Continued treatment/When to move recuperating pullet back outside.

[Jelly Robbins]

Located in hills outside of Nashville, TN - Zone 6b

I have 4 chickens, one older lady (wyandotte) ~9 months old and 3 younger pullets (2 orpingtons and a black sexlink) just about 18 weeks. All have been living together peacefully outdoors for about 10 weeks now.

Have a smallish coop, elevated ~18 inches with a downstairs run. Coop has two windows that have been draft sealed with plastic and an open entrance with a plywood door that we close at night. Water is kept on a heater in the run. Fed layer crumble, scratch and scraps.

Temps plummeted this week (relatively) with daily highs barely breaking 40 and lows in the 20s.

Yesterday my smallest pullet, a lil orpington, seemed like she wasn't handling it well. She was moving a bit slower and staying huddled with her eyes closed most of the time, though still eating and moving. I noticed her poops were softer, though not pure liquid and her bum was a bit messed.

When I went out to close up the coop at night ~7pm, she was laying motionless on the bedding; I thought she was dead but i noticed her moving just slightly. I brought her in the house and slowly warmed her up. I cleaned her bum (didnt look like anything was blocked up and figured she was too old for pasty bum but it seemed a good idea anyway). And within an hour and a half her eyes were open and she was alert. Gave her a wee bit of sugar water she drank all by herself. Set her up a a little bed with a heating pad and she had a nice night. This am she is drinking, eating but otherwise standing on her feet, tucking her head between her wings. A good bit of, um, waste in her box - a bit runny, some black some brown some white.

Would like advice on proceeding with any treatment(since cold seems an exacerbating factor - maybe not the sole issue?), feeding, and when I should consider moving her back outdoors.

Any advice appreciated! I searched forums and couldn't quite find reference to these circumstances, esp. given her age.

 

[staceyj]

Sorry your little girl isn't feeling well.
Providing a picture of her poops is always a good way to get started.

Could you put her on an old towel or paper towels so when she poops and you photograph it, it's easy to see please?

@casportpony is the resident poop inspector.
Hopefully she'll see this and pop over.

 

[Jelly Robbins]

poo pics per request

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A sick bird should be kept warm and if still ailing, I would keep her in.

That said, I would lose the plastic on the windows. They need fresh air more than warmth.
Temps here have plummeted to zero F but my coops windows are wide open.

 

[Jelly Robbins]

A sick bird should be kept warm and if still ailing, I would keep her in.

That said, I would lose the plastic on the windows. They need fresh air more than warmth.
Temps here have plummeted to zero F but my coops windows are wide open.

I've read this advice re:ventilation before and debated. the door is wide open all day and seems like more than adequate ventilation?

 

[Allba]

I would keep her inside until the weather warms up. If you don’t want her in your house all winter you could keep her in a pet carrier in your garage with a heat lamp, and let her out with the other hens for some exercise during the day. I probably wouldn’t let her outside for more than an hour.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've read this advice re:ventilation before and debated. the door is wide open all day and seems like more than adequate ventilation?

If the door is closed at night, it isn't enough ventilation.
I have ridge vents and an open window with the door open all day in my first coop. But when I close the door at night the open window and ridge vents are barely enough ventilation.
With the coop closed up, humidity and pathogens can run rampant. Humidity is the primary cause of frostbite rather than temperature.
This is the time of year when birds get respiratory issues. It is usually from people closing off ventilation. Other than that coop I previously mentioned, the rest of my buildings have huge openings on both east and west walls wide open all year. Never a respiratory disease and never a loss to cold.

I might add that 20F isn't really that cold for a healthy acclimated chicken.

 

[staceyj]

What is her normal feed?

After the sugar water she received for energy what food did she eat if any...

your in the Nashville area.
I know it's cold there now
But what was the weather just recently,...and what is the soil condition of where your girls spend their time....
i.e.:deep litter leaves
Shavings
Straw
Dirt
sand/dirt
Muddy
Etc

 

[Cycomiko]

I agree with ChickenCanoe. Ventilation is a must. It's been in the single digits overnight here for the past few days, not getting out of the mid 20's in the daytime, and my 2 Leghorns (who have huge combs and frostbite prone) are doing great with no help. Ventilation needs to be above where they perch, and plenty of it. Humidity, not cold, is what gets a full feathered chicken. Best of luck with here recovery.

 

[Jelly Robbins]

What is her normal feed?

After the sugar water she received for energy what food did she eat if any...

your in the Nashville area.
I know it's cold there now
But what was the weather just recently,...and what is the soil condition of where your girls spend their time....
i.e.:deep litter leaves
Shavings
Straw
Dirt
sand/dirt
Muddy
Etc

-After sugar water, nothing last night. Wasnt sure it fit her usual patterns to eat so late and thought getting her warm was priority. This am she had her normal feed, some raspberry, greens, egg.
-was in 50s last week.
-I said 20s but more like teens at night these days.
-deep litter in the coop, regular shavings. outside of coop is dirt with random fallen shavings about.
-plastic on windows was added two days ago...

Thank you for your help!!