Change in chicken's behavior due to cold weather?

[spiritpots]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly! Her abdomen doesn't feel swollen and I did check for mites/lice a few days ago but will do that again today. It's been a couple of months since she laid and I'm not entirely sure she had actually begun laying before the short daylight hours of winter set in. I found her in the nesting box late in the fall but haven't seen her in it since then. I don't use supplemental lighting and now that we're getting more daylight I'm now getting 1-2 eggs a day from the four chickens. My brown leghorn lays white eggs so I know those eggs are her's but the other three lay brown eggs. I know the maran is laying for sure and maybe my blue orpington. Sophia is definitely not laying.

I'll bring her into the garage with a regular light. That should allow me to get an accurate fecal sample. Thank you for the link to the U of M site. I'll check it out.

 

[PirateGirl]

I just want to chime in and say I agree that there is quite possibly something more going on than just the cold. The stress of the cold could have made something else surface. I have had cold birds, and if that's all it is, at the warmest part of the day they are generally quickly back to normal. Her comb seems excessively pale and floppy, even for a bird that may be molting and may not be laying due to short daylight hours. The lack of laying at this time of year could simply be due to the season and may or may not be related to whatever underlying health issues she has. You've gotten some good advice on things to check for. Good luck getting her sorted out. Chickens can bounce back from all sorts of things if we notice that they are acting a bit off.

 

[spiritpots]

Just thought I'd give an update on Sophia. I ended up taking her into the vet yesterday to find out what's going on as although she eats, drinks and likes to be outside free ranging she is still pretty lethargic even though the weather is warming. She does not have any mites or lice and her fecal test came back negative for parasites. The vet did start her on some Rx for 5 days anyway (the test results came in today) and also recommended that I treat all four OTC for coccidiosis. The vet feels there is an underlying health issue that Sophia may have had for a while so we'll keep an eye on her and see how things are in a few days. Sophia did seem a bit more active today and when I took a treat of a little banana and rice out this afternoon she gobbled it up with the other girls. Her energy is still very low and she wasn't able to fly up to even the bottom roost this evening so I put her up on it and she is sleeping now. Hopefully she'll have a good night. I truly appreciate all of you taking the time to help me try and figure this out!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Just thought I'd give an update on Sophia. I ended up taking her into the vet yesterday to find out what's going on as although she eats, drinks and likes to be outside free ranging she is still pretty lethargic even though the weather is warming. She does not have any mites or lice and her fecal test came back negative for parasites. The vet did start her on some Rx for 5 days anyway (the test results came in today) and also recommended that I treat all four OTC for coccidiosis. The vet feels there is an underlying health issue that Sophia may have had for a while so we'll keep an eye on her and see how things are in a few days. Sophia did seem a bit more active today and when I took a treat of a little banana and rice out this afternoon she gobbled it up with the other girls. Her energy is still very low and she wasn't able to fly up to even the bottom roost this evening so I put her up on it and she is sleeping now. Hopefully she'll have a good night. I truly appreciate all of you taking the time to help me try and figure this out!

Glad you were able to see the vet, I hope with treatment she recovers quickly.
Please keep us posted.

 

[feedman77]

Hope your hen recovers from what ailed her.

Your Sophia is an Easter egger by looking at pucs

 

[spiritpots]

Thank you for your kind thoughts. I'm not sure what breed Sophia is but am also thinking she is an Easter Egger with her beard and muff, grayish green feet and pea comb. I was told she was a lavender orpington when she was a chick but she is definitely not an orpington. I have a blue orpington who is huge and Sophia has always been smaller. I'm not sure if Sophia had started to lay last fall before the days started to get so short so hopefully she'll recover and lay this spring. If so, her egg color may help me know for sure. Even the vet said they were trying to figure out what her breed is.