Extremely Skinny Hen/ Lethargic!!!!!! Seems really bad

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Sara9

Sara9

In the Brooder
6 Years
Aug 1, 2013
29
0
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Coming back form a long trip I found my 2 year old Rhode Island hen almost bone. She stands but can barely hold her self and her comb is bent over and discolored. She was missing lots of feathers but they seem to be in spars bad shape and she has no energy.
She poops mostly watery stuff and probably isn't eating. Didn't notice anything like sour crop and it doesn't seem like she had bloody poop or lots of white stuff stuck to her.
What diseases or conditions could this be?
What is the safest things to start treating her with without taking her to the vet, my parents refuse to do that really. What is a good food to try to give her??
Thank you so much!
 
Isolate her in a crate so that you can watch her droppings, and feed her some scrambled egg along with her normal layer feed. Canned tuna, salmon, and a good dry cat food may help boost protein. Probiotics or a little buttermilk daily and some electrolytes and vitamins may help build her up. Have you wormed your flock recently? Valbazen and fenbendazole (Safeguard liquid) are very good ones. Has she recently been laying? Has she molted already this year?
 
Thank you so much for the feeding tips. I just gave her yogurt with pellets mixed in and she ate a little. I have never wormed my flock- probably not a good thing, so will look at our local agway for something tomorrow. Doesn't seem like she has laid in a week or two. Her skin is red/ purple unhealthy looking and i checked her crop and it seemed small, maybe full, not too much like a balloon so I don't think it is sour crop, I will check it in the morning and try to feed her more.
Does it seem likely that it might be worms that would cause this extreme weight loss. Could it be something else? None of the other birds seem to be having a problem. I'll work on worming them all thought.
Thanks!
 
She passed away this morning, very sad, I wish I had been home and had more time to treat her but unfortunately chickens are so tough to treat. I'm sending her in to UConn for a free necropsy to see what caused it, will post if i learn anything.
thank you!
 
Sorry for your loss. A necropsy hopefully will tell you what was wrong with her. With hens her age, there can be many reproductive disorders that cause problems such as cancer, egg peritonitis, salpingitis, and others. Mareks and avian leukosis can cause wasting and tumors. Worms can also kill.
 
Yes, I just got the results back and it was something with the eggs. The main finding was oviduct impaction with degenerate egg material and peritonitis. They say it is relatively common and could be from bacteria, crowding, stress, light intensity, and nutritional deficiencies like hypocalcemia.
As I read up on these things, It explains why she was so lethargic and skinny. Why I don't get is why this happened. I've lost 2-3 hens before from egg binding and similar conditions. But I feed them organic layer pellets, free choice granite and calcium grits, a handful of corn/oat scratch each day, some cat food as an occasional treat, some kitchen scraps, and they are free ranged in a chicken tractor. I keep their bedding and water relatively clean. So does anyone have any ideas what could cause this repetitively. Is my food going bad, do the food scraps contain a bacteria, is their something wrong with the grit. With 5-8 birds at a time I don't think they are lacking much space, they can move freely. They get a little bit of supplementary light in the evenings but not for long.
Thanks!
 
 

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