Egg Bound, Cold, Something Else?

[LalaBuckholtz]

I'm new to the site and new to chicken raising. I've had three full-grown hens since August, Chili, Basil and Rosemary. They've all been laying an egg a day, until the recent cold snap when they've all gone down to about every other day.
Yesterday, Basil, my beta chicken, was acting squirrely. I found her laying in the yard with feathers absolutely amuck. Very dirty bloomers. She may have been laying down to sun herself, but she certainly didn't look like she felt good. She was also tucking her head and acting a little lethargic.
So I brought her inside and gave her a nice warm bath, a little bit of monistat on her vent, and lubed her up and went looking for an egg. Found no egg, and she seemed to be feeling better after the bath. When she went to bed last night she certainly did not have a full crop, but it was clear that she had been eating.
This morning all three of them came running out of the coop like everything was fine, but Basil still has a tucked head. As soon as she exited the coop she stopped, tucked up a leg, tucked her head in, and fell asleep standing up.
She is pooping, and she is eating, even though it does appear she has a reduced appetite. Could she just be adjusting to the cold? The only thing is the other two chickens seem to have no issue with the cold weather. Since I bought my hens full grown, could Basil be much older than the other two? And therefore having more trouble with the cold weather?
Any input would be helpful. Thank you in advance.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

What does her poop look like??? Watery, normal??? It could be sour crop the way she is looking in your pictures. I message my chickens crop and give it some apple cider vinegar - she might throw up but it is actually helping her.

 

[LalaBuckholtz]

What does her poop look like??? Watery, normal??? It could be sour crop the way she is looking in your pictures. I message my chickens crop and give it some apple cider vinegar - she might throw up but it is actually helping her.

Her poop is a little bit different colored than the other two chickens, it's more Brown than black. But it's not runny, it still has the white cap. I had wondered about sour crop, but her crop feels normal compared to the other two, just much less full. And this morning her crop was empty. I've given them all some probiotic water and some verm-x water overnight and this morning, but I'll try the apple cider vinegar this afternoon.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

She might not be sick - she might be molting and feeling really prickly. There is nothing that you can do for that - she is just in a lot of discomfort. Poor Girl

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Try feeding her some cracked corn and sunflower seeds - cracked corn will help keep her warm when she is down to bare skin - sometimes molting can look a bit disturbing - and the sunflower seeds will help her to grow in healthy feathers. They will not break off and bleed so much

 

[LalaBuckholtz]

She might not be sick - she might be molting and feeling really prickly. There is nothing that you can do for that - she is just in a lot of discomfort. Poor Girl

I guess that's possible. I didn't notice any feather loss in her bath yesterday, but if it's early in the process I guess it might not be noticable yet.

 

[LalaBuckholtz]

Try feeding her some cracked corn and sunflower seeds - cracked corn will help keep her warm when she is down to bare skin - sometimes molting can look a bit disturbing - and the sunflower seeds will help her to grow in healthy feathers. They will not break off and bleed so much

Yeah, her flockmate Rosemary was in the middle of a molt when I purchased her. She was absolutely awful looking. but lots of protein, pepper flakes, and quiet time and she turn out quite pretty.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Sometimes the pin feathers will grow in before the feathers start falling out - it will start all at once like you pick her up and there will be feathers everywhere.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Yeah, her flockmate Rosemary was in the middle of a molt when I purchased her. She was absolutely awful looking. but lots of protein, pepper flakes, and quiet time and she turn out quite pretty.

And soft!

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Even some boiled up meat can help - I like cooking up deer fat - when we get a deer - it might be a bit gross but it can really help them. Any meat or fat would work great.