Chicken stopped being interested in mealworms

[sheneron]

Hi,

I have a bird, probably about 4.5 years old, Orpington. Don't know exactly when it happened, maybe a couple months ago, she stopped being super interested in meal worms. She used to be like all my birds currently are and come running for meal worms, but now she just slowly walks towards me if I am throwing them and will eat a few, but not super interested.

Do chickens change their tastes? Anyone have this happen?

This chicken is also a little weird in that she likes to sleep separate from everyone else, typically outside of the coop in the secure run. She used to sleep on top of a metal feeder in the coop, but is now outside. When I watch them all out and about I never see any of the other chickens bully her or anything and she doesn't have any peck wounds, so it seems like she just has a strange personality...

Otherwise, she seems to be healthy, eating and drinking ok, dust bathing, scratching around. Not sure if or how much she is laying as most of my chickens this age don't really lay much and I am not sure who they are from.

 

[nuthatched]

What's her diet? Have you checker her beak for canker? (looks like yellow gunk) Mealworms aren't super great for her anyway so I wouldn't worry if she doesn't eat them.

 

[Jenbirdee]

one of my ducks stopped liking meal worms after the first few years. shes almost 8 now and doing well, so I guess its not a problem

 

[Perris]

She used to be like all my birds currently are and come running for meal worms, but now she just slowly walks towards me if I am throwing them and will eat a few, but not super interested.

This chicken is also a little weird in that she likes to sleep separate from everyone else

When I watch them all out and about I never see any of the other chickens bully her or anything and she doesn't have any peck wounds

Otherwise, she seems to be healthy, eating and drinking ok, dust bathing, scratching around.

Taken together, I'd say she is feeling poorly, is self-isolating to roost, and the rest of the flock have identified her problem as idiopathic, i.e. whatever is wrong with her is not contagious so they don't need to chase her away to protect their own health.

I have seen this in my own flock several times now. Sometimes the poorly bird gets better, sometimes they don't. If and when the flock turns on her, it's because her poor health has allowed something else which is contagious to take hold, as a secondary infection, and they now fear for their own health so want her gone and make her life miserable to try to achieve it. At that point euthanasia is usually appropriate.

 

[sheneron]

Taken together, I'd say she is feeling poorly, is self-isolating to roost, and the rest of the flock have identified her problem as idiopathic, i.e. whatever is wrong with her is not contagious so they don't need to chase her away to protect their own health.

I have seen this in my own flock several times now. Sometimes the poorly bird gets better, sometimes they don't. If and when the flock turns on her, it's because her poor health has allowed something else which is contagious to take hold, as a secondary infection, and they now fear for their own health so want her gone and make her life miserable to try to achieve it. At that point euthanasia is usually appropriate.

Thank you all. And I will check for canker but I haven't noticed those symptoms in her.

Could her feeling poorly be due to her age? I know she is not very old but I guess approaching 5 which is the short end of their lifespan? Oddly, they should be pretty healthy birds as they get a lot of free range activity.

Their diet is regular layer feed and whatever they eat from scratching around naturally, which is probably quite a bit as they get several hours of completely free range nearly every day.

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

It might just be that she doesn't consider them a treat anymore. If you're giving the mealworms to them super often they won't consider it a treat, more like a yummy regular food. She's just so used to the mealworms that she thinks them food! You could give them to them less often.