Depressed chicken please help!

[CalChickens]

Hi my BO that is three years old has recently started acting depressed. she has lost a little weight and her comb has fallen to one side. her tail feathers are down and her rear end was pretty messy so i clean it up a bit with a damp cloth. i also have her some multi-vitamins with water with a srynge. IS THERE ANY THING ELSE I CAN DO? would sunlight or a dust bath or grass help her? I didn't see any lice either and i saw her eating today as well but she puffed up. THANKS YOU so much for the help. please be honest and let me know if this is curable or not. once again, thank you

 

[kellysmall87]

When you say sunlight, grass etc ... is she not free range? This may be why she is depressed if she has no access to outdoors.

 

[CalChickens]

she doesn't have access to that all the time, she has sunlight all the time but can only get grass when she is let out of the run into the backyard (which happens about four times a week for the whole day).

 

[CMV]

Chickens don't generally get depressed. They get ill, which is anthropomorphized into depression.

Check her over carefully. Do a full body check. You are looking for bugs, wounds, lumps where there shouldn't be any, crop issues. Go out after dark and check her over for more bugs by the light of a strong flashlight.

Consider having her poop brought in for testing. You are looking for worms and cocci. This is relatively inexpensive and can be done at any local vet.

Let us know what you find.

 

[CalChickens]

I've checked her over everywhere and then i check the same places, everywhere on my healthiest chicken. the only different is that the sick chicken's comb is fallen over to one side, she is somewhat skinny near the chest area, i could find no bugs, her beak has some dirt on it but i think that was because she had been looking for bugs before i checked her. her behind is messy but not irregularly shaped. I poked around and her abdomen looks and feel just the same as the healthy one. what would be sign of her being egg bound? I also just soaked her in a warm bath and massaged her abdomen while i fed her yogurt and sunflower seeds. I will check the price at my local vet. thanks

 

[klmclain1]

You might go ahead and worm her with Valbazen. Repeat in 10 days.

 

[CMV]

Egg binding is pretty easy to spot. An eggbound hen will walk the weirdest way- like a penguin. They will also stand with their tails pointing straight down.

 

[CalChickens]

i have seen her with her tail down sometimes but only like 30% of the time. She doesn't walk that weird, just a little slow. will the abdomen have a specific look or feel a certain way if she is egg bound? thank you for your time

scratch all that i just threw some seed down here and there and watched her run compared to the other chickens. she is a slight but noticeable waddle and her tail was pointed down majority of the time that i was out there. Now what can i do to help her? how many days does she have is i were to do nothing? what is the chance that she will push through it herself? THank you

 

[CMV]

A warm bath might help to move things along. A lubed finger (preferably gloved) up the vent may reveal and egg stuck in transit. Be careful not to damage the egg during the exam. If you can feel an egg, you will need to continue with the baths and use some olive oil to grease the inside of her vent. Hopefully, she will be able to push the egg out with a little help.

 

[CalChickens]

Thank you so much for all of you time and advice. I really appreciate it!!!
I will try these ideas