signs of this.

These girls have clear eyes, easy breathing, no sneezing, etc. They have been as healthy as can be, besides the sleeping, and have been pulled from the ret of the flock, sleeping in the warm house tonight. I'm at a loss as to what is going on, and will give them some extra love tomorrow, while continuing to watch for symptoms.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks,
Robyn

Well, the Welsummer didn't make it through the night. Im so stressed!

I don't know what to think it is. I recently had one of mine sleeping all day and skinny and I took her in and gave her sulfadimethoxine and Tylan for 5 days and she is back to normal and eating.

Do you have any new birds that could have brought something in? If not, I would probably treat for coccidiosis. I know they're older but I think cocci can make them sick if their immune system doesn't fight it off. I like to use sulfadimethoxine for coccidiosis because it's also an antibiotic and I think "just in case".

Can you feel the breast bone? Is she skinny? Does she fill her crop and empty it during the night? What's the poo look like? Did you check for an egg that's stuck?

Thank you seminolewind! I think these two have different ailments! The Welsummer didn't make it through Friday night. The Buff is still standing, sleeping, eating, and alive. For some reason I didn't think she'd make it last night, but she is very alert this morning. We are treating all birds for coccidiosis now. They all got wormed last week, and of course we're getting more eggs that we ever have (Just when they must be discarded!), so I don't think we have an "outbreak". The weather here was even worse last night with constant rain and thunder. Going out feed now, and hoping for many happy hens! ~robyn

Don't forget to worm them again in 10 days. I am fighting the same symptoms in a few of my hens. I lost one yesterday. (I had gone to ND for 2 months. My caretaker put small buckets filled with water in the coop. The hens, of course, turned them over. I came back to soaked bedding, filthy hens all puffed out feathers, standing around sleeping in the day time. I wormed them with Safeguard and started Corid in their water.) i will treat them with Corid for a week, then probiotcs for a week, then corid again.

Worm them again in 10 days, as in a 5-day Safeguard worm? We just completed that regime Thursday. And it was such an ordeal for the two of us that work full time, an hour away from our home. We were catching birds (24 of them) in the dark (thank you time change) and trying to see every thing we did was correct (correct bird, correct dosage, etc.) Is THAT the worm we have to perform in 10 days? They are all on Corid now, day two.

On another note, we walled around with the quarantined bird in the seemingly scarce sun today. She was catching bugs like crazy, always alert, and eating a few grapes. Had some good poos and a few yucky ones. Attached is her poop from yesterday morning. (The crumbles are from a bowl she had just knocked.) Today there was some formed brown poop. Seems promising, but I know we're not out of the woods. All of the others are doing very well.

Thanks for sharing your experience, and your recommendations!
~Robyn

Hi. Glad she's doing better. I can just imagine you running around in the dark, LOL
What I do is cut up cubes of bread and let each one soak up .5 ml of safeguard. And they think it's a treat. But be careful of the hogs that sneak up and grab another one!

Now she won't eat. Hunger strike. If I walk around with her outside, she forages very well, but her layer crumble, scrambled eggs, treats….won't eat. She may have eaten a tablespoon of scratch yesterday a few grapes and today she's eaten a few raisins. Very alert, not fluffed up, just won't eat.

BrazosChick said:

Worm them again in 10 days, as in a 5-day Safeguard worm? We just completed that regime Thursday. And it was such an ordeal for the two of us that work full time, an hour away from our home. We were catching birds (24 of them) in the dark (thank you time change) and trying to see every thing we did was correct (correct bird, correct dosage, etc.) Is THAT the worm we have to perform in 10 days? They are all on Corid now, day two.

On another note, we walled around with the quarantined bird in the seemingly scarce sun today. She was catching bugs like crazy, always alert, and eating a few grapes. Had some good poos and a few yucky ones. Attached is her poop from yesterday morning. (The crumbles are from a bowl she had just knocked.) Today there was some formed brown poop. Seems promising, but I know we're not out of the woods. All of the others are doing very well.

Thanks for sharing your experience, and your recommendations!
~Robyn

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From what I understand there is no reason to worm again after doing a five day treatment.

-Kathy