Dominant 22 wk old Pullet now sleepy/lethargic

[Red Bettie]

Help!?!

First I would like to thank BYC and everyone here. BYC has been a great resource and I have learned SO MUCH!!! Thank you thank you thank you!

I have a small 22 week old flock of six pullets & one cockerel. I have had them since they were 8 weeks old and all have been happy, healthy and have grown faster than I ever imagined! There are Four Silver Laced Wyandottes - Lacey, Daisy, Ash & Roc La Roo, one Black Copper Marans - Dixie, one BCM/Rhode Island Red cross - Lucky. Lucky is fairly aggressive, the largest, smartest, boldest & most definitely Top Hen! & ranks higher than the Roo. Until yesterday I thought for sure she would be the first to lay an egg. These are my first chickens.

Yesterday afternoon/evening Lucky started acting very "sleepy". Hanging around foraging & ranging around with the others but very slow and would stop & zone out and close her eyes. This morning our Roo crowed for the first time! (

Because Lucky is sick?!) Today she has been mostly following along with the others and going to the coop for frequent naps and still the frequent zoning out/sleepy behavior. I have not noticed any abnormal BMs. She does not seem interested in food or water, even when I bring her scratch which she normally would peck from my hand, HARD.

Reading other posts it is possibly Cocci or other worms/parasites? Or maybe she ate something she shouldn't have? There are no mites/lice I have observed. I have thoroughly cleaned/disinfected the feeder & waterer, trekked to Tractor Supply for Wazine & Amprol and have treated water in the coop and Lucky's temporary abode. I do have her separated in a dog crate in the garage now. We are doing the "deep litter" and I just cleaned it out a couple weeks ago but but tomorrow I should maybe thoroughly clean the coop (again!

) ?

Only two recent changes...
1. We experienced the recent bizarre "Polar Vortex" with three days of extremely unusual single digit numbers (we are just outside of Atlanta). I put extra pine chips in the enclosed coop/house for warmth & closed it as best as I could. I brought water to the birds 2-3 times a day & kept the food up & gave extra scratch. She does have teeny tiny black dots on the very tips of her comb, ??a touch of frost bite?, all the others seem to be just fine.
2. Yesterday I also changed their food from Nutrena Chick Starter/Grower Medicated Crumbles to the NatureWise Crumbles. I mixed with the remainder of the Starter/Grower, some new Scratch and Oyster Shell.

Any thoughts and/or additional advice?? What else can I/should I do?? Thank you!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I doubt it is coccidia or worms (though possible).
How is the ventilation.
When new chicken owners go into their first winter, sometimes they over protect them from cold and don't provide enough ventilation.

That really isn't enough symptoms for me to make a good evaluation, sorry.

Don't mix scratch or oyster shell together with feed.
They need to be able to choose what to eat so both should be separate or scattered on the ground.

 

[dawg53]

You may have answered you own question; you thought that she'd be the first to lay an egg. Twenty two weeks is right at the time they should start laying...more or less. Try soaking her in a container of warm water up to her sides for about 20 minutes. While she's soaking in the warm water, gently massage her underside front to rear. The warm water will relax and expand her innards, massaging her underside will help her pass the egg along. If she is eggbound, the warm water soaks will help, if that's what it is.
FYI; wazine is to be given only in a 24 hour period of time, then discarded and replaced with regular freshwater. Birds that are sick usually dont drink treated water, if they do, it's not enough to be effective. Also, birds drink less in cooler/colder temps.

 

[Red Bettie]

Some pics to help??







**Note black tips on comb**

 

[Red Bettie]

Oh, Dawg! Thank you about the Wayzine! When she slipped into the sleepiness I force fed her some of the water.
I hope you are right about being egg bound!! Lucky won't like it one bit, but that could be just the thing!

Chicken Canoe - Ventilation is good, but there is a leak along one side when it rains.
The pine chips on top are always dry though. Haven't been able to trouble shoot & fix the leak as yet, but it is a priority.
Thanks for the advice about the feed - I'll remedy that too.

 

[casportpony]

If you think she might be egg bound, get a glove, some KY Jelly and gently check inside her vent for one.

-kathy

 

[Red Bettie]

OK - So, gave Lucky a 30 minute warm bath with blow dry afterwards. She tolerated it mostly...NOT a show bird for sure. If she were up to par she probably would not have tolerated any of it. Gloved up, palpated abdomen, KY'd & checked vent. No real idea of what I'm looking for.....felt nothing, no lumps or bumps. Just boney protrusions and soft inside parts. She expelled poo while I checked the vent. Eew. Perked up enough after getting her dry & warm to preen a bit on the roost before going to sleep. Have her staying in the dog crate in my bathroom tonight.

If she is egg bound, I think it must be a small egg. But with the recent weather I was thinking that she was too stressed to lay this week.Very worried. She may be aggressive, but she's my best chicken.

Almost all the posts I've read about random chicken sleepiness the birds were dead within less than a week but no one says why. ??!!??

So, sleepy, not eating or drinking, droopy tail. No other symptoms.

Ideas?

 

[casportpony]

How bad do you want to try to save her? Read this and let me know: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/805728/go-team-tube-feeding
Here are some pictures to help with the cloacal exam:











-Kathy

 

[ChickenCanoe]

.... Perked up enough after getting her dry & warm to preen a bit on the roost before going to sleep. Have her staying in the dog crate in my bathroom tonight.

...
Almost all the posts I've read about random chicken sleepiness the birds were dead within less than a week but no one says why. ??!!??

The warmth of the house won't hurt her at all.

They don't say why because they didn't get a necropsy. That's the only way to know for sure. With the hundreds of things that affect chickens it is a guessing game without lab work.

 

[dawg53]

Quote: x2
The next step in this process would be to take a fecal sample to a vet and have them take a look at it under a microscope and check for cocci and worm oocysts. Any vet can do it and shouldnt cost much. It's normal for a few cocci to be seen on the microscopic slide, however if the slide is loaded with cocci, the bird will require amprolium treatment.