Glad to be a member

[Love1029]

we have a small amount of chickens 6 to be exact and we are very wet behind the ears in this still after a year. It is nice to have a place to go with questions and have answers instead of guesses.
Today I went out to feed and check on the girls, we have two Americana one batham, two that are white and one that is white and brown not sure what they are as they were marked female pullets at Tractor Supply. They are a year old and all laying, except Charlie our Batham which stopped in December. She like to lay on all the eggs the others lay though. I noticed today that one of the white chickens has lost a lot of weight since Thursday just 2 days ago and Charlie's comb has turned pink. Please help as we love these little girls they are such clowns and loving. They provide for us and we want to take care of them, they are part of our family.

 

[chickengirl1230]

Hello and welcome to byc if you want to know what the unknown breeds are you can post a pic and I can try to tell you. I have had chickens for over 5 years and I love them! In the summer when the sun is shining their crowns are super red, but in the winter mines turn light pink when it's cold and not sunny. Does the one that sits on the eggs frill up and act protective? I think she has gone broody. When hens go broody, it's when the hormones in their body tell them to stop producing eggs and sit on eggs till they hatch. If you let her sit on fertile eggs, she will hatch and care for them. Just make sure you get her out of the nest every day to make her eat and drink. Her crown probably just faded because she is broody.
Hope this helps
Taylor

 

[beneduck14]

First off....

I am not a chicken

expert, I only raise and hatch ducks. But there are a lot of pros on this website that will soon come to your rescue

. Glad you joined and I hope you get a lot of good answers.(Like the one above) HAVE A GOOD DAY!

 

[Love1029]

Thank you and yes that is Charlie to a T. I looked on your site and found what we actually have!
We have 2 Ameraucana ( My husband was in charge of naming these - Thing 1 and Thing 2 from Dr. Suess), 2 Buff Orpington(Abby & Addie for our grand Daughters), 1 Delaware (Sassy), and our Charlie is a Booted Bantam!
Does our sweet Thing 1 need worming? She is loosing weight fast.

 

[Love1029]

Thanks, My Mom and Dad had ducks and chickens. they even had a goose or two, great eggs!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[BantamLover21]

I'm glad you joined our "flock!"

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC.

I'm glad you joined our community!

Your birds may need deworming, as most birds accumulate some worms eventually. It would be a good measure to take, just in case the weight loss is caused by worms. I'd also check for lice and mites, and they can suck the energy from a bird and make the birds weak.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[drumstick diva]

I would be very concerned about Thing 1, who you say is losing weight fast. Do you see in fact, that she is eating well? Is it possible she is being bullied away from the feeder? Does she have any other symptoms of being unwell? I'm concerned that only she is losing weight fast. I would think the others would be affected likewise if worms were the cause. It might be good to post in detail at "emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures," thread just in case, someone else might have more to add as a reason for her weight loss.