Help! Sick hen. Barely eats.

[BabyGirl2]

Help, please. I've never had this problem before. I have a hen who was being picked on by all the other chickens. She was standing in the corners of the coop and rarely eating. I thought it was because she was being picked on so I removed her. A health check revealed her vent feathers were poo matted, her poo is runny and on occasion green. She weights less than my bantam rooster (he's less than 5lbs.) She is also very inactive, barely moves and when she does it is very slow. I've given her some Sav-A-Chick electrolyte and Vitamin water and she has perked up a small bit. I've tried giving her meal worms (a very treat) and fruit yogurt. I'm out of ideas. I'm on a tight budget and the vet is a two or three hour drive, I would like to avoid the vet if possible. Any suggestions or ideas?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sounds like something is definitely wrong with her. Other birds will attack a sick or odd acting bird. My guess would be something internal.

More information about your hen may help others offer better advice than me.

 

[BabyGirl2]

Yeah, I should have said, she's 8mths old and a game, big stock mix. My research in a chicken book said it could be E.coli and a elderly friend suggested she may have been crushed by another chicken. I've never of the being crushed thing. OH, and she won't roost on a roosting pole and acts like she can't fly, and hasn't laid any eggs.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is hard to know what is wrong with her, but I figure that she was picked on because the others sense that she is sick. They will try to kill a sick bird. I would separate her in a dog crate, and she can still be kept in the coop or separated. At her age if she has never laid eggs, she might have anreproductive disorder, such as internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis.

Low immunity can be a result of coccidiosis or worms. A vet could check for those, or you could go ahead and treat her. Corid is usally given for coccidiosis (2 tsp or 10 ml per gallon of water for 7 days.) Valbazen or SafeGuard can be used for treatment of worms. We can give dosages for whichever you use. I would baby her a little, offering a mash of wet chicken feed plus a little cooked egg daily. 1/4 tablet of Vitamin B Complex daily would help her appetite. Can you post any pictures of her poop?

 

[BabyGirl2]

This is Dumpling and a picture of her poo. It is at the edge of the blue plastic and the shadow. If I knew more about loading pictures I'd highlight or circle it. She is separated from the other chickens but she can still see and socialize through the fences. The vitamin water has seemed to help. I've gotten her to eat some grass and some meal worms and a little bit of yogurt suggested for E.coli.