Elderly Hen Not Eating and Slow

[ChickNanny13]

What feed are you feeding your chickens?
I agree with @azygous about the vitamin deficiency ... Yes it can happen over nite and not all will be affected.

 

[DottyHen1]

Are you sure the other hen wasn't just testing spots to sun herself? My chickens do this when they're choosing the spot with the best sun to settle down for a sun bath. This is common in winter when the ground is cold. The sun may have been shining longer in some spots and hens can sense this. Cats have nothing over chickens when it comes to being heat seeking missiles.

When basing a health assessment on behavior, it's important to observe over a 24 hour period to be sure there is a definite change.

Do these two hens have diarrhea or is their poop mostly solid?

No she wasn’t sunning herself, no sun and she would walk a little ways and then plop down and then walk a little more and sat for about an hour. She was away from the other hens and isolating herself. I haven’t seen this hen poop yet, but Dot has sort of pale pasty poop. Not diarrhea exactly but definitely not normal or good.

 

[DottyHen1]

What feed are you feeding your chickens?
I agree with @azygous about the vitamin deficiency ... Yes it can happen over nite and not all will be affected.

The feed store delivered a different feed than normal this most recent visit (about a month ago). They gave us Nutrena Country Feeds Layer Crumble when we normally get a pellet feed.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Crumble vs Pellet won't make a difference ... What were you originally feeding, name of feed? Odd that the feed store didn't notify you they were going to switch out your feed, assuming what you got is similar to what you were feeding. I've found when switching feed, it's best to do it gradually. Prices have gone way up on the feed I use but rather pay the price that have issues which I have had at times in the past.

Can you take a picture of the poop? IF this started about the time the feed was switched, I'd say that's a possibility. Have you checked the feed that it smells & looks fresh? Is it possible your girls picked up some decaying tidbits while out and about?

 

[DottyHen1]

Crumble vs Pellet won't make a difference ... What were you originally feeding, name of feed? Odd that the feed store didn't notify you they were going to switch out your feed, assuming what you got is similar to what you were feeding. I've found when switching feed, it's best to do it gradually. Prices have gone way up on the feed I use but rather pay the price that have issues which I have had at times in the past.

Can you take a picture of the poop? IF this started about the time the feed was switched, I'd say that's a possibility. Have you checked the feed that it smells & looks fresh? Is it possible your girls picked up some decaying tidbits while out and about?

The feed looks and smells all good. The original feed they were on was Purina’s Layena Pellets. I will find a sample of the poop tomorrow as I didn’t take any pictures today.

 

[Colberon]

I had a hen acting similar to this for the past week, I finally had time to do a little investigating yesterday after being out of town most of last week (my husband ensured they had food, water, etc) and I have discovered mine has gone blind. She around 5 years old.

 

[DottyHen1]

Not sure if everyone who helped will see this, but here I go. Dotty passed away tonight. She went peacefully. She was napping increasingly in her nesting box as the days went on until I found her. I treated my other hen who was showing signs that were out of character and she is back to normal. I treated the entire flock with Corid as well as getting some vitamins for the flock. I just want to thank everyone who helped me so quickly. It didn’t end the way I wanted but I know a lot more than when I first posted. RIP Dotty, my sweetest hen.