Lethargic hen

[annie511]

My barred rock has been lethargic and not eating. It started with her pooping all over her own bottom. Now I don't think she has been eating or drinking for awhile. She is very skinny now. Bot egg bound and her crop is flat. I thought it was maybe the cold. 0° here so I put a heat lamp in the coop a few days ago. We were going to cull her but this am she was walking around and it looked like she was walking away from the food dish. Not sure what to do. The other hens haven't been picking on her. No eggs for almost 2 weeks and she is a pullet. Any ideas?

 

[orrpeople]

Can you post a picture of her and her poop? The symptoms you describe could be a myriad of different issues. Have you given her a dose of vitamins like nutridrench? That's usually my first recourse. When was the last time she was wormed?

 

[annie511]

I've been force feeding her water with electrolytes and oatmeal to try and get her perky enough so I can worm her. They probably all need it. Poop is frozen and I don't know which poop is hers. This weekend I will be able to spend a bit more time with them and get some photos. The rest of the flock seems perfectly fine ... except for my 2 that started molting right before the sub zero temps. But they are eating and drinking just fine. I didn't notice anything was wrong until she was too ill

 

[Eggcessive]

A vet could examine her droppings and check it for worms and coccidiosis if you can take some in. Some vets will not do this without seeing the chicken, so check around. Even older birds can get coccidiosis if they are run down. Corid (amprollium) in the water 1 1/2 tsp per gallon for 5 days is the usual treatment. For worming, Valbazen 1/2-3/4 ml once and repeated in 10 days is good. Or you may use SafeGuard Liquid Goat Wormer (fenbendazole) 1/4 ml per pound of weight and repeat in 10 days. Knowing what types of worms may help with dosage, in case of difficult or more rare worms.

 

[annie511]

Is valzaben orally given?

 

[orrpeople]

Is valzaben orally given?

Yes. Those are all oral wormers.

 

[micstrachan]

I think a pullet should not stop laying completely exvept for during a (juvenile, in this case) molt. Has she started dropping feathers? My chickens usually act a bit off right before and during molt.
Having said that, I also think worming is not a bad idea. Can you look her over for external parasites, as well?

 

[annie511]

No she hasn't lost any feathers. And I dust them every now and then. And I sprinkle some DE around everytime I clean the coop. I just ordered some valzaben so I will worm her as soon as it comes in and see if that helps. I haven't seen any signs of worms in the other hens poop. I don't think she has been pooping at all

 

[orrpeople]

No she hasn't lost any feathers. And I dust them every now and then. And I sprinkle some DE around everytime I clean the coop. I just ordered some valzaben so I will worm her as soon as it comes in and see if that helps. I haven't seen any signs of worms in the other hens poop. I don't think she has been pooping at all

You might want to isolate her to find out...

 

[annie511]

She is unbalanced when she walks too. If worming her doesn't work I will isolate her. I don't have a set up right now for a isolation. We had one but it was a temp set up. Not winter ready so I took it down. Plan to build something permanent in spring.