Help! I've inherited chickens.....

[BullChick]

I hope you find the answers you seek, and continue to enjoy your time with chickens!

 

[ChickieMcGee]

Chickens will be fine without a heat lamp unless it gets ridiculously cold, there is no need to have one on them now. Has this hen been laying eggs at all? I cant tell from that picture but it looks like she might be egg bound.

She hasn’t given us eggs for weeks now. Can I do anything to help her?

 

[ChickieMcGee]

I hope you find the answers you seek, and continue to enjoy your time with chickens!

Thank you. I hope so. They’re so adorable

 

[BullChick]

Thank you. I hope so. They’re so adorable

Wait until you discover Coturnix quail. They are simply the cutest!

 

[Wezdin]

She hasn’t given us eggs for weeks now. Can I do anything to help her?

one way to check if she is eggbound look at her stance, if she is standing kinda like a penguin(Head tucked in, tail pointed to ground) that can mean she is trying to pass something. If she is egg bound a calcium boost in the form of a tums wouldn't hurt.

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC, sorry you hen is sick.

Can you bring her inside where it's warm (80-85 degrees is ideal for a sick chicken)? Once inside and warm, can you take a video of her, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo then copy and paste the link here?

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Brahma hen may haven’t been one of the norms but she passed away at age 9 yrs just laid down as she was following the flock out for foraging, I sure miss her. Welcome to BYC hope you can get your hen back up an feeling good.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

She hasn’t given us eggs for weeks now. Can I do anything to help her?

If she hasn’t laid in a while it could be that she is egg bound (egg(s) stuck inside her.) quick action is necessary to keep her alive and stop her suffering.
Here’s a link from BYC about it.
Egg Bound Symptoms and Treatments

Good luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would order a used copy of a good chicken book online which can give you a lot of details about chickens. Storys Guide to Chickens is an okay one. You can get a ton of info here, but it can be subjective. We have learning center pages written by members. The emergency forum and other forums are a great place to search.

Lifespan varies with chickens. Some can live 8-10 years and rarely older, but after 2-3 years, it can be common to lose a chicken now and then to reproductive disorders, such as salpingitis, cancer, and others. You can always save a body, keeping it cool, and send it into the state vet lab for a necropsy to find out exactly what the problem was. Many of us do a basic necropsy at home, which can help if it is an obvious problem, but the best are done by the poultry vets.

I would glove up and insert a finger inside her vent to feel for a stuck egg. Bring her inside in a basket or dog crate if it is safe, get her warm, and offer food and water. She could be dehydrated from not being able to stand. Electrolytes (pedialyte or gatorade) or the chicken kind are helpful.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You've come to the right place, there are lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here. How many chickens did you start with? About how many eggs a day do you get? Can you post a pic of the sick one's poo? Droppings are very revealing. Is this sick one behaving the same way the others did that died? Is it coughing, sneezing, standing huddled or fluffed or with its eyes closed? Do you see any drainage from eyes or nostrils? Thanks, all this will be helpful and possibly diagnostic.