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Chicken eats but is very light

Discussion in 'Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying' started by peanutfeather, Feb 25, 2015.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Feb 25, 2015 #1
    peanutfeather

    peanutfeather In the Brooder

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    May 24, 2014
    So my dad goes out to open the chickens today and one of the chickens jumps from the coop and lands on the floor. It can't walk at all so he had to pick it up and he noticed it was very light. The bones stick out a lot when you move your hands under her feathers. 3 days ago I was playing around with my chickens outside and she could walk, run, and would eat so much, but now she is the complete opposite.

    All of my other chickens are normal weight and no bones stick out except this one white chicken who is like this chicken now but she can walk. She is so light-weight that it's light nothing when you pick her up. About a week ago, my dad had taken one of our white chickens inside and I was caring for her (keeping her warm[its winter here], giving her food [banana, bread, pellets], giving water, and at night I put her back into the coop with the rest of the chickens because she looked better and good enough. But now it's just so strange that these two chickens had lost weight so fast. They eat a lot, drink, and we have heaters for them in their coops.

    Also noting that the chicken that cannot walk has dry, wrinkly, and saggy feet. It's just not how a chicken's foot should look like.
    Thanks if you have a solution or any ideas
     
  2. Feb 25, 2015 #2
    azygous

    azygous Free Ranging 8 Years

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    There's no doubt you have a couple of very sick chickens. But it could be for any number of reasons. Worms could make them lose weight and shrivel up. Impacted or sour crop could cause weight loss. A wasting disease could cause this. Cancer could cause this. Marek's could cause this. There is a long list of avian diseases that can cause weight loss.

    To be able to diagnose the problem, you need to feel their crops and tell us if they feel hard like a rock, full and squishy or totally empty. You need to describe what the poop looks like. Is it thin, watery and white with green bits in it? Or is it brown and watery? Or are the chickens not pooping at all? Can you see any long, thin worms wiggling in the poop?

    And those are just for starters. Make all of those observations and write them all up and post this over on the Emergencies forum. There are more people on that forum who can help.

    By the way, this could be catching, so it'd be best to isolate the sick chickens from the rest.
     
  3. May 17, 2015 #3
    peanutfeather

    peanutfeather In the Brooder

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    May 24, 2014
    hi, just an update, both chickens turned out fine. they are very active and don't seem to have any other problems. :)
     

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