emaciated hen that's eating

[pmp72]

I just recently rescued a hen from horrendous conditions. When I found her at this "chicken runners" house she was in a small filthy cage where she couldn't even stand up straight . I've only had her a few days and she's ravenous. Eating well, seems bright and alert, but when u pick her up she's literally a bag of bones im not even sure how she's alive (its pretty bad) . Im pumping the food to her added in calcium,laying mesh, cracked corn and some fruits. She's been dewormed, is there anything else I can do for her? Is this some sort of DZ she has? The chicken runners swears he was feeeding her. She's isolated from the others. Thanks everyone

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Deworming was a good idea, thank God you found her and saved her from this horror. It will take time for her to put weight on. Adding extra protein will help her a lot. I give mine canned fish from the discount store when i can, they love it. especially sardines.(don't give a hen sardines if you are eating the egg, though! It is a strong flavored fish) Double check for lice/mites too, if you haven't already. I don't know if your store carries this, but i highly recommend a product called manna pro showbird supplement. It has extra protein and vitamins, plus probiotics to help the bird's digest better.It will help if she is having problems with runny poo; which will also dehydrate a bird and make her thin. It is around $7 for a small bag, but you only give them 1-2 Tb in addition to their regular food. I started using it after rescuing a hen who kept getting a sour crop. She's now fat and happy and has not had it in a year now. If your store does not carry this, there are other probiotic pastes, usually for cats/horses/ etc that can be substituted. one tube should be enough. This will help her get the most out of the food you are giving her, The biggie is the protein, they need that to make muscle and feathers, and she probably hasn't been getting any for a long time. Letting her walk around with you (away from the others) will also go a long way toward building up muscle. Lack of exercise could have been one of the reasons she got this way .

There is no doubt that you saved her life.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

I wanted to add, that if she has yellow runny poo, or bloody, that there could be a disease too. You did not mention the type of wormer you used; some kinds only kill certain kinds of worms, so it is also possible that there could be more in there? There is a link under my posts that will bring you to deworming information if you need it.

 

[dawg53]

Too much protein can cause gout. Stop the fruits, cracked corn and calcium. I recommend that you mix scrambled egg and buttermilk in her layer feed to make a mash and give it to her to eat. Continue this for about 2 weeks, and she should gain weight. Then provide her layer feed only. You can give her one drop of poultry nutri drench orally once a day for 5 days then stop. Too much will cause diarrhea. Put 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in 1 gallon of water for her to drink. I'm glad you're practicing biosecurity. As mentioned, check her for lice/mites especially around her vent area.

 

[PoultryPedia]

If decent food doesn't put weight on her, she might have an internal fungal infection. That would be caused by eating moldy things.

There is some info on that on the site linked in my sig, if it would be useful.

That is great of you to rescue her! I hope it goes well

 

[speckledhen]

There are many reasons for extreme emaciation besides malnutrition: worms, molting stress, late stages of internal laying, which is terminal.

 

[Ragladysews]

Im having the same problem with a hen, she is a Buff Brahma and was only a couple of months old when I got her, Shes probably about 4mos old now. She is very thin and is at the bottom of the pecking order. I have not seen any diarrhea, she eats when she can get to the food. I try to always make sure she gets food. She just doesnt seem to gain weight. I put some apple vinegar in the chicken's water sbout 2 weeks ago. They have drank all of that. All my other ones are doing fine, except for the dampness from the rain.
Today though I found her sneezing(?) and then shaking. I knew it would be cold tonight so I brought her in. She is in a big dog crate in the bedroom with water and reg. chicken feed. She just stood there like she was in shock for a long time, I left the light on for her and she seemed to come around. I went about 6pm and turned the light off. She was on her little perch I made her. Im thinking of buying some starter feed and giving her that. I would have thought she would be laying now but shes not, nor is another buff brahma I have, shes about 8 mos old. I havent seen worms either. Any suggestions about what to give her? I washed her backside in warm water, it was pretty crusty, her vent looks fine and felt empty. She lots of broken feathers on her back and backside. I think the rooster would'nt let her rest and maybe she was/is to young? I dont know what to do.

 

[fuzzybutt love]

Well, this one was new to me, so i had to search it; thanks dawg! Now i have to go check the sodium in the fish; mine are only getting grains and showbird supplement, so i think the protein is ok, but now i gotta check... here was the article:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/550983/gout-in-birds-interesting-article#post_7858586

 

[PoultryPedia]

Im having the same problem with a hen, she is a Buff Brahma and was only a couple of months old when I got her, Shes probably about 4mos old now. She is very thin and is at the bottom of the pecking order. I have not seen any diarrhea, she eats when she can get to the food. I try to always make sure she gets food. She just doesnt seem to gain weight. I put some apple vinegar in the chicken's water sbout 2 weeks ago. They have drank all of that. All my other ones are doing fine, except for the dampness from the rain.
Today though I found her sneezing(?) and then shaking. I knew it would be cold tonight so I brought her in. She is in a big dog crate in the bedroom with water and reg. chicken feed. She just stood there like she was in shock for a long time, I left the light on for her and she seemed to come around. I went about 6pm and turned the light off. She was on her little perch I made her. Im thinking of buying some starter feed and giving her that. I would have thought she would be laying now but shes not, nor is another buff brahma I have, shes about 8 mos old. I havent seen worms either. Any suggestions about what to give her? I washed her backside in warm water, it was pretty crusty, her vent looks fine and felt empty. She lots of broken feathers on her back and backside. I think the rooster would'nt let her rest and maybe she was/is to young? I dont know what to do.

It sounds like she's having a rough time! You might want to start a new thread about her in the "Emergencies/Diseases" section. Doing that would make your questions more visible to more people so they can help. Be sure to make the headline good & descriptive--like "Thin hen sneezing & needs help" or something.
You could also add some of the things mentioned at https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/3569/have-an-emergency-disease-please-read-first
Best wishes!

 

[pmp72]

Thanks everyone for all the help. I just got the oxine today how long should I do the treatment?