I might be overreacting, but... :( please advise!

[tofumama]

I got 2 adorable Lavender D'Uccles mid June at a swap. I am guessing their ages to be somewhere between 12-14 weeks, though they are tiny little things. A roo I named Sam and a hen named Angel. I got 2 other chicks at the same time. I kept them separate from my flock for about 3 weeks, though they could all see each other. I gradually introduced them all to each other and as of 3 days ago, they are all living harmoniously together, though they certianly have their cliques, lol. My Sam is the only roo, and though he is a peanut, he is certianly taking his place as The Roo. I am worried about Angel. I have always called her my fragile girl, as she is so petite and small. She has always seemed a bit...well, behind, or delayed. This morning when I went out to let everyone out (they free range) she was just sitting in the henhouse. She wouldn't stand up or come out. I gave her a few moments and she eventually did, but it seems like she is tired. She walks a bit, then just sits down. She seems like whe is keeping her head/neck in, instead of stretching it out as you would see a normal chicken walking about.

Her legs seem fine, she does not have any bugs, her poops are fine as far as I can tell, she isn't pasty...I put her near the food, though she didn't seem interested. Her eyes look clear and when I held her she made her sweet little sounds but...I am worried about her! Her 'clique-mates' notice she is slow and were picking on her straight away this morning. WHat should I do? should I separate her from the flock? I don't want her to be lonely and she is very attatched to Sam...She is my favorite baby and I am just so upset!

 

[CorporateGranola]

DISCLAIMER: I am a newbie, but hope I can help.

Poke around on the internet to see if you can find anyone with sick chicks that match her symptoms. Based on your description, some of the common things might be leg injury
vitamin deficiency, and/or worms. Until you find out what's going on with her, you might want to go ahead and separate her from group in case she is contagious. Best of luck and I hope she gets well soon!

Info that might be helpful:

Leg Injury -
Storey's Guide - http://books.google.com/books?id=GxoH_NRDxe8C&pg=PA180&lpg=PA180#v=onepage&q&f=false

Help Diagnosing -
Poultry Nutrition Cheat Sheet - http://www.smallstock.info/info/health/poult-nutrit.htm
Visual Guide to Poo - http://chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

Dietary Supplements &/or Medicine
Rooster Booster Dietary Supplements & Dewormer - http://www.roosterboosterproducts.com/products
Avia Charge 2000 (an excellent general complete supplement formulated for poultry)* - http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/avian_charge_2000.html

-=CG=-

*credit: dlhunicorn

 

[nelgkel]

when we replaced our roo with another pullet she acted in the same manner as you describe yours! Once she was acclimated to the group and her mates she perked right up and held her head high! She was being pecked on and being put in her place~at the bottom! They also picked on her when she went to eat~she got run off a lot..
Hope this is all it is!!

 

[PunkinPeep]

My first thought is either Coccidiosis or possibly a problem with her crop.

If her crop is compacted (something's blocking the food from passing through the body to the gizzard) she won't be hungry, and she can starve if that isn't remedied. The way to check for this is to -- start by checking right now to see if there is food in her crop. You might be able to help her by massaging it gently move around the food to see if it will start to pass.

Coccidiosis - even though she is older, she is new to your property and could be encountering strains of cocci that she isn't resistant to. If that's the case, i would medicate her and Sam with Corid in their water for 5 days. If she won't drink, i have read that you can also squirt 10 cc in her mouth to make sure she gets it.

I'm not saying either one of these is IT, but these are the things i would be checking for immediately. And if i didn't think a crop problem was a possibility, i might err on the side of caution and treat for cocci, just to be safe. It hits older chickens a little harder - kind of like chicken pox does in adult humans.

 

[tofumama]

Thanks for the links, CG

PunkinPeep, her crop feels empty to me, but I am still what I would call a newbie as I have only had chickens for a year. She is walking around, and trying to stay near her 'clique' I have seen her flap her wings as well so it doesn't appear to be an injury. She doesn't struggle at all if you pick her up, but she does not seem to be interested in food or treats.

I have no idea if she was medicated before she came to me but we don't medicate our birds nor do I feed medicated food...it is organic layer pellets and she also gets organic starter. Would her poop look funny if she had this coccidiosis? I am guessing I could get this med from the feed and grain store? I did read some of your blog, and we have had these chicks for 6 weeks with no issue until now...she has always been tiny and *slow* but still seemed ok. I wonder if it was something about being in the henhouse? They have been in there for 3 nights now but today was the first day I saw this behavior that was alarming. The henhouse gets cleaned out daily, then they free range in our yard all day (an acre, give or take if they go in the woods as well)so...

Are there any natural remedies for coccidiosis?

 

[Arcane Araucana]

Quote:
A lot of people swear by apple cider vinegar. I think its 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. Do a search on ACV for more accurate info. I occasionally use it because my birds eat a huge variety of stuff and its just good for the intestinal tract. You could also try plain yogurt. Mine prefer greek yogurt because its thicker. Good luck!

 

[PunkinPeep]

I have been told that in the "old days," farmers would give their chickens fresh milk to help them weather the infestation. Basically this just helps coat the intestines with mucous to help protect from the damage the protozoa are doing.

The main sign of cocci in chickens is bloody feces, but you don't always see that.

With it being six weeks, i'm not sure that cocci is the answer, but it still could be. I just don't know.

Have you smelled her breath? Can you feel any hard lumps in her crop? Have you looked at her vent? Could she be close to laying age? Could you carefully feel her lower abdomen for possibly a stuck egg?

Has she become more active today? It sounded like maybe she had.

 

[Robo]

If they are pecking her, put all of them in a dark box for a little while, and then let them out. This solved my problem with my quail.

 

[tofumama]

I watched her like a hawk today, as well as putting my daughter on Cookie duty

. She seems a bit more normal, I saw her poop and checked it out (oh, the things we do...) and it ws a normal looking poop. She was milling about with her clique today, and as the day went on, she did seem more her slow self. This evening when I closed up the coop, she was all snuggled in with Sam(roo) and Buddy her other clique mate, per usual. I don't know...I *guess* she is ok, but she sure did give me a scare! Thanks everyone for all the help and advice though! I am devinitely going to do the ACV in the water starting tomorrow, and they already get homemade yogurt once a week or so but maybe I'll up that to 2-3 times for now...

I did check her crop and it felt normal(to me) and we did see her eating later in the day, which was reassuring as well. So, hopefully she was jus having an off morning and all will be well from here on out!