Cochin Hen won't eat!

[Cheriemee1967]

My Cochin became broody so I allowed her to sit on eggs. After about 3 weeks I took the eggs from her as they were not fertilized and I was concerned she wasn't eating enough. She has been out of the nesting box for a week but refuses to eat on her own. She almost seems depressed (can that be?). She is very week and has a hard time balancing. I have been giving her egg yolk off my finger and yogurt and a little bit of fruit and sips of water but nothing on her own. What more can I do to help her? She is my favorite and I would hate to lose her!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have any photos of her?
She is not broody anymore?
How old is she?
Check her crop-how does it feel-hard, soft, squishy, doughy, any sour smells?
What does her poop look like?

I would try to get her hydrated first, offer poultry vitamins or electrolytes in her water for a few days. Once she is drinking, then see if she will eat a wet mash of food. You can give her some hard boiled egg to entice her.

Check her closely for any external parasites as well.

 

[Cheriemee1967]

Thank you for your help! Marshmellow is 8 months old. She is not broody anymore. Her crop feels soft and squishy, no smell coming from her. At the moment her chest is messy from the egg yolk I have been spoon feeding her. She responds well to the egg yolk but won't drink or eat on her own. I have corid in the water since 2 days ago for the flock. Do I need to remove any vitamin water I have out so the corid will work?

 

[Cheriemee1967]

I am concerned there may be an issue with my dirt in the run/parasites. A while back when it was hot I put a couple buckets of water in the run on the granite. The dirt started to smell very moldy so I didn't do that again. I would turn the dirt over to help it dry out and the smell went away but maybe the problem didn't. I am in the process of removing all the decomposed granite and replacing it with one wheel barrel full of decomposed granite. I also have a separate dust bath so they should have plenty to roll around in. Do you have any suggestions on how I should treat the run once all the dirt is removed? Should I mop vinegar over the concrete?

 

[WVduckchick]

Can you weigh her? Best to be done around the same time each day for consistency. If she loses too much weight, and refuses to eat enough, tube feeding is fairly simple.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your help! Marshmellow is 8 months old. She is not broody anymore. Her crop feels soft and squishy, no smell coming from her...She responds well to the egg yolk but won't drink or eat on her own. I have corid in the water since 2 days ago for the flock. Do I need to remove any vitamin water I have out so the corid will work? View attachment 1438870 View attachment 1438871

Her stance tells us she is not feeling well, poor girl. Her crop does look full-soft/squishy is not good. Read the links I gave you previously. You will want to massage the crop to determine if there is something in there causing a blockage.

Getting a fecal float is the best way to know if you have worms. Can you take a stool sample to your vet for testing?

 

[Cheriemee1967]

Thank you for your response Wyorp Rock! I am new to the sight and I don't see an attachments you sent me previously. I will look up a vet and take a sample into them today if anyone is open in my area. I do have the flock on corid and I have been hand feeding her egg yolk and water with corid to her for the past couple days. She is still hanging in there but I don't see any improvement.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for your response Wyorp Rock! I am new to the sight and I don't see an attachments you sent me previously. I will look up a vet and take a sample into them today if anyone is open in my area. I do have the flock on corid and I have been hand feeding her egg yolk and water with corid to her for the past couple days. She is still hanging in there but I don't see any improvement.

I'm sorry
here are the links https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

Is her crop emptying overnight? In the photo is looks quite swollen.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I had a hen with impacted crop last month, hard not squishy. I put her in a dog crate. I offered her only water and raw eggs to get her hydrated and massaged her crop several times a day with her on my lap for several minutes. I put her in the coop nightly and back in the crate early in the morning. When her crop was squishy I offered her very wet crumbles a little at a time several times a day. In three days she was full of energy and pooping regularly. I put her back with the flock. She started to lay again around a week later. GC

 

[April’s Zoo]

I noticed that one answered the question about vitamin water that you asked....

The answer is yes, you need to remove that from them.
Corid works by disrupting the ability of the coccidia bacteria to metabolize thiamine, which is a b vitamin. So do not give them any vitamins/probiotics while treating with Corid. Also the Corid-dosed water needs to be the only water the flock has access to— no streams, puddles, other waterers, etc.
That might mean that you need to confine them temporarily during treatment. This is very important to be sure that they are consuming enough Corid to do any good.

Make sure you are mixing the Corid at the right concentration... there’s been a lot of instances lately of people not having the right directions for how much to use, and ending up underdosing their birds as a result..... You need to mix—

• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) per gallon of water if using the liquid, OR
• 1.5 teaspoons (7.5 ml) of the powder per gallon.

Mix it up fresh every day, and continue for 5-7 days at that dose, then at half-strength for another 5-7 days.
It’s a very safe, you really can’t OD them.... you’d have to be giving it practically straight [well, not exactly straight... but you have to give them a lot, much more than you’d think....].
There’s instructions for how to make a more concentrated solution to give via dropper directly to the beak of the sickest bird(s).... I’m sure someone can give you that info if you want it....{ @casportpony , @Eggcessive .... or if not either of you maybe you’ll know who to tag in.... I’m still learning names }

Just for the sake of completeness because I don’t remember you saying—

• Did you have a vet run a fecal to check for worms or parasites? (most vets, even ones that don’t see chickens, can run a fecal— but you usually have to ask them to include coccidia, idk why)
• Have you checked your flock for mites/fleas/lice/etc.?

Good luck... I hope your hen starts getting better soon.