Malnourished...It is the feed....?

[Kalthia]

It's 5am on Sunday and I can't sleep because I have been worried about my first sick hen all week. She started limping and stopped being able to walk. (You can find several posts from me earlier on this across forums trying to puzzle this out). We took her to the vet last week, and the vet said, she is malnourished, she has nothing in her crop. She gave her a B vitamin shot, told us to get Rooster Booster, test her stool (to make sure it isn't parasites). So, being new at this, we though, YAY she will pop right back up and be fine. Days went by and nothing changed. I still have a hen that won't walk, is still laying, and the occasions when she does try to walk she acts like one foot is painful. I kept calling the Vet back saying, she still can't walk. Friday the vet finally got a chance to call me herself and set my expectations, saying 'this is going to take weeks to rehab her'. But yesterday, Zoe stopped eating all together.

But we are wondering WHY, what did I do wrong to get to this point? I have free fed our chicks from the beginning... and given supplemental veggies, cooked cracked eggs, some fermented feed. ... mealworms. I just want them happy and healthy. We have noticed that the birds are pulling their feed out of the bucket and leaving a good portion of it on the ground.

And yesterday - Zoe would not touch the feed. At all, I watched her all day on the camera, and thought she was surely going to die. I went down to try to coax her to eat something and got a pile of mealworms which she went after voraciously. ... huh? ... she has food right next to her and has ALL DAY. but would not touch it. I wanted to encourage her to eat it so she would get the rooster booster she needs (they did not have liquid version - sold out at all the stores nearby!)

Finally, it dawned on me.. it is the damned feed.... I went and cooked two eggs for her and she ate those up. I gave her another dose of calcium. And I am praying she will be okay until I get to the store for new feed. I think I will cook her a few eggs before I go to church and come back with that.
I will cook some eggs up for my others as well, because I know they very well might be on the same road as she is.

It's been a saga... and as a new flock owner, it has been heartbreaking to see this happen to a lovely bird. You all have been AWESOME helping me through all of this - I have learned so much this past week. (How to check for egg bound, how to pill a hen, what to give for calcium when you don't have any, what things to consider when a hen stops walking...how to keep a sick hen safe... on and on). This community is a wonderful resource and I appreciate every person who has helped me get this far... and the history of posts to look through and learn from.

So - hopefully with 2 more eggs today - I think I will put some rooster booster IN those eggs.. and new feed in just a few hours, she will be back to at least EATING... even if she is not walking, if she can just eat now, she has a chance to survive.

I have contacted the manufacturer to see if they want some of the feed that is left to test, because right now I am convinced that is the the problem.. (Kalmbach Feeds - Henhouse Reserve, out of OH). But I will be moving back to the brand we were using as grower feed - LOTS of treats -anything they will eat. I want them FAT and happy.

Thank you everyone - I hope this post helps someone else in the future.

 

[Folly's place]

Have you always checked the mill date on each bag of feed? We like to use it up within two months of the mill date if at all possible, because some vitamins decline over time .
Layer feeds are usually about 16% protein and high in calcium, and are meant to be fed to
smaller breed hens (Leghorn types) who are actively laying eggs as their only food. Adding other stuff in any quantity, or feeding to birds not in lay, isn't best.
I'm glad your bird is improving!
Here we feed an all-flock type with calcium and grit in separate containers, and it works best for our mixed flock.
And birds do get sick! We just lost a two year old hen who had an egg break inside, never a good outcome there.
Mary

 

[Kalthia]

Have you always checked the mill date on each bag of feed? We like to use it up within two months of the mill date if at all possible, because some vitamins decline over time .
Layer feeds are usually about 16% protein and high in calcium, and are meant to be fed to
smaller breed hens (Leghorn types) who are actively laying eggs as their only food. Adding other stuff in any quantity, or feeding to birds not in lay, isn't best.
I'm glad your bird is improving!
Here we feed an all-flock type with calcium and grit in separate containers, and it works best for our mixed flock.
And birds do get sick! We just lost a two year old hen who had an egg break inside, never a good outcome there.
Mary

This feed is fresh - and the guaranteed analysis has 17% protein, a min of 3.5% calcium, along with lots of other things.. it smells great (to me) kinda like pizza, very rich smelling. This has been a much bigger learning curve than I anticipated.. but hopefully things will get better now.

 

[Folly's place]

There will be individuals who won't eat a balanced diet, when offered too many choices that taste better. It can be a dominant individual who gets first pick, or just one who wants to only eat more of something other than the balanced feed.
And once her legs hurt, she can't/ won't get to the food and water effectively, and will move lower in the flock social order, because everyone knows that she's in trouble.
Do you have multiple feeders and waterers, so she can get to them? Separating her might be necessary, but then she will have to be reintroduced to the flock, also difficult.
Mary

 

[Kalthia]

There will be individuals who won't eat a balanced diet, when offered too many choices that taste better. It can be a dominant individual who gets first pick, or just one who wants to only eat more of something other than the balanced feed.
And once her legs hurt, she can't/ won't get to the food and water effectively, and will move lower in the flock social order, because everyone knows that she's in trouble.
Do you have multiple feeders and waterers, so she can get to them? Separating her might be necessary, but then she will have to be reintroduced to the flock, also difficult.
Mary

We are keeping her separate - so she has her own food and water. She is in a part of the run that that other chickens are right next to. I also put her into the house each night so she is sleeping with them.
This morning she left the coop on her own - I didn't get to observe it, so I don't know how she limped out - but she did and hid behind the water until I came and moved her to 'her' portion of the run (the others will pick on her - but they might just be trying to get her to move?) . So she is interacting with them daily and I am hoping this will keep the flock intact. She has spent some time inside - for instance during rain storms and some overnights, just because I don't want to have her managing body heat loss while trying to recover.

 

[Painted Calls]

I would update this thread with the info about limping, then not walking, and then going off feed.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/hen-issues-have-no-clue-updated-is-she-starving.1574508/

To me it sounds like Marek's. Are these all your first birds? Where did they come from?

 

[Folly's place]

Improvement is good, but I do agree about possible Marek's disease.
Mary

 

[NanaK]

OP also mentions the were billing out feed. I thought about mold.

 

[Kalthia]

OP also mentions the were billing out feed. I thought about mold.

how do you treat this - if she did get some mold?

 

[NanaK]

Mold is just a guess.

Mold can cause neurological issues. Here is an article from McMurray Hatchery.
https://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2...acute form in,other forms of nervous symptoms.

As soon as I had a chance, I would look at the area they were spilling feed on the ground. I would try to get up as much as I could.

For the sick bird supportive care is all you can do. Make sure she eats and drinks. You could put some poultry vitamins in her water. I would not give her a lot of treats. A good chicken food or eggs if she refuses her feed. Make sure she is not sitting in a lot of poo.