Is this normal chicken behavior? I think she's sick!

[parkerpeeps7]

Well I made her some scrambled eggs & NOTHING! She hasn't ate any of it. I tried putting some in her beak & she just dropped it. She keeps looking down at it & attempted to peck at the plate but that's it. One try.

 

[hispoptart]

I don't have any advice, just wanted to send good wishes your way. I sure hope you can figure it out and get her better. She looks like a sweetie.

 

[GardenState38]

Have you checked her crop? Is it full?
I just had a very similar problem with one of my girls. She wasn't pooping or eating and was standing, hunched, with her eyes closed.
I rushed her to an avian vet.
There was little he could do, since she hadn't passed a dropping that he could test, but he gave her a dose of antibiotics and tube fed her. He was concerned about her crop--it was rather full and it kept filling up all the more when he fed her. He suspected she was impacted, but then things finally worked themselves out, she pooped big-time, her crop emptied and she was back to her prancing little self. That was about 9 days ago and she's still fine.
He didn't feel the antibiotics were necessary, since it seemed to be her crop. Feel around to see if it is hard and full.
He also advised me to keep to a balanced, formulated feed, and to cut down on treats or extras...

Good luck! I hope she gets better soon!

 

[parkerpeeps7]

@hispoptart: thank you! She is definitely a sweetie.

@gardenstate38: her crop isn't full at all. After I messed with it she kept opening her mouth up over & over though. Not sure what that could mean?? She is still pooping & eating some. Her poop seems normal, she had a white cap one this morning & then one without the cap. Stinky!!
I'm glad your girl is doing much better! I just wish I knew exactly what was happening. It seems one day she is good & the next not so good.
Thank you for the advice!

 

[Self loading baggage]

We had a chick who was acting about the same as you described, she just stood on one foot outside and did not participate in the other chicken games. We brought her inside to isolate her and she didn't eat or drink anything for a couple of days. She appeared to have lost some weight and seemed thin. I checked her for mites...none. Worms? Didn't see any in her poop.
She did eat a little scratch, and it remained in her crop the next morning. I suspected she might have eaten something strange and had some kind of GI block or something. She wasn't pooping either, and when she did it was bright green...not a good sign.
After a couple of days I was afraid she would become dehydrated, so we got a little syringe and gave her some water with Organic Apple cider vinegar: 1 tbs per 1 cup of water....maybe 2cc in the am and 2 cc in the pm. Massaged her crop a bit to help stimulate it. Fed her some hen feed with water to make it soft.
She seemed to respond well to that after 3-4 days, and she went back outside. She has been doing great ever since.
I have heard the vinegar acts as a natural antibiotic.....I still don't know what was wrong with her, but happy she is feeling better!
Good luck with your girl.

 

[hispoptart]

How is your girl doing today. I have been thinking about her and hopeing she is doing better.

 

[parkerpeeps7]

We had a chick who was acting about the same as you described, she just stood on one foot outside and did not participate in the other chicken games. We brought her inside to isolate her and she didn't eat or drink anything for a couple of days. She appeared to have lost some weight and seemed thin. I checked her for mites...none. Worms? Didn't see any in her poop.
She did eat a little scratch, and it remained in her crop the next morning. I suspected she might have eaten something strange and had some kind of GI block or something. She wasn't pooping either, and when she did it was bright green...not a good sign.
After a couple of days I was afraid she would become dehydrated, so we got a little syringe and gave her some water with Organic Apple cider vinegar: 1 tbs per 1 cup of water....maybe 2cc in the am and 2 cc in the pm. Massaged her crop a bit to help stimulate it. Fed her some hen feed with water to make it soft.
She seemed to respond well to that after 3-4 days, and she went back outside. She has been doing great ever since.
I have heard the vinegar acts as a natural antibiotic.....I still don't know what was wrong with her, but happy she is feeling better!
Good luck with your girl.

Thank you! Today she had a hunter green gel like poop. Is this close to what you saw? I cleaned her earlier & noticed she had a lump in her crop but I don't recall seeing her eat since I had been home. I will keep an eye on that crop. I'm so thankful that you told me about the apple cider vinegar!!

 

[parkerpeeps7]

How is your girl doing today. I have been thinking about her and hopeing she is doing better.

Thank you so much for asking! She had a bad day today. I've started a new thread on her in emergencies, diseases, etc. It's titled" My hen Ruby isn't doing well & I'm lost" I've not seen her eat or drink today besides a few jabs at some scratch. I checked her for egg yolk pertonitis (i'm too tired to care if thats spelled right, lol) & I couldn't feel anything in there, plus soaked her in a warm bath & it doesn't seem as if she has passed anything as a result. I'm just scratching my head as to what it could be. I'm wondering now should I deworm her, take a fecal sample to be checked 1st, try the apple cider like self loading baggage spoke about, could it be the egg yolk thingy even though I felt nothing???? I'm afraid of which step to take 1st. Thank you again for asking about her. I sooo want to know what is going on so that I can take the proper course in treating her.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote: Hi I was on the other thread but I just wanted to say that worming medications are very hard on hens. So if you can afford to do so, a poo sample to the vet would be great. If she is on the verge of dying from something other than worms, the worming medication might kill her. But the thing is, that worms can kill too. I have lost chickens to worms.

 

[Self loading baggage]

I believe the green poop our chicken had while she was sick was bright green. From what I remember, it was due to excess bile (due to lack of eating and drinking). And that didn't even come until after we began to rehydrate her with the vinegar water. I think that was a good sign that she pooped. It slowly began to change back to a normal color, frequency and texture, with the rehydration process (she began to eat a little more also)
We also massaged her crop and watched that closely. We thought initially she had a sour crop....still don't know if that was the problem....because she had food in her crop the next day, where it should have moved through her GI tract.
I believe the vinegar and rehydration was the key to her recovery....I hope it works if you try it. I will keep my fingers crossed!!