4th day not eating drinking. Pullet. 21weeks. Silkie. HELP!

[Greebo]

I need to drive into the town today so I'm going to pop her out with the others while I'm gone. Won't be able to monitor poo or eating, but rather she was out and able to choose to forage if the feeling took her. And some fresh air/sun/company, in case that helps her mentally/emotionally. I know in humans the mind can play a big role in health and recovery, so just in case chickens are similar...

 

[nightowl223]

Some would say that chickens don't have those emotions or mental concerns, but I know otherwise. I've had some rather heated debates here over that exact thing, in fact. Well, they'll believe what they want to believe. I've seen the real thing.

It's good that she's starting to eat. Her poos will be wetter than normal while she's not eating normally, so that's not a surprise. Normal-ish poo this morning is a very good sign. It means likely she's actually eating a bit more than you knew about. The effort to kill the moth is a great sign, too!

I don't think you need to worry about checking her temperature again unless she takes another turn for the worse.

As for what has caused this to begin with, there are a few possibilities that have nothing to do with illness. First, since you said she wasn't a very healthy chick, there could be some sort of something wrong with her from that, like a type of birth defect, you could call it. Second, she could have been at the bottom of the pecking order, and just got to the point where she was eating so little that she lost her energy. It happens, though not often. Generally with very timid birds. And finally, it's possible she ate something she shouldn't have. Could have been a long piece of hay, or a string, or any number of things, that sorta clogged her up to where she didn't feel good.

For now, I'd suggest just keeping her in where you can watch her, get things she will want to eat like scrambled eggs or fruit, keep getting vitamins in her water and getting the water in her, and continue to monitor how she acts. Things do sound to be looking up, though!

 

[Greebo]

Normal-ish poo this morning is a very good sign. It means likely she's actually eating a bit more than you knew about.
First, since you said she wasn't a very healthy chick, there could be some sort of something wrong with her from that.
... scrambled eggs or fruit, keep getting vitamins in her water and getting the water in her

Oh I think she had some to eat overnight. That was before what I wrote here "She ate some mealworms this morning that I put into her food bowl, then began pecking the food underneath." I am just getting confused with what I've written here and what I've said in the facebook group I had also posted in. It wasn't hugely different in amount from what I'd put it last night, but I could tell it had been messed with, so she'd eaten something overnight. Probably coz the heat lamp is a red light and more like daylight than a ceramic one.

She is likely to not quite be normal being a failure to thrive you are right, all sorts of developmental stages have been different with her, incl when her feathers stopped being baby ones, what colour her comb was and lack of size and 'rose' to it, her lack of size, her top knot was non existent for ages and now it's wee compared to the big pompoms of her siblings etc

Yes scrambled egg, gosh I'd forgotten already. Bit tired and stressed I think to be thinking clearly. Just gonna pop some on for her, with garlic (should I go buy the cayenne first do you think?)

Will answer your other part of post in a sec, but yes she coulda eaten something she wasn't supposed to, the silly sausage. If so I hope it breaks down quick.

 

[Greebo]

Second, she could have been at the bottom of the pecking order, and just got to the point where she was eating so little that she lost her energy. It happens, though not often. Generally with very timid birds.

This is something I wrote to facebook group (lazy copy/paste ) and also partially from another post on here, which was TLDR for everyone haha.
She has always been a bit of a loner, able to spend time with and be accepted by the other silkies, but also choosing to wander off, either alone, including dirt bathing/napping alone, or hanging around different 'cliques' (there are 3-4 different 'groups' of birds within the flock that split off together, I also have various bantam breeds within these, and different age groups, the silkies are a group in their own and the 2nd oldest, but "Little" has always been able to intermingle alongside all groups/ages or be happily off by herself).
The other silkies have always been tight with her despite her being different, and they were together from hatch date til 5weeks when I took her in to help her thrive, and returned her when bigger at 9wks, but she chooses her own path a lot of the time - never any angst about it, just wanders off from them. Surprisingly she's not the lowest on the pecking order. I worried about that as a failure to thrive, and spending time separated with us, so when I first reintroduced her to full time being with them again I would watch for signs of discontent like a hawk. Had nothing to worry about though coz it all went smoothly, they clicked right back in and she became 3rd of 4 in rank among the silkies, and she's 'above' all the juveniles. The top dogs are the 2 Old English Game Bantams, they were the only mature ones and I'd had them for 2 years before any of the others came along. She 'visits' with all the other groups. She likes the pekins quite a bit.
She's never fought with anyone, but she will use her body to stand tall to pull rank, or if needed peck in someone's direction, but mostly she's accepted by all and stays out of confrontations. The other groups squabble amongst themselves at different times, and amongst each other occasionally, but only superficially, to test boundaries or assert them. I've never seen anyone give anything more than a rudimentary peck, no one's ever 'come to blows' so to speak. Even the few roosters I've got in the 4-12wk range only fluff and dance around each other on occasion, they've not matured enough to do more than practice yet.

Sorry for length but it was easier to copy and drop it

 

[Greebo]

I should note, these guys don't have a chicken run or pen. They all free range through an extra large double block yard, with garden incl veges. There's loads of places for them to hang out and separate, so no one really bickers. They rotate around the yard too, so everyone gets a shot at the different sections of garden. At sundown they come up to the house and I let them into the side room and pick them up to put them into large bird cages with perches to sleep. They each have set spots and do not like to be put in incorrectly - I have been schooled. They get a curtain thrown over to keep in warmth, and I let them all out again in the morning after I've cleaned and topped up water bowls and put out the food bowls (I collect at night to not attract pests). There's 15 or so different bowls spread across the yard. Yes, I make life hard for myself haha, what a sucker.

I went out just now and Little is laying in a dust hollow under a tree with Popcorn (the silkie that is one down in pecking order from her) who she usually roosts next to of a night. I think they have missed each other lol. Gonna leave them undisturbed until they move around again, then I might bring Little in. I'll watch and see if she's wandering and eating first.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Watching to learn ... Greebo you mentioned something about pin feathers? Is it possible she's molting & not feeling up to par? nightowl223 great doctoring

 

[Greebo]

Oooh I just learnt how to like a post. Yes nightowl223 has been such a helpful mentor. Indebted!

Yes she is going through a moult (Aus/brit spelling, I tried but can't spell it your way, my eye started twitching haha - sorry if the same is happening to you as you read lol). ALL the older birds are moulting though and none of them have been like her. The opposite in fact. They seem to be consuming more than before, and bee line for any meat based treats I have been offering to help them through it. Where they have been voracious, she's been picky and disinterested. Can moulting make them go sickly like that? If so what can you do to stop them being affected that way? I'd been giving extra treats and food, and they have access to loads of things in the yard, from bugs to veges like kale (which they are shredding lol), plus I'd been giving vitamins, probiotics and ACV in their water (daily but alternating the additive). Am I missing something?
There's shell grit through the dirt too. And apart from the herbs and veges in the garden, I put out bowls of feed containing chick crumble (I have loads of under-agers) and wheat, some corn, some sunflower seeds (plus I have sunflowers growing at home so they help themselves to the ripe ones or I pull them down and break them up). I also crush up the layers egg shells plus any excess eggs I get when available (well crushed and whisked or cooked), and feed them back to them.
I had hoped I was offering enough to help through any extra pressures of a moult. Our Little may need more help though being a FTT and having development issues. Please let me know if you can think of extra things to try. Would do anything for this little girl.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Darn, your chickens eat well! Have you tried scrambled eggs? Yogurt? Tuna? Maybe she's "bored" with the meat based treats. You're doing the best you can, she just maybe "fragile" & needing extra care.

 

[nightowl223]

Glad I've been a help. That's what this site is for.

You don't *have* to have the cayenne (powder or crushed, either works) in the scrambled eggs, it's just one of the things you can give them to help perk them up. Just pick some up next time you get a chance. It's great just to have around, in fact. Just like garlic (again, powdered or fresh). Oh, and cinnamon powder, too. And, let's see... ah, apple cider vinegar - unpasteurized, with the "mother" in it! That's a natural antibiotic, as well as great to help them get their tummies (well, okay, crops and gizzards... digestive system) into a better Ph level to fight off germs and such. I keep a separate container of ACV for my critters than what I use for cooking or cleaning. And it needs its lid opened so it has fresh air every so often, too, to keep the mother in it healthy. All of these things - the ACV, the honey, the garlic, the cayenne, all are part of my critter first aid care, along with actual medications.

And as for things to help get everyone through molt/moult (no, Aus/Br English doesn't bug me... too many years having a huge addiction to shows like Doctor Who for a little difference in spelling or pronunciation bother me too much, LOL!)... I find my chooks LOVE cat food... dry food or moist (bagged/canned) or treats. It's extra high in protein and vitamins, which is exactly what they need for their bodies to get all those new feathers made! Get a little 5 pound bag of dry feed or a case of the canned feed, and pass it out once a day for a few weeks. Yes the canned food gets messy, but they'll be thankful. In fact, that might be something you can get Little (is that her name? hope I got it correct) interested in eating!

Oh, a few other goodies you might be able to treat her with - yogurt (plain, as it has no artificial sweeteners or other crud in it), and oatmeal! Either can also have fruit and honey added to it, in fact, for a bigger boost. And the honey needs - if at all possible! - to be raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized, just like it is when it comes out of the honeycombs... that's the kind that has the most antibiotic properties, the highest natural energy content, and the least extra, unnatural added crud in it.

 

[Greebo]

Darn, your chickens eat well! Have you tried scrambled eggs? Yogurt? Tuna? Maybe she's "bored" with the meat based treats. You're doing the best you can, she just maybe "fragile" & needing extra care.

She may be more fragile yes. But defo why I want to work as hard as I can to keep her happy. She's not a yoghurt fan (the others get it twice a week and ~3/4 of them gobble it down), personal taste I think. Will grab some tuna while I'm out (have to go take kids to a function) and see how she takes to it this evening. Cheers!