Broody hen? Or is she sick? Please help!

[k9advocate]

I found my black australorp sitting on the ground yesterday afternoon. I brought her in and examined her. She seems to have some mites but is not infested (I found this out last week and am preparing to clean out the coop and treat everybody with DE).

She has some broken feathers and some new feathers growing in. She does not seem to be in pain but will not eat or drink. She stayed in the same place all night in the cage and this morning had only white poo and some yellow stuff under her. Her eyes are bright and she is fluffy but she won't stand up and does not make any noises.

She is a year old and eats organic food and kitchen scraps. This behavior started about 14 hours ago. Earlier in the day she was eating and acting normally. All the other chickens are acting normally.

Any ideas? I am keeping her separated in a cage inside for now.
Thanks!!!!
Michelle in Virginia

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? With her feathers growing in it sounds like she may be in molt. If she is broody, they don't eat much when sitting on eggs, but she should be eating if she is in a cage without eggs. A lot of white or urates in the stool sounds like she may be dehydrated or have a kidney problem. I would put some Sevin dust or permethrin on her for the mites, and maybe worm her with Valbazen. Try getting her to eat with some scrambled egg--even my broodies will eat that. Have you had any coccidiosis in your flock? Her symptoms could be caused by that or she might need an antibiotic.