Chicken half beaten to death???

[robyn66]

We lost a chicken Jan 7th. She was thin and couldnt walk. We brought her inside two weeks before she died. She was extremely thin and we thought she was being kept from the food by the others. She was inside and eating and drinking, looking like she was gaining strength but had watery green poops. Well like I said, two weeks after she was brought in she died.

Today we brought another chicken inside. My husband saw the other chickes beating the hell out of her. I checked her and didnt see mites, her eyes are clear but she is skin and bones. Her bum is all covered in poop so we are going to give her a warm bath later, after she settles in. She is walking still but is slow. We have her in a huge rubbermaid tub in the kitchen. She has plenty of room to move around and I lined it with newspaper. We gave her a full water bowl and a bowl of feed mixed with sunflower seeds and oyster shells. I also gave her some apple and two leaves of kale.

I don't know what else to do. I dont know if she was being beaten up and then got sick or was sick and then beaten up. These chickens are mean!

Please let me know if i sounds like I am doing the right thing and what you think it might be. This chicken is my favorite, and even though I love them all and would do the same for any of them, this one is my special girl.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Robyn

 

[PirocaKeeper]

if you can buy electrolytes in the pharmacy, you know the liquid they feed children when they have diarrhea. Also I would add a little bit of sugar to her water, so that she gets a little more energy. I would also give her crumble crackers and little pieces of bread. Basically you want to give her things that will convince her to eat more. If you are going to give her a warm bath, make sure you dry her with a towel and then blow dry her. With little weight, is very, very hard for them to produce heat. If you are going to give her heat with a lamp of some sort, I would remove the newspaper (the ink is quite toxic when it heats up) and add wood chips or old towels, whatever you have for rags or clothing that you can do without. I so much wish you good outcome. Believe me, I know is hard, but it always seem to happen with favorite ones. I know I have lost a few in the years I have been raising them.

 

[justplainbatty]

We lost a chicken Jan 7th. She was thin and couldnt walk. We brought her inside two weeks before she died. She was extremely thin and we thought she was being kept from the food by the others. She was inside and eating and drinking, looking like she was gaining strength but had watery green poops. Well like I said, two weeks after she was brought in she died.

Today we brought another chicken inside. My husband saw the other chickes beating the hell out of her. I checked her and didnt see mites, her eyes are clear but she is skin and bones. Her bum is all covered in poop so we are going to give her a warm bath later, after she settles in. She is walking still but is slow. We have her in a huge rubbermaid tub in the kitchen. She has plenty of room to move around and I lined it with newspaper. We gave her a full water bowl and a bowl of feed mixed with sunflower seeds and oyster shells. I also gave her some apple and two leaves of kale.

I don't know what else to do. I dont know if she was being beaten up and then got sick or was sick and then beaten up. These chickens are mean!

Please let me know if i sounds like I am doing the right thing and what you think it might be. This chicken is my favorite, and even though I love them all and would do the same for any of them, this one is my special girl.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Robyn

check the symptoms of avian leukosis and mareks and see if either match your bird's symptoms.

I hope it isn't.

 

[robyn66]

Thank you so much! I had some wood shavings so we replaced the newspaper I had a bottle of pedia lite (its fruit flavored I hope that is ok) I am going to go to Tractor supply and get the electrolyte mix for baby chicks. Should I also have plain water with sugar in with her at the same time? I have put crackers in her bowl too.

I do so appreciate this help!!!
Robyn

 

[robyn66]

I dont think it looks like avian leukosis, but she hasnt laid eggs in a long time and she is only 2 1/2 in fact we are lucky if we get 2 eggs a week from 5 chickens. Granted its NH in the winter but they didnt lay in the summer either. I thought it might be that I changed food and it made them unhappy. I am at a loss! If we lose her I wonder if we should cull the flock and try again in the spring. It isnt something I want to do but if they are all likely to have some degree of sickness I dont want them to suffer. The rest of the flock looks fine and is as active as ever so far.

 

[justplainbatty]

Thank you so much! I had some wood shavings so we replaced the newspaper I had a bottle of pedia lite (its fruit flavored I hope that is ok) I am going to go to Tractor supply and get the electrolyte mix for baby chicks. Should I also have plain water with sugar in with her at the same time? I have put crackers in her bowl too.

I do so appreciate this help!!!
Robyn

Really, check into the diseases I mentioned at the bottom of post #3. Crackers and sugar water won't help if it's one of those.

 

[PirocaKeeper]

Pedialyte fruit flavor is perfectly fine. I would add the little bit of sugar in the same water with the pedialyte. What I have done is I mix pedialyte with water and sugar and have it available to her. Keep an eye to make sure she is drinking water. If you don't see any drinking of the mixture, then add a little fresh water with sugar on the side. Basically you are trying to encourage her to drink and eat. I am so glad you other material rather than the newspaper. This is the way I look at these scenarios. I do my very best in providing whatever I can to ease their time and then if I happen to loose them, then I have the good feeling that I did all within my power. If you have apples, you can cut up little pieces and even hold them for her to peck at them as a treat. Keeping her separated and with no stress is a good thing for her.

 

[robyn66]

I did look at those diseases and she has none of the symptoms except being skin and bones. We brought her in before she is in the state our other chicken was in, We didnt notice she was slowing down and then she couldnt walk and the night she died she lay on her side with her mouth open and died. There is no wheezing or sneezing, the color of her comb is good, her eyes are clear and I looked under her wings and saw no mites. I am hoping that since we brought this one in as soon as we noticed her slow down that we have a chance!

 

[robyn66]

Here is another question. I have her in my kitchen which is pretty cold. I would like to bring her in to the room with the pellet stove because it is so nice and warm. What I was concerned about is if Clucky (baby's name) comes through this, would it be bad to have kept her too warm? I dont want her to go back out with the others until she is good and healthy but I dont want her to be extra cold because she is used to being inside. She is going to be inside the house for weeks I am sure.

 

[justplainbatty]

Here is another question. I have her in my kitchen which is pretty cold. I would like to bring her in to the room with the pellet stove because it is so nice and warm. What I was concerned about is if Clucky (baby's name) comes through this, would it be bad to have kept her too warm? I dont want her to go back out with the others until she is good and healthy but I dont want her to be extra cold because she is used to being inside. She is going to be inside the house for weeks I am sure.

Idk where you live but if it's colder than 30* outside this time of year then, the ambient tenp in your house is already twice as warm as outside.( I'm surmising) If so, you don't want to get her any warmer or she will be shocked when she goes back out. Good luck.