Broody hen acting strange

[Studio2770]

I have had walking broodies, some I leave, some I break.

I haven't offered any advice recently became I'm wondering if she's picked something up and isn't doing well. As I don't treat my birds, I usually just wait and see how it goes, and cull if they don't improve after a week or so, so I can offer no advice as far as treatment.

It's possible being broody stressed her immune system enough for her to come down with something. It's also possible it's a coincidence, and there's something internally wrong with her like organ failure, or various diseases all animals can come down with.

You would need to see a vet to get a better diagnosis, but many vets don't see poultry, and many have no idea what they are seeing. Sorry I can't be much help. In my year of chicken keeping very few sick birds have improved long term with or without treatment.

Thanks for the reply. She hasn't seemed to improve and her weight feels lighter. She seems like she's easy to sway and seems weak. I gave her olive oil along with many squirts of yogurt, pumpkin puree, and electrolyte water. I hope that does something since she likely needs the nutrients.

The crazy thing is that she was perfectly fine the day before. It was when I took her out of the nesting box like I've done like clockwork and shortly after she started acting strange.

Thankfully we have a vet near that we've taken out chickens. I'm just concerned if she has strength to last till an appointment.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You are lucky to have a vet who will see her. Hopefully they find something, I would suspect some sort of infection.

 

[Studio2770]

You are lucky to have a vet who will see her. Hopefully they find something, I would suspect some sort of infection.

Unfortunately she passed away during the night. I had a feeling if the food that I gave her didn't help, she might not make it. What made it more difficult is that I get home when our vet closes and I wasn't sure if she'd make it to the appointment date.

 

[rebrascora]

So sorry you lost her. My two thoughts would be a slow/impacted crop or red mites sucking her blood. Broody hens are particularly at risk from them because the mites can feast on them 24/7 instead of just at night. Check all the cracks and crevices of the coop for them as that is where they live and breed and just crawl onto the chicken to feed on their blood. Look particularly on the underside of roosts and perhaps under the nest boxes and in the corners. I use a soft dust brush to sweep debris from nooks and crannies and roost bar ends into a dust pan and then tip the contents onto a light coloured surface to check for them. Anything that moves and is red gets squashed and almost always there is a smear of red blood as a result. Numbers can build up exceptionally quickly at this time of year. I once had a broody hen abandon her nest with just a couple of days to go and when I checked it, the eggs and nest material were heaving with red mites.... I was horrified and now make a point of dusting broody hens nests thoroughly with DE before I set eggs and then at regular intervals throughout the 3 week period that she is confined.

A necropsy should enable diagnosis if you are particularly interested to know the cause.

Best wishes with the rest of your flock

Barbara

 

[Studio2770]

So sorry you lost her. My two thoughts would be a slow/impacted crop or red mites sucking her blood. Broody hens are particularly at risk from them because the mites can feast on them 24/7 instead of just at night. Check all the cracks and crevices of the coop for them as that is where they live and breed and just crawl onto the chicken to feed on their blood. Look particularly on the underside of roosts and perhaps under the nest boxes and in the corners. I use a soft dust brush to sweep debris from nooks and crannies and roost bar ends into a dust pan and then tip the contents onto a light coloured surface to check for them. Anything that moves and is red gets squashed and almost always there is a smear of red blood as a result. Numbers can build up exceptionally quickly at this time of year. I once had a broody hen abandon her nest with just a couple of days to go and when I checked it, the eggs and nest material were heaving with red mites.... I was horrified and now make a point of dusting broody hens nests thoroughly with DE before I set eggs and then at regular intervals throughout the 3 week period that she is confined.

A necropsy should enable diagnosis if you are particularly interested to know the cause.

Best wishes with the rest of your flock

Barbara

Thank you for the kind words. I was thinking impacted crop might be it but her crop felt like a water balloon instead of firm. I gave her olive oil and massaged her crop but it obviously wasn't enough. I read that blowing under their wings to see red mites can be a way to check but I saw nothing when I did that. It's possible I wasn't thorough. I'll definitely examine the coop up and down for anything.

 

[rebrascora]

The crop doesn't have to be hard to be impacted, in fact usually the opposite. The experiences I have had with it is large but soft and squishy. Both hens were struggling to balance from the weight of it and were shockingly emaciated when I picked them up to inspect them. The first one I managed to sort out by oil and robust massaging several times a day for a week and liquid feeds with vitamin supplements and occasional attempts to vomit which whilst not successful in regurgitating food, did help to disturb and break up the plug of gunge that had settled in the bottom of her crop, blocking the outlet. Her problems started when she was broody. The second one, I had to perform crop surgery and there was a wad of soggy straw/hay the size of a soft ball (and this was in a little bantam!!) which was basically plugging her digestive system and preventing any food and very little water from going through her system. Interestingly, I had been treating her for nearly a fortnight before I resorted to crop surgery and yet there was no sour crop or bad smell, either from her or the soggy vegetation, so not sour crop, just clogged. She recovered almost immediately after the surgery and returned to laying eggs two weeks later.

Anyway, from what you are saying, my guess would be impacted crop like my girls. It basically starves them to death, but of course, because they are broody, you don't worry about the pale comb and lack of activity that would normally alert you to a problem, because it is part of being broody and even the loss of body condition is to be expected. And of course, chickens are so good at hiding a problem until it is too far gone.

I've never heard of blowing under their wings to test for mites.....is that not perhaps for lice, as under their wings is a favourite spot for lice to hang out.

 

[Studio2770]

The crop doesn't have to be hard to be impacted, in fact usually the opposite. The experiences I have had with it is large but soft and squishy. Both hens were struggling to balance from the weight of it and were shockingly emaciated when I picked them up to inspect them. The first one I managed to sort out by oil and robust massaging several times a day for a week and liquid feeds with vitamin supplements and occasional attempts to vomit which whilst not successful in regurgitating food, did help to disturb and break up the plug of gunge that had settled in the bottom of her crop, blocking the outlet. Her problems started when she was broody. The second one, I had to perform crop surgery and there was a wad of soggy straw/hay the size of a soft ball (and this was in a little bantam!!) which was basically plugging her digestive system and preventing any food and very little water from going through her system. Interestingly, I had been treating her for nearly a fortnight before I resorted to crop surgery and yet there was no sour crop or bad smell, either from her or the soggy vegetation, so not sour crop, just clogged. She recovered almost immediately after the surgery and returned to laying eggs two weeks later.

Anyway, from what you are saying, my guess would be impacted crop like my girls. It basically starves them to death, but of course, because they are broody, you don't worry about the pale comb and lack of activity that would normally alert you to a problem, because it is part of being broody and even the loss of body condition is to be expected. And of course, chickens are so good at hiding a problem until it is too far gone.

I've never heard of blowing under their wings to test for mites.....is that not perhaps for lice, as under their wings is a favourite spot for lice to hang out.

Hmmm that might've been it. What made this more difficult is that I just started classes this week so I leave in the morning for work don't get home till almost dusk. It's crazy because she was totally fine a few days ago and then that day after, she was different. Looking back, I see some things I could've done differently that might've made a difference.

 

[rebrascora]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing! Unfortunately none of us have it and we do the best we can with the information and opportunity we have. Learning from the experience and moving forward is the only thing that we can do, so don't beat yourself up.

Chickens will do their utmost to look "fine" even when they are not. It is a defence mechanism. Weak/sickly chickens are usually run out of the flock, so they try to appear normal. I have seen sick chickens pretending to eat with the flock.... picking up grains when I scatter scratch, but when you watch closely, they drop them again without ingesting them.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

So sorry you lost her. I personally think she would have passed no matter what you tried. Such is the nature of the chicken, well up until they are not, I personally have had no luck extending a sick chickens life.

 

[Studio2770]

So sorry you lost her. I personally think she would have passed no matter what you tried. Such is the nature of the chicken, well up until they are not, I personally have had no luck extending a sick chickens life.

Thanks for the kinds words. Yeah, the timing couldn't have been worse. I've lost several hens to medical issues. Two I took to the vet.