Chicken suddenly Lethargic, Shivering, and Unbalanced

[TeamDefeat]

This is the whole reason I joined. This morning I went and checked on my flock, making sure everyone is okay and changing waters/food. Being wintertime, it was still dark and everyone was sleepy. I have a light set up to encourage egg laying and keep everyone on a normal scheduale.

My ladies are spoiled rotten and ridiculously tame, so they came down to see me. All except one. My littlest bird, Scottie, a Modern Bantam was sitting up in their nesting box/perch. I went and said good morning. She seemed sleepy and shivery, which I assumed was fine since it's rather cold and it was still dark.

I left for class before coming home a few hours later to find she was still acting odd. I let everyone out to scratch around, she came out as well, but was moving slow, hunched over, and acting really lethargic.

It's about 60 degrees now so when I saw her still shivering- I got concerned and took her inside. As I began to type this, she was laying on my lap and looked like she was ready to pass out- but after being indoors, she seems to have miraculously recovered. She could barely stand when I first brought her in, but now she's happily pecking around my living room.

I tried giving her all kinds of treats, and she passed them up- even POPCORN, which is one of my flock's favorites. I'm not sure what happened, and I'm a little worried about whether or not I should bring her back out.

Help me, BYC!

 

[rosemarysugar]

@Eggcessive

 

[rosemarysugar]

This is the whole reason I joined. This morning I went and checked on my flock, making sure everyone is okay and changing waters/food. Being wintertime, it was still dark and everyone was sleepy. I have a light set up to encourage egg laying and keep everyone on a normal scheduale.

My ladies are spoiled rotten and ridiculously tame, so they came down to see me. All except one. My littlest bird, Scottie, a Modern Bantam was sitting up in their nesting box/perch. I went and said good morning. She seemed sleepy and shivery, which I assumed was fine since it's rather cold and it was still dark.

I left for class before coming home a few hours later to find she was still acting odd. I let everyone out to scratch around, she came out as well, but was moving slow, hunched over, and acting really lethargic.

It's about 60 degrees now so when I saw her still shivering- I got concerned and took her inside. As I began to type this, she was laying on my lap and looked like she was ready to pass out- but after being indoors, she seems to have miraculously recovered. She could barely stand when I first brought her in, but now she's happily pecking around my living room.

I tried giving her all kinds of treats, and she passed them up- even POPCORN, which is one of my flock's favorites. I'm not sure what happened, and I'm a little worried about whether or not I should bring her back out.

Help me, BYC!

@Alexandra33

 

[coach723]

Hopefully some others that deal with really cold temps a lot will chime in. It does sound like she was hypothermic, since she recovered once warmed up. Where are you located in general and what are your temps like? It could have been a one time thing, maybe she got pushed out of her normal roost spot and got cold, or she may have an underlying condition that is giving her difficulty regulating temp, sick birds can easily become hypothermic. Age can be a factor too, the very young and the old can have more trouble. I know some people will make sure that certain birds are sandwiched between others for warmth at night, like those that decide to molt mid winter. This may help:
http://www.pocketfarm.co.uk/hypothermia-and-frostbite-in-chickens-and-ducks/
Hopefully some others will have some good advice for you.

 

[TeamDefeat]

It got cold the night before, but now it's about 57 degrees- which is why I got so worried and took her in. I'm going to be checking on her regularly, just to make sure she's not getting really bad. I let her back out, and if she gets like that again, she's going to come in for a while.

Thank you so much for responding so quick.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would keep an eye on her, making sure that she will eat a little scrambled egg for you as a treat. If you can pick up a small bottle of Poultry Cell or Poultry NutriDrench in which you can give a concentrated electrolyte and vitamin boost if needed. I have a bantam mille fleur who shivers whenever I pick her up year round, but if she is getting sick it might be significant. The temperature should not bother her until it gets down to 20F or below.

When you can catch her again, you can feel of her crop to check if there is food in there, and in early morning, it should normally be empty. Fluids are most important. Water added to chicken crumbles or pellets in a bowl can be made into a watery mash that most chickens find inviting, while getting more fluids into them.

Watch her droppings for diarrhea or odd colors. You may want to check her for egg binding by inserting a finger into her vent about an inch. Check her for lice or mites under her vent.

 

[Delaneygraces]

I’m a little late here, but moderns don’t do good with cold temps. As said above, it’s sounds like she got too cold. If the temps drop a lot again in the future, i’d Suggest bringing her inside. My moderns were moved from the garage to the heated mud room/porch when it got in the negatives last week.