4 month pullet lethargic

[mtma]

I’m posting for a friend, please advise if you know what she should try!
We have a hen that is lethargic and is being picked on. We have her inside and she eats and drinks and poops fine. But outside she’s not moving around much. Do you have advice? We treated with giardia meds.
Thank you!

 

[azygous]

Just as with humans, not every illness has a physical cause. With what you have told us, it's not possible to tell you what's wrong with this youngster. But the fact that she's being picked on is a very good starting point. A bullied chicken will often starve themselves because they are made to feel unworthy of eating by the flock. And they are often of a timid temperament and retreat from flock activity.

For starters, give one cup of water with one teaspoon of sugar mixed in to raise the blood glucose, and in case this behavior is heat related, add a pinch of salt and baking soda to balance the electrolytes. Giving an antibiotic before you have an idea of what you're treating is usually of little value and only encourages antibiotic resistance.

Depending on whether this restores her activity level, she may need to be given special feedings of cooked egg and rice and poultry vitamins.

If the behavior gets worse, and she appears to be bullied away from the feeder and otherwise picked on, then this program is designed to restore a bullied chicken to self confidence. I use this in my flock with great success, but it takes about two or three weeks to achieve. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/