Help for a Hen off her food

[moraylass]

We have a 3.5 year old Columbine who had not laid since the middle of the summer, and is now being rather lethargic (she is the top of the pecking order, but isn't making much effort (not that anyone is challenging her)).

For the last week she has not been joining the others in scrabbling for the daily corn - and can't be bothered to eat from my hand. She will take a bit of chick crumb, but rather apathetically.

Are there any good food ideas that will maybe keep her going into the winter?

Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

3.5 year old Columbine who had not laid since the middle of the summer, and is now being rather lethargic

last week she has not been joining the others in scrabbling for the daily corn - and can't be bothered to eat from my hand. She will take a bit of chick crumb, but rather apathetically.

Crop feels empty this morning. Abdomen soft. I left her on her own so see how much she ate and drank, and she was drinking when I left, and had eaten some chick crumb later

very last egg she laid 2 months ago was an empty shell 2cm across. May be interesting, though this lethargy has only been a week.

I would have to agree that it sounds like she may have a reproductive problem if she is not molting.
Do you have photos of her poop?
Getting a fecal float to rule out worms is always a good idea. If you vet can't do a fecal, then you can try mail order. I believe that @rebrascora mentioned Westgate Labs for that.

Try a few different things to see if you can entice her eat - offer wet feed or some chopped egg. A few fresh greens may be of interest. You may want to give her some poultry vitamins for a couple of days too if you have them.

 

[moraylass]

Crop feels empty this morning. Abdomen soft. I left her on her own so see how much she ate and drank, and she was drinking when I left, and had eaten some chick crumb later (when this picture was taken).


PS. The very last egg she laid 2 months ago was an empty shell 2cm across. May be interesting, though this lethargy has only been a week.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry your hen isn't feeling well. Her age and how long since she laid indicate she may be suffering from internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, or ascites (water belly) ... prognosis is not usually good. Most recent behavior may be from molt coming on though. I would also check crop at night and in the morning before any feed or water are offered to monitor function and if it is emptying over night or not.

Where are you located? Adding that in your profile can help others make better suggestions at a glance.

The chick crumble or a flock raiser would be my choice of feed for her.

 

[Chickassan]

You could grind and add some calf manna to her crumbles as well. It comes in pellets but running it through a grinder and mixing it ensures she's getting it.

 

[moraylass]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry your hen isn't feeling well. Her age and how long since she laid indicate she may be suffering from internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, or ascites (water belly) ... prognosis is not usually good. Most recent behavior may be from molt coming on though. I would also check crop at night and in the morning before any feed or water are offered to monitor function and if it is emptying over night or not.

Where are you located? Adding that in your profile can help others make better suggestions at a glance.

The chick crumble or a flock raiser would be my choice of feed for her.

Thank you. I will check her tomorrow morning, though I'm not really sure what I'm looking for! Are there any treatments for these (google doesn't seem much help so far)?

(I've added Northeast Scotland, Uk to my profile)

 

[EggSighted4Life]

She may also be going into molt which can be a very difficult time for them. They are very uncomfortable and a often a tad withdrawn for a period of time. Are you able to post pics? Is she drinking?

It's hard to know what you are looking for, but feeling at night and in the morning should be different and get you familiar. You can also compare to other birds crops.

This article might help describe how to check the crop...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Wow, she is pretty.

Good news that she is eating and drinking.

Did she have any recent feather loss and re growth, in other words did she just molt? Her feathers look pretty good.

At her age... I would suspect laying issues might be popping up OR she COULD be just slowing down in general. But just slowing down wouldn't explain lethargy... molting could effect energy level.. possible kidney or liver issues starting... what I mean to say is that aging is hard. While 3.5 isn't old for some for others it WILL be.

Have you inspected her droppings yet? A fecal float at the vet is ALWAYS a good idea... if you've never wormed and have that as an option.

I wish I could say there is nothing wrong with her... but generally if you notice something a miss... you are correct.

Hopefully she was just having an off day.

Couple peeps who might have other ideas... @rebrascora @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @KikisGirls... thanks for any insight you might have!

 

[Eggcessive]

Flubenvet is good for worming for those in the UK, and is used in the feed for around 6 days, I believe. Some of my hens around this age have developed problems, although this time of year, molting is common, and it brings about a lot of stress. The last egg sounds odd, but hopefully not a sign of a reproductive disorder.

 

[rebrascora]

Also...
..... how much corn do you give them? I'm assuming this is mixed corn which they refer to as Scratch in the USA. Too much can cause problems in some birds and it is safer to give none that be overly generous.
Since you specifically asked for food recommendations I would try her with scrambled eggs and you can also offer a pouch of meat or fish cat food or some slivers of raw liver or a little natural yoghurt mixed into some chick crumbs to make a wet mash or some cottage cheese. I would also get some Nettex Nutri Drops for poultry. They come in a little bottle with a dropper in a box and cost about £10 but a few drops can give sick birds a real boost.