biggest "fluffiest" buff orp now skinny and lethargic. help?

[Dianekw]

Hi All,

Hoping someone has an idea as to what's wrong with Blanche. She's almost 4 years old. Hasn't laid an egg in a year and a half, but she was a good layer, so I'm letting her "retire" on her own time. ;-) She was always the fatter of the two BO's I've got...always the first at the treat-line, and quite pushy with the younger girls as they were growing up. She always had this blob of fat below her vent, about the size of a large egg, but it didn't seem to get bigger, so I figured it was just fat....it was there for a couple years. Well...it's gone now...along with every other ounce of fat on her body! I can feel her keel bone to about an inch in! It's startling! I hadn't noticed her losing weight cuz she's been fluffing herself up to look like a big ball. I thought it was cuz she's cold...it's been rainy and cool, and the other girls have been doing the same, but today I notice she's not moving around at all like the others...She's just standing around all fluffed up, looking like she's napping...closing her eyes a lot, and today she stopped coming over when I brought treats in, so I thought I'd see if I could catch her(she's normally very skittish) and see if I could see anything wrong...well...she stayed put and let me pick her up! That's when I discovered that she was so shockingly skinny under all that fluff! I set her back down after not finding a thing wrong with her, and immediately the black astralorps started picking on her trying to beat her up, so I separated her from the flock so they wouldn't kill her. She's very wobbly...I had to hold her on her feet for a few seconds so she wouldn't fall over when I set her down. She's now got her own food/water/treats/box...none of which she's touching. She's just standing and wobbling a little in one place closing her eyes. She didn't even react when I offered her a little cooked rice...her very FAVORITE treat, so I know she's not feeling good at all. I cant find any parasite issues, no problem with her feathers, feet, skin, beak, nostrils, ears, comb, eyes(other than she's closing them a lot to nap). Nothing's bleeding, nothing's broken. She's only been fluffing up like this for a couple of days, and my other BO was also...almost like they're trying to decide if they want to go broody(the other one is my broody mama...raised two sets of babies already). The other BO seems totally fine though...not any skinnier than normal, still clucks around talking to me and taking treats, scratching and interacting with the rest of the flock. I cant think of anything that may have triggered a problem for Blanche. I've been on a couple of trips, and they do seem to miss me when I'm gone, but the rest of the girls are fine, so? For the past month and a half, I've been giving them all a natural deworming herb formula that I got online (as directed)...it's got wormwood and a bunch of other herbs, so I dont think it's worms...and since they've all been eating it for so many weeks, I doubt it's that Now that I think of it, I dont think she's been too crazy for any treats in the last couple of days, but she did still come take a few bites of stuff each time I brought something, so not completely ignoring food til today. I dont know how much she's been eating the regular feed(it's freefeeding), or drinking...I haven't seen her go to either while I'm in the coop, but I often dont see the others eating/drinking either so I wasn't all that worried before today. She did have a little diarrhea today...whiteish, very thin. I couldn't see anything in it. Their normal bedding in the coop and nesting boxes is pine shavings. The run is dirt floor, which I rake up when it needs it. Their coop/run is covered(roof), and very "clean"...doesn't stink at all...most people that see them comment that they thought chicken coops were supposed to smell bad...mine doesn't at all., so it's probably not a cleanliness issue.

I dont intend to take her to the vet...we're under covid19 "lockdown" and honestly...she's a chicken...not gonna spend hundreds of dollars on her...but if there's something I can do to help her, I would like to make her feel better. Any ideas?

 

[kristeninprogress]

If there are no signs of parasites, no visible injuries, nothing alarming about her poop, and her comb is still bright...

I hate to say it, but given her age, she may just be ready to cross the rainbow bridge.

A couple things you could do, switch from layer feed to a higher protein chick feed. Put probiotics in her water. And I had a hen that seemed a little off, so I gave her 5 ml of molasses mixed with probiotic water. It was a trick given to me by the county Chicken Lady, and it seemed to work, but I don't know if there's any science behind it.

Good luck!

 

[ChickNanny13]

Sorry to hear Blanche is doing poorly. Rice has no nutrition, what do you normally feed them? 2x @kristeninprogress about a higher protein feed ... Flock Raiser is 20% but if you have non medicated chick feed that would be ok too. Wet it to make a mash see if she'll eat that. Dry cat food, moisten has also been used to get them eating. Scrambled or boiled eggs, tuna, plain yogurt, tofu ... Nutri Drench would be a good supplement for her, make sure she has clean drinking water.

How's the color of her comb/wattles? Have you checked her crop, is it empty or squishy?
If you can post a picture of her & poop, that may help.

I personally wouldn't try worming her if her condition is really bad. If you can place her in a crate in the house would keep her warm ... Where are you located? You may want to update your location in your profile.

 

[Dianekw]

Sorry to hear Blanche is doing poorly. Rice has no nutrition, what do you normally feed them? 2x @kristeninprogress about a higher protein feed ... Flock Raiser is 20% but if you have non medicated chick feed that would be ok too. Wet it to make a mash see if she'll eat that. Dry cat food, moisten has also been used to get them eating. Scrambled or boiled eggs, tuna, plain yogurt, tofu ... Nutri Drench would be a good supplement for her, make sure she has clean drinking water.

How's the color of her comb/wattles? Have you checked her crop, is it empty or squishy?
If you can post a picture of her & poop, that may help.

I personally wouldn't try worming her if her condition is really bad. If you can place her in a crate in the house would keep her warm ... Where are you located? You may want to update your location in your profile.

thanks for the response! Yes, I know rice has no nutritional benefit...it's just a very occasional treat, and they go NUTS over it. We get candy and cake as an occasional treat...why shouldn't the chickens get a little taste of something they love on occasion? ;-) They get layer pellets for normal food, plus a high protein scratch mix, so I dont think it's a nutrition problem. The color of her comb/wattles is totally normal...same as always...same as her sister's. Her crop seems empty(makes sense since she's not eating)...I cant really find it! she's so skinny! I'm in California...SF Bay Area, so our weather is pretty mild. I've set her up with a nesting box inside of a cardboard box(turned on it's side, so it offers shelter, but she can walk out of it) in the corner of the run that I have fenced off for just her. (she was hanging out in the nesting boxes the last couple of nights...so I figured she'd prefer that to a perch...which she also has in that corner of the run, but it's not enclosed...it's open to the evening air). she's got fresh water and food, plus a little scratch, but she's not touchin' any of it...she's just standing shakily with her head tucked into her wing. She was "outside" when I went to close up the coop, so I picked her up and put her in the box so she could keep a little warmer. I dont have a crate that I can keep her in in the house, and I think being "with" the flock is more comforting to her than being in a strange place all by herself. I'll try to get pics tomorrow

 

[Dianekw]

If there are no signs of parasites, no visible injuries, nothing alarming about her poop, and her comb is still bright...

I hate to say it, but given her age, she may just be ready to cross the rainbow bridge.

A couple things you could do, switch from layer feed to a higher protein chick feed. Put probiotics in her water. And I had a hen that seemed a little off, so I gave her 5 ml of molasses mixed with probiotic water. It was a trick given to me by the county Chicken Lady, and it seemed to work, but I don't know if there's any science behind it.

Good luck!

really? She's not quite 4 years old...that's OLD? yikes! :-\ I do have some chick feed, but she's not even eating the rice(candy for chickens), so I'll offer it, but I doubt she'll take any. I do have probiotics...will put some in the water tomorrow for her. I dont think I have any molasses. :-\ Thanks for the advice.

 

[kristeninprogress]

really? She's not quite 4 years old...that's OLD? yikes! :-\ I do have some chick feed, but she's not even eating the rice(candy for chickens), so I'll offer it, but I doubt she'll take any. I do have probiotics...will put some in the water tomorrow for her. I dont think I have any molasses. :-\ Thanks for the advice.

I wouldn't say it's old, but birds age at different rates depending on breeding. Plus, she was a great layer, she stopped laying a year ago at a slightly young age, and she's free of other illnesses.

This article gives more information: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hens-passing-away-due-to-old-age-what-to-expect.73542/

I'm not saying this to be cruel or to have you stop exploring other options, I just want to make sure you're prepared if this is the case, and I want to help assure you that this might be something you can't fix to ease the guilt most owners feel after losing a beloved chicken.

I hope I'm wrong and she's just feeling a little under the weather. Hugs to you and Blanche.

 

[ChickNanny13]

We can try to help but it's all up to you

 

[Dianekw]

I wouldn't say it's old, but birds age at different rates depending on breeding. Plus, she was a great layer, she stopped laying a year ago at a slightly young age, and she's free of other illnesses.

This article gives more information: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hens-passing-away-due-to-old-age-what-to-expect.73542/

I'm not saying this to be cruel or to have you stop exploring other options, I just want to make sure you're prepared if this is the case, and I want to help assure you that this might be something you can't fix to ease the guilt most owners feel after losing a beloved chicken.

I hope I'm wrong and she's just feeling a little under the weather. Hugs to you and Blanche.

Thanks, Kristen! I've never seen ANY info before on dying of old age, but yes...this describes Blanche to a T. Not sounding cruel! On the contrary! Your post was very kind, and I appreciate the link soooo much! Looking back at the last few days(weeks?), she has been slowly distancing herself from the flock, and slowly being less and less aggressive at treat time...and fluffing herself up more and more...obviously trying not to let any of us know she's not feeling great. Since she's fairly skiddish normally, I haven't been picking her up a whole lot to check her body condition, cuz it just freaks her out usually, but now she's lost the will to run away from me...lets me pet her and pick her up and hold her and check her out. She's otherwise totally fine...just super skinny, not eating/drinking, staying away from the flock, and sleeping more and more during the day. Yup...sounds like she's slipping away...poor thing! But I do feel a whole lot better knowing what to expect! And I'm glad I separated her, cuz now that the other girls have noticed that she's not doing well, they started to pick on her and I dont want her to die at the "hands" of her sisters! :-\ She's "with" them in the run, but separated by a fence, so she can pass in peace, but still be near her family.

 

[featherhead007]

You are doing pretty much all you can for her. That's great!

 

[kristeninprogress]

Thanks, Kristen! I've never seen ANY info before on dying of old age, but yes...this describes Blanche to a T. Not sounding cruel! On the contrary! Your post was very kind, and I appreciate the link soooo much! Looking back at the last few days(weeks?), she has been slowly distancing herself from the flock, and slowly being less and less aggressive at treat time...and fluffing herself up more and more...obviously trying not to let any of us know she's not feeling great. Since she's fairly skiddish normally, I haven't been picking her up a whole lot to check her body condition, cuz it just freaks her out usually, but now she's lost the will to run away from me...lets me pet her and pick her up and hold her and check her out. She's otherwise totally fine...just super skinny, not eating/drinking, staying away from the flock, and sleeping more and more during the day. Yup...sounds like she's slipping away...poor thing! But I do feel a whole lot better knowing what to expect! And I'm glad I separated her, cuz now that the other girls have noticed that she's not doing well, they started to pick on her and I dont want her to die at the "hands" of her sisters! :-\ She's "with" them in the run, but separated by a fence, so she can pass in peace, but still be near her family.

You're a good chicken Momma.