Average Flock

In the Brooder
Nov 3, 2020
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I have a four year old Golden Comet hen who my brother took to the county fair a few weeks ago. While she was there she collapsed and since has not been able to stand up. She has lost a lot of weight. During the first few days after bringing her home she refused to eat or drink, however since then she has regained her appetite, and while she is still very thin, she had gained some weight. She is very perky and always talking to you when you visit especially when meal worms are involved, but she still has not been able to push herself onto her feet. She has been scooting herself around the coop, and today even managed to find her way down the ramp to the run below the coop. Another thing I have noticed is that she can be very uncoordinated when eating, sometimes completely missing the food and pecking at air. None the other girls show any signs of illness. Any idea on what could be going on, and if I can help her?
 

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When was her last egg?
Where are you located in the world - has it been hot?
What do you feed?

I'd be inclined to get extra Calcium into her for week. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

In addition to the calcium, I would also give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily for a couple of weeks. Give them orally like you do the Calcium. Give her bits of egg to help with the uptake of E and see that she's eating a balanced poultry feed for the majority of her diet.
 
When was her last egg?
Where are you located in the world - has it been hot?
What do you feed?
I am not 100% sure when her last egg was, but it has been a couple months at least.

I am located in the southern Maryland area. The weekend we took the birds to the fair when she collapsed the heat index was 115, but since then it hasn't been overly hot or humid. I think the stress of the fair and the heat might have accelerated however has caused this, but judging by how much weight she lost when we took her home early, I think she was experiencing symptoms before the heat.

We used to feed Purina Layena pellets, but about a month or so TSC was out of stock so the salesman recomended the Nutrena NatureWise layer pellets which is what we have been feeding since.
 
I am not 100% sure when her last egg was, but it has been a couple months at least.

I am located in the southern Maryland area. The weekend we took the birds to the fair when she collapsed the heat index was 115, but since then it hasn't been overly hot or humid. I think the stress of the fair and the heat might have accelerated however has caused this, but judging by how much weight she lost when we took her home early, I think she was experiencing symptoms before the heat.

We used to feed Purina Layena pellets, but about a month or so TSC was out of stock so the salesman recomended the Nutrena NatureWise layer pellets which is what we have been feeding since.
She may have suffered heat stroke, that's quite hot temps to be traveling and going through the stress of a show.

I'd continue to work on hydration, alternate between giving plain fresh cool water and electrolytes.
I would still get the vitamins and Calcium into her as well. Hopefully she will recover soon.
 

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