Thursday I noticed Ducky, a blue Marans hen, was not feeling herself. She's doesn't stand hunched up, but she's less active than usual and doesn't seem as interested in eating. She is eating and drinking, but I she doesn't gobble up scratch feed like usual. It's not unusual for her to not be with the rest of the flock while they free-range, but it's happened more often in the last few days. She'll stand in the bushes or the corner of the coop and her eyes slowly close and her head starts to lower until she jerks awake or seems to be sleeping standing up. She is on the lower end of the pecking order, so I can see why if she's tired she'd try to fine a secure place to nap. She walked slowly and scratches pretty gently. She seems a little more active today, but I also saw some diarrhea from her this morning and she's still closing her eyes when she stands still.
Her crop feels fine, I didn't feel any eggs when I felt around her vent, and her comb is still bright red and perky so far. My flock is 3 days to over a year old, and Ducky's 9 months. She's the only chicken acting strangely. All recent additions to the flock have been hatched here, the youngest batch of chickens from shipped eggs is now 10 weeks and the 3 day olds were hatched from our chickens eggs.
Ducky has also never been a normal layer. She lays regularly two eggs a week, usually one week out of the month. The eggs are always small and the shells are oddly textured. I've always assumed there's just something not right inside her, but until now she's never had any problems.
This is also the hottest temperatures our Marans have been through. It's been mid 90s with humidity over 60% or more. I don't know if this could be a factor, but just in case...
I've been reading around the forums the past few days and haven't found anything that quite matches Duck's symptoms. My current plan of action is to bring her inside and isolate her from the others just in case, worm her and pick up some antibiotics just in case. It's a steady 80 inside, which should be more comfortable for her. Should I be trying anything else to help her out?
Her crop feels fine, I didn't feel any eggs when I felt around her vent, and her comb is still bright red and perky so far. My flock is 3 days to over a year old, and Ducky's 9 months. She's the only chicken acting strangely. All recent additions to the flock have been hatched here, the youngest batch of chickens from shipped eggs is now 10 weeks and the 3 day olds were hatched from our chickens eggs.
Ducky has also never been a normal layer. She lays regularly two eggs a week, usually one week out of the month. The eggs are always small and the shells are oddly textured. I've always assumed there's just something not right inside her, but until now she's never had any problems.
This is also the hottest temperatures our Marans have been through. It's been mid 90s with humidity over 60% or more. I don't know if this could be a factor, but just in case...
I've been reading around the forums the past few days and haven't found anything that quite matches Duck's symptoms. My current plan of action is to bring her inside and isolate her from the others just in case, worm her and pick up some antibiotics just in case. It's a steady 80 inside, which should be more comfortable for her. Should I be trying anything else to help her out?
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