Chicken not eating - Mareks? Or not?

[KayTee]

Hello everyone, I am looking for any advice or opinions that might help me with a bird that I have who is not eating very much, and is effectively starving herself to death.

I have a production red chicken two and a half years old. She has always been bright, healthy and happy, as well as a regular layer. However, last year she started to lose her appetite - to the extent that she wouldn't even eat the tinned sweetcorn that I throw out to my flock as a treat once or twice a day (to explain, tinned sweetcorn is the equivalent of crack cocaine to my flock - without exception they will trample other birds in order to eat just one kernel of the stuff!) She lost weight and went down from 2kg to 1.5kg. I worried about her and gave her extra treats (she especially wanted strawberries, or fruit of any kind), and she gradually gained weight again, began to attack the sweetcorn thrown out for the flock, and generally acted normally. She gained weight and got back to her usual 2kg weight, but even so, she hasn't laid for the last 6 months or so.

However, she has recently started to lose her appetite again, and has lost weight (currently down to 1.5kg again) I have gradually persuaded her to eat, with strawberries this summer, although her preference is for bread and cooked white rice. She will also eat tinned tuna and hot dogs (in very small quantities), but very little else.
I have recently wormed her (not that I think that worms were the problem, but I wanted to be certain).
What confuses me is that she is very hungry, but only for very specific types of food. She will devour wet bread or white rice, and is sometimes interested in tinned tuna and hot dogs, but won't eat anything else.
I probably have Marek's disease in my flock (birds born before this one have died of neurological problems that my vet has advised me is probably Marek's, but I have not had a definitive blood test to confirm it)
This bird shows no other Marek's symptoms - no neurological problems of any kind, no 'keyhole' eyes, bindness or anything else, but I don't know what else could be causing her 'eating disorder'. I really don't know how to describe it other than that - a bird that won't eat crumbles, seeds, sweetcorn etc, but will devour bread and rice without a problem!

Any ideas or advice that you can give me will be more than welcome!

 

[Eggcessive]

She sounds like me, LOL. I will choose bread and pasta over anything else. Does her lack of eating chicken feed coinside with molting? My chickens just won't eat much during a molt, but they will fly down the hill for a treat of chopped egg, tomatoes, or treat of the day.
With Mareks, which I have never seen fortunately, they can have tiny tumors in the crop, gizzard, and intestines among other places that could be possible in affecting appetite.
It may be hard to tell until she dies and you can find out with a necropsy, but internal layers have weight loss and poor appetites from all of the abdominal problems happening.

 

[KayTee]

Thanks for your thoughts Eggcessive. A few of my flock are moulting, but she is not one of them. She actually looks in excellent condition - lovely smooth, shiny feathers, no poop sticking to her butt (I saw her poop yesterday and it was very liquid, but the right colour), she even looks like she would be a good weight. If you had to pick out the healthiest looking girl in my flock you would definitely choose her!

It's only when you pick her up that you feel her breast bone sticking out, and you realise that she is as light as a feather. She also spends a lot of time standing 'hunched up', with her head and neck pulled in to her body - classic sick chicken pose. She doesn't seem to be scratching around or eating, except for when I bring her up on the terrace to give her some bread and rice, then she eats non-stop for 5 minutes or so.

Her rear end doesn't look particularly swollen or red, as I have seen in other internal layers, although I know that it is a sadly common condition for production birds. What's bizarre is that it isn't a complete loss of appetite - she will bite my hand off for a strawberry or berries from the garden, and devours wet bread and cooked white rice, but looks the other way at stuff that she would normally gobble down such as sweetcorn, tomatoes and fresh wet mash.

I guess I will just keep on with the bread and rice (maybe add some vitamin drops) and see how things go.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Have you tried feeding her yogurt? Plain yogurt, mix some chopped strawberries or berries into it with feed? Vitamins & electrolytes & Nutri Drench may with nutrition she needs.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

two and a half years old...she hasn't laid for the last 6 months or so....she has recently started to lose her appetite again, and has lost weight...her preference is for bread and cooked white rice. She will also eat tinned tuna and hot dogs (in very small quantities), but very little else....What confuses me is that she is very hungry...She also spends a lot of time standing 'hunched up', with her head and neck pulled in to her body - classic sick chicken pose.

Can you take a fecal sample to your vet to rule out worms and coccidiosis?

Since she hasn't laid an egg in 6months, she's production hen and she's 2 1/2yrs old, I would be inclined that she may be having internal laying/reproductive problems, but it's hard to know without more symptoms and taking a look inside once they are gone. It could also be Marek's since you suspect you have it in your flock - thankfully I have not dealt with it either, but it's a confusing and heartbreaking disease.

Is her crop emptying overnight?

While it's great that she will eat something - she may be enticed with chick starter. Still give her what she seems to crave - just mix a little chick starter with the rice and see how it goes - if she accepts it, slowly increase the chick starter and lessen the rice. She may also enjoy some hard boiled or scrambled egg, this will give her a little protein.
I'm not badgering or condemning you over the food - this is just a thought - it can be frustrating when they suddenly refuse what you know is good for them.

 

[Eggcessive]

I use whole wheat bread crumbs sometimes when I am trying to get something into them that they may not eat otherwise, and mix with a little plain yogurt and egg. But bread every day might not be a good idea. Many feel that it can add to or cause crop problems. My chickens, when I first was trying to get them used to us, would readily eat cooked barley, brown rice, quinoa (since hubby would not touch it,) spaghetti, and other grains. My 3 yard chickens get more treats than their up-in-the-coop chickens, and their favorite is dry cat food (in small amounts.) It has twice the protein of chicken feed, so not good to use frequently. Raw eggs blend quite well in chicken feed mixtures with cultured yogurt and lots of water, and my chickens love it. But I have also noticed that my older chickens just lose weight and do not lay anymore. It is probably just a fact of life that they eat what they want. With all of the reproductive problems they can have, I just make sure they can get to food, get some occasional treats of egg, and feel that they can eat how much they want. I have had very few crop problems, none in the first 5 years, but the 2 that I had did not make it. Hopefully, your hen will continue to thrive for a few more years.