chicken lethargic and seems puffy

[lisameeks]

2 year old Golden Laced Wyandotte isn't doing well. This has been going on for three days. She's lethargic and tonight not even interested in scratch when I gave the rest of the girls a treat. She looks like her tail feathers are trying to point down toward the ground rather than up and, overall, she looks like she's puffed up into a ball--like she's having a really bad hair day. I thought maybe she started a molt but something about her eyes doesn't seem right either. When everyone else is running around, she's inside on the roost, often with her head tucked back into her shoulder. I looked at her vent--some small amound of dried white poop on the feathers underneath. I didn't put my finger into her vent, but I thought that if she was egg bound she wouldn't have lasted so long. I've checked her crop but it doesn't seem squishy or unusual. Yesterday it seemed filled with feed. Tonight it didn't seem to have much of anything in it, but I could feel some gravel-like feed if I really pressed on it. I can't think of anything that's changed about how the flock is treated except we had a bad snow and they haven't been out of the run for a week. The coop is insulated and I have a heat lamp with a red bulb hanging over the waterer so the water doesn't freeze. I have a panel heater set on a thermostat so the coop doesn't ever get too cold. The flock totals 7 hens. Three months ago I let a broody comet hatch some fertilized eggs. Three roosters and a hen resulted. So total of 11 birds but integration didn't seem to be a problem. Something's wrong with this girl and I can't seem to put my finger on what it is. She just doesn't look or act right. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[chickenzoo]

With the tail down it seems like perhaps she is egg bound. They can go awhile with it some times. search on here for the steps to help you, warm baths, oil in her vent. Also when was she wormed, worms lice and mites can be nasty.

 

[seminolewind]

Maybe you should bring her into the house so the cold doesn't stress her. I guess I would start looking for lice, mites, think about worms. Make sure she eats and drinks. I would think coccidiosis but someone said that they can't get that in the winter, so I don't know.

 

[Ellie MaeKS]

Just had the same problem with 2 old english. Last night everyone was fine when I brought them into the house because the night before had been so cold that I lost 2 6 wk silkies (we assume from the cold, so... I brought them in the house because. This AM 2 of the old english were puffed up lethargic and I still cannot figure out what went wrong...thought for sure they were goners especially the largest one who seemed to be having trouble breathing. No way they were cold they were in the house on the floor so as not to have a drastic temp change so I decided to heat them up anyway with a lamp...didn't seem to help. I decided after a couple hours of that and trying to get them to drink plain cool water and eat scrambled eggs... I decided to give them tepid water with sugar and a pinch of salt. HomeRun! in less than 20 minutes they were chirping and eating. They are now up and at'tem. Not fluffy and standing. Don't know what happened but thank God, we are doing fine. Now...Good Luck! a small ramikin(half cup) of mildly warm water with about a half tablespoon of sugar and a few shakes of salt.