HELP!!!!!!!!!! Sick hen

[jane38]

I have 15 chicken and one hen is sick. She retracts her neck, waddles, and butt is lowered to the ground. I see no other symptoms. She does eat and drink. I gave her some bread and she ate it up. The temperatures have been pretty low this winter and currently it is 4 degrees right now. There is no means of heat in the coup we just had shavings and hay the coop is a good size and warmth is the best we can do. What can I do for this hen? We do not have a vet. What should I do?

Thank you.

 

[ChandlerDoe]

I'm new to this but will try to give the best advice I can. Bread is not a good thing to feed birds, despite common belief. It has gluten and it tends to swell in their stomach and they can't digest it and it can cause problems. Maybe she's constipated from bread? Was she having this problem before? How does her stool look?

 

[jane38]

She has never had problems with bread. I just gave her bread today and she has been sick a couple days before. I am not sure what she has but I had a hen with similar symptoms weeks ago die from it. I am not sure what she has.

Thank you for replying.

 

[Nambroth]

I have 15 chicken and one hen is sick. She retracts her neck, waddles, and butt is lowered to the ground. I see no other symptoms. She does eat and drink. I gave her some bread and she ate it up. The temperatures have been pretty low this winter and currently it is 4 degrees right now. There is no means of heat in the coup we just had shavings and hay the coop is a good size and warmth is the best we can do. What can I do for this hen? We do not have a vet. What should I do?

Thank you.

The best thing you can do for her immediately is to bring her into the house... a cat carrier, a box, a laundry basket (etc) are all good ways of keeping her in one spot. You can put bedding or an old towel that you don't care for any more down for her to rest on. Offer fresh food and water.

If she is ill, fighting off the cold will only hurt. The cold itself should not make chickens ill, but if they have a weakened immune system from an ailment, dealing with the low temperatures is harmful.

After she is settled, carefully check her over, head to toe.
Does she have any discharge, oozing, or bubbling around her face, eyes, nose?
Does she have a strong or unpleasant odor around her face?
Does she seem to have mites or lice? Look very carefully at the skin and base of the feathers. They are super tiny!
How are her droppings? How do they compare to a normal dropping you see from your birds?
Has she laid any eggs recently? Check her body... it should not feel especially hot or firm down around her 'belly', below her breastbone.
Could she be egg bound? If you suspect this, use a glove and gently feel into her vent to see if you can feel an egg or any obstructions.
Is her comb pale?
Has she been wormed recently?
How old is she, and have you had any other problems in your flock in the last year? If so, what were the problems?
What is her regular feed like?