Crop is Never Full

[so lucky]

Dovie just never eats enough at one time to fill her crop. She loses interest in whatever food I give her and walks away after a few bites. Even yummy stuff like scrambled eggs and watermelon. She is the runt (what else?) out of 5 pullets, 20 weeks old. The other girls stuff themselves, particularly in the evening when free-ranging. They also get treats during that time, so they gobble up a lot before bed. Dovie wanders around, follows me to pick her up, eats a bite or two, goes to roost early. Would vitamins in the water help her appetite? She needs some meat on her bones before cold weather gets here! And of course she is not laying yet........

 

[galanie]

Vitamins might help, as would giving her a space separate from the others to eat something high protein and special like cooked chicken or some mealworms.

 

[Tracydr]

Have you checked her closely for lice? Check her at night for mites while she's roosting. She may also need worming.

 

[so lucky]

I'm pretty sure she doesn't have lice or mites. When she sits on my lap, I check the skin and feather shafts, her feet, etc. Guess I could worm her. Does having worms make a chicken have little interest in food? I do try to give her special treats often, but haven't made a daily habit of it. Now that the roo is gone, she is starting to spend a little more time at the food bowl when I feed them. Her habit has been to stand back while the others eat, or just take a bite or two then walk away. This issue may correct itself in time....