Chicken looks bad

[crowcreek]

i am in chicken hell right now but I will just address one issue. One of my golden comets (two years old) has been looking raggedy for a while but nothing too concerning. In the past few days she looks
Really bad, although I at first thought she was just molting. I brought her in this evening and realized she is very thin and her feathers at a mess. She also has patches, especially around her neck where the pin feathers are black at the bottoms. I don’t remember pin feathers looking like this. The skin around the area looks yellowish too. Any suggestions? I have three comets. One looks great and the other came down sick a few weeks ago. She has payed one lash egg and then seemed better but now is going down hill.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What are you feeding? My small experiences with sex links were not good. I found out they require a higher protein ration to keep up that production without deficiencies. Sex links are also prone to reproductive cancers and problems. Mine died young, about 2 years of age.

I would try feed it some higher protein treats and a higher protein ration to see if it improves.

Another question would be whether you ran any extra lights during the winter?

 

[crowcreek]

Thanks so much. I do not run lights and I do give meal worms. Her feathers do look like she is severely lacking something. I have had chickens for six years and I have never had this many problems. They are a sweet bread but I doubt I will get them again.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I will never get sex links again either. That higher egg production comes at a huge cost to the bird.

 

[crowcreek]

Thanks so much. I do not run lights and I do give meal worms. Her feathers do look like she is severely lacking something. I have had chickens for six years and I have never had this many problems. They are a sweet bread but I doubt I will get them again.

 

[crowcreek]

My fat ol Buff Braham’s are not the best layers but they are healthy and still laying after five years.

 

[Rondack]

I like hamburgs. Although golden comets are good egg layers....

 

[orrpeople]

I recently sent one of my sex links in for a necropsy and the result indicated that she was badly egg bound. Not only does the production take a heavy tool on them in the nutrition realm, it also can lead to scar tissue build up in the egg tract that eventually causes them to be egg bound.
Lash eggs are evidence of infection, (Egg peritonitis) and almost always proves fatal without antibiotics (Baytril was the one recommended to me, although you can't eat their eggs after you use it).

 

[crowcreek]

I am raising some production blacks for a friend and thought I might keep two. I am a little worried because they are a high production bird. They is little info on them.

I recently sent one of my sex links in for a necropsy and the result indicated that she was badly egg bound. Not only does the production take a heavy tool on them in the nutrition realm, it also can lead to scar tissue build up in the egg tract that eventually causes them to be egg bound.
Lash eggs are evidence of infection, (Egg peritonitis) and almost always proves fatal without antibiotics (Baytril was the one recommended to me, although you can't eat their eggs after you use it).

I would not know which egg was hers. I don’t know what to do for her. Two of my three comets are sick. The one who layed the lash egg is ballooning up again. The one I showed you pictures of is just looking bad and is very thin. I have one langshannthat seems to have a neurological problem. The other 14 chickens are very healthy!

 

[orrpeople]

I am raising some production blacks for a friend and thought I might keep two. I am a little worried because they are a high production bird. They is little info on them.


I would not know which egg was hers. I don’t know what to do for her. Two of my three comets are sick. The one who layed the lash egg is ballooning up again. The one I showed you pictures of is just looking bad and is very thin. I have one langshannthat seems to have a neurological problem. The other 14 chickens are very healthy!

It doesn't sound like a reproductive infection that might require antibiotics. You can also syringe feed your thin girl and give them all a fast acting vitamin like nutridrench. But the peritonitis will kill them if not treated.
This thread has a lot of links and info in it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/egg-yolk-peritonitis.526089/