Weak hen has lost a lot of weight and won’t eat pellets

[marierachel17]

Hi, I have a hen who is moving around extremely weakly and keeps stumbling/falling over. She feels like about a third of what her normal weight is and seems to be rejecting her normal layer pellet (all my other hens are eating fine) but has accepted oats and some mealworms from me. She’s still trying to walk around the yard but seems very low energy and frail. We checked to see if she had an egg stuck using guidance from an article on this site and there doesn’t appear to be any issues in that area. We checked her body (and feet for sores) and didn’t find any bugs either. Also, her comb is dry and flopped to one side (picture included). Any ideas? I feel really bad for her and don’t know how to help

 

[NatJ]

Have you tried getting the pellets wet with water, so they swell up and get soft?

Chickens often like them better that way.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sometimes I mix crumbles and pellets together at first when changing feeds, but wetting them is a very good idea. Most chickens love moistened feed. Is she drinking enough water, and is she laying eggs? How close is she to molting age?