Help! Chicken won't eat solids, has empty crop, acting mildly lethargic

[Caitrin]

I just got chickens 3 weeks ago and my 1 year old Ameraucana hen is acting funny. She is normally very bossy with the other hens and active. The past few days she has been fairly lethargic, standing in a corner with her head sitting back on her shoulders, if that makes sense. I have been watching her behavior today and yesterday and noticed she will peck at food but spit it out. It's like she wants to eat but just won't. After picking at some food and spitting it out, she spit up green slime. I thought maybe she had an impacted or sour crop so I tried to feed her some olive oil with an eye dropper and feel the crop but it feels empty. She is a little skinny. I can feel her breast bone but it also has muscle around it. I wouldn't say it is sharp. She is pretty alert, runs from me, and still bosses the other hens if they get too close, but sits on the end of the roost alone at night and stands alone. I offered the hens some plain yogurt and vegetable broth and she really liked that and ate some, so I feel a little better but am still very worried. Any suggestions/help? All of the hens have been wormed pretty recently (4 weeks maybe). Also, she hasn't laid in about a week.

C

 

[2greenboyz]

Plz fill out the questionaiire found in the beginning of this section to describe your bird and how it is cared for. That can make a difference in how people approach the problem and hopefully solve it. Without that, I can offer a few suggestions you need to cover. Had she been laying eggs up to now? Have you felt her to see if anything is swollen esp around her abdomen? Is it warm or hot to the touch? Is she drinking on her own? Hens can go without food for a couple days if necessary, but they cannot go without water at all. Have you smelled her breath to see if it seems off? What have you been feeding her? Hopefully someone will offer more on this, but you need to help too by supplying more info.

 

[seminolewind]

See if she'll eat some chicken feed mush. What color is her poo? Does her breath smell? How much does she really eat? Did you have her prior to getting the others? Where did you get the others from?

 

[Caitrin]

She ate some yogurt mixed with laying crumbles, probably a tablespoon or two? She also drank some vegetable broth. The yogurt and broth seemed to perk her up a little bit. Her breath smells normal but I haven't kept track of her poos. I'll try to pull her aside and watch more tomorrow. I had her and 4 other girls then added 3 more hens this week. Could adding the new hens have made her upset? We also just had a big storm that dropped the temperature significantly, but the other girls don't seem affected. The new girls came from an all organic farm just outside of town. The places I got them from seemed clean and all hens were on a normal worming plan. I put out some oyster shell and she kind of went nuts over that. Maybe that's what she was missing. She reclaimed her superior spot on the roost this evening. Maybe she is turning around.

 

[seminolewind]

If she got up on the roost, that's a good sign!

 

[Caitrin]

We separated her from the flock and are treating them all for Coccidiosis, which was suggested by several people in town we talked to. The girl at the feed store said more people than usual have been coming in saying their flock has it this year. I'm also treating for worms as a precaution. The hen is even more lethargic today, being separated from the flock. She's eating even less. Would it be beneficial to feed her with an eye dropper or syringe some of the medicated water or would that stress her out too much? The corid website suggests 1 teaspoon of 9.6% solution to each gallon of water, but we are dosing 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. Should we up the dose? A full teaspoon seamed a little strong to us. Thanks for your help.

 

[mumof5]

Hi, I don't know if this will help you at all but my Hen of 5years Daisy was very sadly put to sleep by the vet this evening, and prior to this she was acting very slow and lethargic, she had stopped eating and I had been feeding her drinking water trough a syringe, only I had been told that she might have had Coccidiosis and was treating her for that, but it turns out she had cancer in her abdomen, I am not saying that this is the case for your hen but the symptoms were the same, she had only started to show signs 3 days ago......hope this helps and good luck.

 

[seminolewind]

I would use the strength recommended. I used to take the medicated water and soak a bread cube in it and give it to them.

Have you gotten any new chickens in the past few months?

Is she pooing green?

 

[Lady Beetle]

I've got a brown Isa with Mareks Disease, she isn't eating much, I was wondering if there are any formulas like critical care or a sustagen type that would keep her going.

 

[Amy487]

Hi

...

I just got chickens 3 weeks ago and my 1 year old Ameraucana hen is acting funny. She is normally very bossy with the other hens and active. The past few days she has been fairly lethargic, standing in a corner with her head sitting back on her shoulders, if that makes sense. I have been watching her behavior today and yesterday and noticed she will peck at food but spit it out. It's like she wants to eat but just won't. After picking at some food and spitting it out, she spit up green slime. I thought maybe she had an impacted or sour crop so I tried to feed her some olive oil with an eye dropper and feel the crop but it feels empty. She is a little skinny. I can feel her breast bone but it also has muscle around it. I wouldn't say it is sharp. She is pretty alert, runs from me, and still bosses the other hens if they get too close, but sits on the end of the roost alone at night and stands alone. I offered the hens some plain yogurt and vegetable broth and she really liked that and ate some, so I feel a little better but am still very worried. Any suggestions/help? All of the hens have been wormed pretty recently (4 weeks maybe). Also, she hasn't laid in about a week.


Hi, did u ever get your hen sorted as mine has seemed to develop a similar problem any help? She try's to eat and it just gets spat out pretty much, she frequently opens her mouth and does drink and does have slightly smelly breath. In the last few weeks she has lost a lot of her weight and bring an orpington she was quite big. Have tried worming food but obviously has not really eaten it.
Ideas anyone please. Thanks in advance