Finicky chicken or health issue!

[PhenixJiRa]

Hi there!
I have a situation with one of my chickens that I’m hoping someone can shed some light upon. I’m giving quite a bit of background on the situation because things keep changing.

I have five hens and one of them stopped laying eggs about four weeks ago. At that time I feared she had a broken egg inside her but turns out she did not. It has been quite hot here so I’ve been giving them probiotics and other things to help with that.

Skipping forward to today, she will not eat the chicken feed other than a couple nibbles a day and only if it’s soupy. She will eat live worms & spiders, just about anything covered in yogurt, and occasionally some cabbage. She definitely likes tuna fish. Basically I’ve been trying anything I can to get her to eat something and she seems to crave protein.

I thought perhaps she had eaten something that scratched the inside of her throat. The reason I thought that was because she would only eat things that slipped down easily like a worm or a yogurt. She will not even eat scratch, although I am not giving them that right now.

She seemed to be lethargic but that’s not really the case, I think it’s the heat. She does want to eat and follows me around wanting me to take up worms. I cannot do that forever.

Will a chicken starve themselves or will she eventually go back to eating the chicken feed? The other chickens are eating it just as much as they were in the past.

Sorry for such a long post but I’m trying to provide all the info for this bizarre situation.

Thank you in advance!

 

[nuthatched]

Hi there,
It's most likely that she's just finicky or spoiled and won't eat what she's supposed to, though you can try a higher protein feed if you can get it, it might help. I'd stop feeding her anything else so she eats her food, she won't starve.

 

[PhenixJiRa]

Hi there,
It's most likely that she's just finicky or spoiled and won't eat what she's supposed to, though you can try a higher protein feed if you can get it, it might help. I'd stop feeding her anything else so she eats her food, she won't starve.

That's what I'm hoping for.
The reason I wasn't sure about it being a finicky or spoiled issue was due to how sudden it came and coincidentally at the same time she slowed down and stopped laying eggs. She started pooping what looked like a broken egg mixture so I flushed her and nothing happened. She just stopped laying eggs and stopped eating her chicken feed.
If she's just being a picky, spoiled chicken, we're gonna have words LOL!

 

[nuthatched]

That's what I'm hoping for.
The reason I wasn't sure about it being a finicky or spoiled issue was due to how sudden it came and coincidentally at the same time she slowed down and stopped laying eggs. She started pooping what looked like a broken egg mixture so I flushed her and nothing happened. She just stopped laying eggs and stopped eating her chicken feed.
If she's just being a picky, spoiled chicken, we're gonna have words LOL!

It could be a soft molt or just the heat, hopefully nothing serious.

 

[PhenixJiRa]

It could be a soft molt or just the heat, hopefully nothing serious.

A soft molt? I was just saying the other day that I wondered if she would start molting soon but have no idea what to look for other than feathers on the ground. They were born September of last year so this will be their first molting year.

 

[aart]

so I flushed her

What exactly does this mean?

 

[PhenixJiRa]

What exactly does this mean?

Hi, I followed the instructions in the link below using water and vinegar and a syringe. I used this to flush out the vent and hopefully get rid of what was inside her. Not much ever came out but it was worth a shot.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/egg-broken-inside-hen.592094/

It doesn’t appear that she had anything broken inside her so now I am not sure if I have a picky chicken or if something else is wrong. She didn’t eat much of anything yesterday so I’m hoping she wakes up hungry this morning and goes for the chicken feed.

 

[aart]

Hi, I followed the instructions in the link below using water and vinegar and a syringe. I used this to flush out the vent and hopefully get rid of what was inside her. Not much ever came out but it was worth a shot.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/egg-broken-inside-hen.592094/

It doesn’t appear that she had anything broken inside her so now I am not sure if I have a picky chicken or if something else is wrong. She didn’t eat much of anything yesterday so I’m hoping she wakes up hungry this morning and goes for the chicken feed.

Is that when she stopped eating well, after the flush?

 

[PhenixJiRa]

Is that when she stopped eating well, after the flush?

She stopped eating her feed around that same time or shortly after. She won’t eat any egg shells or oyster shells like she used to and hasn’t laid an egg (as far as I can tell) since then either.

She wants to eat things like worms, yogurt, soft meats, small bits of cabbage, and just the occasional bite of soupy feed. I’ve seen her eating a little grass but mainly wants protein from what I’m seeing.

She’s only 11 months old and I’m assuming they will molt in another month but I’m not sure that’s the issue.

She will also eat scrambled eggs

 

[janiedoe]

Are your hens confined to a run?
If so, do the have access to grit and oyster shell?
Is her crop full or empty each evening? Is it empty or squishy in the morning?
What type worms are you feeding? (I believe that earthworms can be a vector for parasitic worms.)
@dawg53 posted the instruction for the flush that you mentioned. She may have some insight.
Also tagging the medical team
@Eggcessive @azygous @Wyorp Rock