8 week old ISA pullet acting sleepy

[daisy_dukers]

Here is the scoop.

one of my 25 isa browns is acting very stangely.
She is all puffed up and just sitting in the coop when I go in there
She is eating and drinking, but acting like she is super sleepy.

I checked her over really well and she didnt protest at all which is strange as they all usually freak out when I first pick them up.

No mites or anything that I can see.

She is eating pullet developer(non medicated), has grit and they get loads of greens etc. She was started on medicated starter and they all ate that for the first 6.5-7 weeks like everyone else.

No discarge from the eyes or beak, nothing wrong with her vent, though she seems lighter weight wise than she should be.

Crop seems fine, and yesterday she spent some time in the tractor and acted fine there, but when I put her back in the coop she went back to her lethargic self. She ate some grass and even some cantaloupe.

This has been going on for about 2 days now

I havent noticed any difference in the droppings, though it has been hotter than usual weather wise.

I did make the mistake of leaving thier light on the day before it started(all night), any chance she is just tired?

Our local feed stores do not have any "chicken de-wormers" strangely enough and I was pretty much laughed at when I suggested it, and our vet has no experience with chickens and was no help.

I have been expecting a death or 2 but so far all 25 have been healthy happy chicks who have been growing normally into fine looking birds.

She has always been a bit of a runt and as I can tell the difference between her and her sisters as her coloring is half white.

I have also looked at the poop and havent seen any worms or anything suspect.

Failure to thrive perhaps?

 

[Judy]

Wish I had a magic answer for you. Failure to thrive is certainly a possibility, especially since she is smaller. If she is at the bottom of the pecking order, which seems at least possible since she is small, she may be having trouble getting as much to eat as she'd like. You don't say where you live; she might be having a bit more trouble dealing with the heat than others, too.

You could try separating her for a few minutes a couple of times a day and beefing up her nutrition a bit with a special snack -- you know, a bit of yogurt, egg, oatmeal, game bird feed, canned tuna or mackerel, etc., etc. I'd look for protein sources. You could also drop 2 or 3 drops of infant vitamins on the snack.

I used to have a runt, seemed perfectly healthy, just stayed smaller. I'd make sure he got a generous portion of any treats, esp. the protein ones. Lost him to a fox.

 

[Judy]

It dawned on me that cocci is a possibility after I posted. Read post #67 in this thread:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=183335&p=7

Fits your symptoms, and people are having trouble with cocci despite medicated feed. A round of Corid could to no harm, except to your wallet!

 

[daisy_dukers]

Just an update, Turns out if you leave the light on overnight the pullets get pretty darn tired...I believe the pullet in question was just trying to sleep.

Everybody is doing great....no more issues at all over the last 4 days or so.

I did pick up a gallon jug of meds in case it was cocci, hopefully I wont have to use it anytime soon.

I gotta start treating them like livestock and quit worrying about them so much.