Depression in hen?

[IsbelAcresTN]

I recently got a Brahma hen from craigslist. The seller stated that she had won several shows, was very healthy, etc.
The problem starts there, I brought her home and quarantined her from the rest of my flock to observe her and make sure she was safe. She would not eat.
She didnt exhibit any other signs of illness, so I assumed she needed some socialization and introduced her to the rest of the flock. She is still not eating! She will drink, but will not touch food or treats. I tried calling the seller to see if I needed to do something different to make her more comfortable, but no response. I called a vet and he couldnt offer any insight, saying that if she is hungry, and doesnt show other signs of illness, she will eat when she is ready.

In 5 years of raising poultry, I havent encountered anything like this before. Could she be depressed? What do I do? Thank you for any helpful thoughts on this.

 

[dawg53]

I recently got a Brahma hen from craigslist. The seller stated that she had won several shows, was very healthy, etc.
The problem starts there, I brought her home and quarantined her from the rest of my flock to observe her and make sure she was safe. She would not eat.
She didnt exhibit any other signs of illness, so I assumed she needed some socialization and introduced her to the rest of the flock. She is still not eating! She will drink, but will not touch food or treats. I tried calling the seller to see if I needed to do something different to make her more comfortable, but no response. I called a vet and he couldnt offer any insight, saying that if she is hungry, and doesnt show other signs of illness, she will eat when she is ready.

In 5 years of raising poultry, I havent encountered anything like this before. Could she be depressed? What do I do? Thank you for any helpful thoughts on this.

I agree with the vet. She'll eat when she is ready. The stress of the move and introduction to a new flock is most likely the cause, not necessarily an illness. See if she'll eat some scrambled egg mixed with buttermilk. You might have to seperate her in order to do this, the others will gobble it up. If that doesnt work, try giving her some scratch, sprinkle it in her feed. Otherwise, give her time to adjust, it wont be overnight. Good luck.

 

[IsbelAcresTN]

Thank you for the reassurance. I am just getting nervous for her (its been a week). But I will try the eggs. We have tried scratch and happy hen treats with no luck.
I will try the eggs this afternoon and give an update.
Thanks again!

 

[JakRat]

I agree with the vet. She'll eat when she is ready. The stress of the move and introduction to a new flock is most likely the cause, not necessarily an illness. See if she'll eat some scrambled egg mixed with buttermilk. You might have to seperate her in order to do this, the others will gobble it up. If that doesnt work, try giving her some scratch, sprinkle it in her feed. Otherwise, give her time to adjust, it wont be overnight. Good luck.

x2

Could she possibly be eating at night?

 

[IsbelAcresTN]

I guess hennie pennie just needed some loving. I put her in a seperate pen with my roo frankie, they are getting along just great and eating scrambled eggs together
Thanks for all the suggestions! Its always good to have advice from poultry veterans!