Droopy hen??

[Dixiedoodle]

I have fourteen 19 week old chickens. They all have grown, look 'fluffy', eat, bicker--you know the normal chicken behavior! EXCEPT one. She is a BO, sweet, small, eats, isn't being pecked on or chased away, her poo looks like the rest of them, she has no visual physical trauma. She moves slowly, tail down and sleeps/sits on the roost a lot more than the others. When I bring the smaller ones (four EE, Ameraucanas) special treats she lines up for hers and eats well. I watched her for a long while this am... She weighs less than the others, isn't as tall and just over all seems droopy. Our roo is so gentle with her--never pulling on her or trying to mount her.. He will coo/scratch for her and sits with her on the roost, for a while and then joins the others..

Any ideas?? Suggestions? Thanks for any and all help...Dixie

 

[Judy]

I would check her for mites/lice at night, to rule that out. You might try a few drops of infant vitamins on the beak for a week, then taper, just in case she has some deficiency. You could also try probiotics. You might consider worming the flock, although I think most people wait til they are around 6 months for this.

It could be she has some internal problem. It may just be her genetics or her personality.

Maybe someone else will have another idea. I wish you luck.

 

[jayde88]

I have a little rooster who had a very similiar problem. It turned out he had a case of Northern Fowl Mites
As Ddawn said, check for mites or lice. They make chickens loose energy.
It also could be that she is just low in the pecking order.
Or it might be a more serious problem then either of those...

Good luck curing your hen!

 

[Dixiedoodle]

Thank you both. What do you use for the mites??

 

[jayde88]

Quote:
I've found two things you can use for mites: Diatamaceous Earth or Sevin Dust.

Sevin Dust is alot more effective and usually gets rid of them by the next day, but it has some nasty chemicals in it, DE, on the other hand, is all natural, but much less effective then Sevin Dust. Since the hen is young, the Sevin Dust might be hazardous to her health...

It depends a lot on what type of mites, if it is chicken mites or red roost mites, you'll need to dust the roosts, nestboxes and replace the bedding because they stay in the coop. If they are Northern Fowl Mites, then you will need to dust the bird itself.

Put some of the dust in a sock and powder the hen, it will go through the holes in the sock.
If your using Sevin Dust, take precautions: keep her in a seperate enclousure away from the flock, make sure she doesn't breath it in, wear rubber gloves and a dust mask, etc.

Hope this helps!

 

[Dixiedoodle]

I have both DE and SD on hand and will check them for mites in the am..I was gonna do it tonight but we had a horrible t-storm blow thur and they went to be early.. Thanks again .Dixie