Bantam Nankin Chicken

[Squawk]

We have a Nankin hen, approximately 1 year, that has recently become lethargic. Her claws are soft and mottled and she is loosing wing feathers. While I have not been observing her feeding habits she is spending more time in the coop so I presume she is eating less. She does come down the ramp for meal leftovers.

Several weeks ago our, autistic, grandson threw the hen in a shallow stream; seeing her distress took her out and tossed her down to surrounding rocks. (He thought she would fly, I think her wings were wet and so she simply fell.) Our guy reported himself immediately, upset at having hurt the chicken. I dried her in a towel and then with the blow dryer on low; I put her in the brooder for 24 hours. At the 24 hour mark she seemed restless, not warm and altogether back to normal. I returned her to the coop where she carried on as normal until our grandaughter noticed she was not coming out.

I include the stream incident not being certain the current situation is related. This little bantam was Reserve Grandchampion at last years fair and special to our grandson, despite his decision to "wade with her".

Any suggestions would be so much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/206923.htm
Vitamin D deficiency can cause soft claws and loss of feathers.

However, I have no idea if that is the cause of her problems.

You might ensure that your feed is fresh, and I am wondering if she has had some internal organ damage from hitting the rocks. She might be sore and healing from that???

Additionally, you might have a look at this page, at the foot section:
http://www.poultry.msstate.edu/extension/pdf/diseases_poultry_diagnosis_symptoms.pdf
"shank depigmented" could be a vitamin A deficiency

I would personally add some poultry vitamins to the water (available at a feed store) and if the feed is old buy some fresh feed (it is only good for 2-4 months or so if stored optimally and usually folks aren't able to store it optimally- moisture or heat will readily damage feed very fast).

I would also feed her scrambled eggs daily until she perks up. That is perfect chicken food, as that is what they eat as they grow inside the egg, and would be a nice boost.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Oh I forgot to ask if you are feeding her layer feed or scratch only?

Feeding only scratch will cause vitamin deficiencies (unless the diet is balanced with a lot of other homemade food).

If she is truly only sitting around and it is very cold where you are, I'd consider bringing her to the brooder under a warming light to recover for a bit.

 

[Squawk]

Dear Chickens are Sweet: How can we thank you for taking the time to reply to our question? We are all so grateful to you.

I think you may be right about the feed. The feeder is likely too big for three Nankins and may not be fresh. I passed along the information to the children and we will try filling just the bottom tray. We also gave her an egg, although we had been told not to do that as it teaches them to eat their eggs, not true? Whatever is the truth there, she did eat the egg and is altogether perkier today.

What the children described as "soft claws" turned out to be mud balls. I should have picked her up and looked more closely before I posted. Anyway, I had to kind of laugh at myself for just taking their word for it and wracking my brain about what could be wrong with her claws. Poor chickens, they clearly are going to need a little more survival skills than the average chicken, sigh!

We are, by the way, feeding fortified food and Scratch and Peck only on occasion.


In the meantime, thank you again for the help. It's such a relief to know there are smarter people out there.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Dear Chickens are Sweet: How can we thank you for taking the time to reply to our question? We are all so grateful to you.

I think you may be right about the feed. The feeder is likely too big for three Nankins and may not be fresh. I passed along the information to the children and we will try filling just the bottom tray. We also gave her an egg, although we had been told not to do that as it teaches them to eat their eggs, not true? Whatever is the truth there, she did eat the egg and is altogether perkier today.

What the children described as "soft claws" turned out to be mud balls. I should have picked her up and looked more closely before I posted. Anyway, I had to kind of laugh at myself for just taking their word for it and wracking my brain about what could be wrong with her claws. Poor chickens, they clearly are going to need a little more survival skills than the average chicken, sigh!

We are, by the way, feeding fortified food and Scratch and Peck only on occasion.


In the meantime, thank you again for the help. It's such a relief to know there are smarter people out there.

You are welcome! I am very glad to hear the little one's feet are OK.

When you feed eggs, if they are boiled you can mash them up and feed them that way (even including the shell if it is crushed beyond recognition), or scramble them. I wouldn't feed a whole raw egg as yes that would teach her to eat eggs.

Good luck with her and it sounds like she is on the mend.