Broody or sick? Please help

[Eggcessive]

I would guess that she is either getting sick or isolating herself from the others, but with her grey comb, it sounds more like illness. I have a hen who recently resumed laying, and she has tsken to wanting to sleep in the nest box at night. It worries me with temps close to zero now, and I have lost several older hens lately who just became sluggish and separated themselves, then died within 2-3 days. They were all 5-6 years old.

I would try to get her drinking water, and offer her some wet chicken feed, chopped egg, tuna, or liver. If she is not laying, and her crop feels normal, she could have a reproductive disorder, such as internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis. Hopefully, she will get better, but it seems that cold weather this time of year can push some hens over the age.

 

[Kate E]

My thoughts, if she is broody, she would not have gotten up and run from you.
Usually a broody is like a brick, no matter where they are you have to just about pry them up from where they are sitting - growling and making a fuss as well.

A hard molt can make them feel unwell and yes, that could be the reason for the pale comb, but generally a bird will still roost.

Check her feet again when you can just to make sure there is no more bumblefoot that may be painful for roosting. Look her over for lice/mites, check the crop and feel the abdomen for any swelling/bloat. If you have a vet that can perform a fecal float to rule out worms, that's a good idea too.

I’ll check her feet and her crop tonight. You’d think living in farm country in Wisconsin I could find a vet that treats chickens but I haven’t been able to find one to save my life... very frustrating.

 

[Kate E]

I would guess that she is either getting sick or isolating herself from the others, but with her grey comb, it sounds more like illness. I have a hen who recently resumed laying, and she has tsken to wanting to sleep in the nest box at night. It worries me with temps close to zero now, and I have lost several older hens lately who just became sluggish and separated themselves, then died within 2-3 days. They were all 5-6 years old.

I would try to get her drinking water, and offer her some wet chicken feed, chopped egg, tuna, or liver. If she is not laying, and her crop feels normal, she could have a reproductive disorder, such as internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis. Hopefully, she will get better, but it seems that cold weather this time of year can push some hens over the age.

I’m not sure how old she is. I got her about 9 months ago and was told she was between 2-3 years old. She’s always been more sluggish than the rest of the flock. She always the last one to run from the run to free range, always clucking behind the rest of group when they are in the yard. She’s the top hen but has always kind of isolated herself a bit.

I’ve noticed with the cold temps all of my birds have been drinking significantly less. I have a heated waterer in their run that holds 3 gallons and I could easily go a week without replacing it (I change it more frequently than that obviously but there is barely ever any gone)

On Tuesday late afternoon I did give all of the birds some warm scrambled eggs in addition to their daily corn and mealworm treat. They also have layer feed available to them constantly.

I leave on Saturday for a 10 day vacation, I have serious guilt leaving knowing that something is off.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would warn whoever takes care of your chickens while you are gone, that this one may end up dying, just so they don’t freak out if it happens. This time of year is very hard on all animals, and if the chickens are getting up there, that can be when we see more illness or death.

 

[Kate E]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and replies. I'll give her a good once over tonight and make sure her crop and feet are okay. I've asked my dad to check on her this afternoon to see if she is out of the coop and will take any of her favorite snacks... we'll see. My dad will be on chicken duty while we are gone on vacation and luckily he is already aware that something is off so if she doesn't make it it shouldn't be too much of a shock to him. Fingers crossed she just had a bad night.

 

[Kate E]

Another update. My dad checked the hens today and brought them a snack of corn and mealworms. He said that the hen was at the door of the coop and not outside in the run with the other birds when he arrived like she normally would be but that when he threw the snacks for them she came right out of the coop, walking normally, and started pecking at the corn and worms like she normally would. He checks on the birds for me a few days a week because I have a long commute to and from work and some days I can't get my eyes on them during the day light, so he is used to their individual mannerisms.

I'm so confused now. I'm starting to think maybe something on her foot is irritating her and keeping her from wanting to roost. She did have a tiny spot of bumble foot a few months back that I treated her for but it never reappeared that I have noticed and until now she has been acting totally normal. If its not her foot I wonder if shes gotten older and is no longer at the top of the pecking order so shes keeping her distance from the other birds- does that happen?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

When you get home, check her crop to make sure that she has been eating.
Chickens are very good at hiding illness and will even go so far as to appear they are eating (picking at feed/treats, but not actually consuming them) and will try their best to act normal.

It could be that she has something wrong with her foot or she is still struggling with a hard molt - look through her feathers - does she have new growth still coming in?

A lot of times, it's hard to know exactly what's going on with a chicken, but you can tell something is just no quite right about behavior.

 

[Kate E]

I was able to get my hands on her this evening and give her a good inspection. It was again dark by the time I got home so when I opened the coop the birds were roosting, including the “sick” hen. She was on the rung below the other 4 birds but she was up off the floor of the coop which is better than last night. She did fight me a bit as I grabbed her off of the roost which seemed encouraging. Nothing strange going on with her feet, no sign of bumble foot or any other injuries. Her crop didn’t feel like it was bluging but it wasn’t empty either... I’m not an expert in chicken crops but it felt normal to me. I checked her rear and it was clean, no dirty feathers from runny poops. She did poop when I put her back down on the floor of the coop and the poop was totally normal, not runny, no strange colors, nothing. When I placed her back on the floor of the coop I waited for her to make her way back up the roost but she wasn’t interested, instead she went back to the pile of wood shavings that she slept in last night. I’m starting to fear she is just getting old and fading away

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It's good that you found no lice or mites and that her crop has food in it.

With her molting, she still may not feel well. There may also be a change in flock dynamics during this time (she's not top girl anymore).
The only things I can suggest would be to have a fecal float. In the meantime, if you can, take her aside and get some extra vitamins and protein into her.

I know it's hard with you working - leaving early and coming home after dark. When your Dad checks on them during the day, maybe he can get her aside and give her a little chopped egg with some Nutri-Drench on them? Just some thoughts.

fwiw - the rest of your girls might like a treat of chopped egg too