Emergency situation--2 hens unable to eat

[CluckingCitySlicker]

Hello everyone... I could use some advice on how to handle this new situation. I have two Rhode Island reds that are 3 years old and they are not eating. Both are very thin. Both stopped laying eggs. One stopped at the end of last year and the other one stopped one month ago. Both can eat a small amount of yogurt, corn and cat food. They refuse to eat their crumbles food even if moistened to the point of being almost like a powder. Both are now indoors and separated from the flock. When they eat I can hear a clicking sound coming from their beaks. The crop feels empty. I don't know how much they're drinking because I've not observed them drinking water. Both appear alert but I can feel their chest bones. One chicken does have the condition called water belly. I have tried different ways to get food into the birds but they are refusing to eat but a minimal amount of food which equates to about a tablespoon per bird. I am open to suggestions. Can you help us?

 

[Eggcessive]

Many times laying hens, especially the best hybrid layers, will suffer from reproductive disorders (internal laying, salpingitis, egg yolk peritonitis) and also cancer. Water belly can be a result of any of those. How do their crops feel first thing in the morning before they have access to food and water? The crop should feel empty and flat first thing in the morning. Crop disorders may also be caused by those things as well as worms. I would try to keep them eating a balanced chicken feed, and with water added they may like it. Plain yogurt with live cultures is good for probiotics, about a tablespoonful each, and a little scrambled egg may be a good treat before they go to roost in the evening. You could learn to tube feed them, but most chickens do not eat for a reason.