HELP!! My hen is lethargic, shivering, and her head is falling

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

Chick feed with water to make a kind of porridge sounds good. Im not sure about the old rooster if she’s really sick.

I'm starting to think it's a problem with my rooster overall so I might get rid of him tomorrow because I found a second hen just now

 

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

This hen is displaying the same symptoms as her mother as well as she seems to have a dirty bum! Do you think it could be a combination between overactive rooster and keep stress? She isn't as beat up as her mother but she is missing a few feathers - I don't understand, I have 10 hens to one rooster?

 

[SmiYa0126]

This hen is displaying the same symptoms as her mother as well as she seems to have a dirty bum! Do you think it could be a combination between overactive rooster and keep stress? She isn't as beat up as her mother but she is missing a few feathers - I don't understand, I have 10 hens to one rooster?

I would separate him from them. He might have his favorites.

 

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

I would separate him from them. He might have his favorites.

Going to be selling him tomorrow anyway

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would separate out the rooster.

Any chance you have a predator lurking about that could be attacking the hens? Just asking - the peck marks on the white hen do look like it's from a beak, but you just never know.

For both hens, I'd work on hydration. Electrolytes or sugar water - get them drinking first, then offer wet mushy feed. As mentioned previously, chick starter or your gamebird feed are fine to give for extra protein.

Now, look at the feed that the hens have been eating - is the feed fresh and not molded. Could they have gotten into anything rancid/rotten? (compost?)

While the white hen does have peck marks, her curling over the head is still concerning. I've had hens beaten by roosters and usually they have suffered much worse and bloody injuries, ripping of the skin, but if it's really hot where you are her stance could be heat exhaustion.

Check the red one's crop to see if it's emptying overnight. The crop is on the right side of the breast. You should feel food/water in it when she's been eating/drinking. Take out food/water overnight while she's sleeping and then feel her crop to see if it's empty/flat in the morning before she eats/drinks. If it's not, then work on hydration, give her 1 tsp coconut oil twice tomorrow, then re-check, if it still doesn't empty, let us know.

If possible, get a photos of both of their poops/overnight droppings.

I'm very sorry that they are both not doing well.

 

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

I would separate out the rooster.

Any chance you have a predator lurking about that could be attacking the hens? Just asking - the peck marks on the white hen do look like it's from a beak, but you just never know.

For both hens, I'd work on hydration. Electrolytes or sugar water - get them drinking first, then offer wet mushy feed. As mentioned previously, chick starter or your gamebird feed are fine to give for extra protein.

Now, look at the feed that the hens have been eating - is the feed fresh and not molded. Could they have gotten into anything rancid/rotten? (compost?)

While the white hen does have peck marks, her curling over the head is still concerning. I've had hens beaten by roosters and usually they have suffered much worse and bloody injuries, ripping of the skin, but if it's really hot where you are her stance could be heat exhaustion.

Check the red one's crop to see if it's emptying overnight. The crop is on the right side of the breast. You should feel food/water in it when she's been eating/drinking. Take out food/water overnight while she's sleeping and then feel her crop to see if it's empty/flat in the morning before she eats/drinks. If it's not, then work on hydration, give her 1 tsp coconut oil twice tomorrow, then re-check, if it still doesn't empty, let us know.

If possible, get a photos of both of their poops/overnight droppings.

I'm very sorry that they are both not doing well.

I live in Florida and we've been suffering from extreme heat for the past couple of weeks, I believe today it was 97°f at its peak? I make sure to give them plenty of fresh water coupled with ice cubes to keep it somewhat cool

We have been having an issue with a small animal breaking into the coop and eating the eggs but I doubt it would go after the hen, my rooster has easily killed raccoons before and this animal is much smaller, I'm guessing a young possum? Hydration of course is the number one priority, how does sugar assist in hydration?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Possum would be likely for an egg eater.

Sugar will raise their glucose and help them recover if they are suffering from heat exhaustion. 1tsp sugar to 1cup water.

 

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

Possum would be likely for an egg eater.

Sugar will raise their glucose and help them recover if they are suffering from heat exhaustion. 1tsp sugar to 1cup water.

Is the white granulated sugar okay or do I need to pick up some brown sugar/Cane sugar?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

White sugar is fine.

 

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

Update, after treating them with amoxicillin, one of my hens has begun to get better but the other one has sadly passed, she was an old lady and I guess her body couldn't take it.. I have kept my chickens in their coop for the past couple of days while I try to figure out what happened. I walked my yard and found remnants of RAT POISON so I will in fact be speaking to my neighbors about their placement of such nasty items.

Amoxicillin did help my hen recover along with lots of water, does that mean it was an illness and not the poison? Because if it was the poison, and I am in fact sending my deceased girl in for an autopsy, If it was in fact poison I will be going to court with my nasty neighbors.