Help! Something is wrong with one of my girls!

[DebbieDoor]

For two days one of my girls has been walking slow (not moving much) and her cute tail is down, one of her eyes looks so different than usual, and her eating is so different than usual. This is my first sick chick and I do not know what is wrong and what I can do!

 

[Teila]

Howdy DebbieDoor

First up, I am definitely not an expert at what ails chickens and I hope that someone with more experience will chime in shortly.

However, they will probably need some more information to assist in hopefully diagnosing what ails your gal.

Who old is your gal? What breed please?
Has she reached laying age? Was she laying and still laying now?
When you say “her eating is different” in what way? What are you feeding her?
Is she pooping OK? How do her poops look? Below are a couple of charts which may help.

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html

How does her eye look different? Some pictures would help but I am not sure if you would be able to post them yet; I believe there is a minimum number of posts before pictures can be added.

Has she been wormed?
Any signs of parasites, lice or mite?
How is her breathing? Does she sound rattly at all or appear to be having trouble breathing, open beak etc?

A drooping tail can be a sign of discomfort in a chicken and could be related to egg binding. If you can, gently feel around her vent area and see if you can feel an egg.

 

[DebbieDoor]

Thanks for replying!
She is a six month old blue Orpington and lives with four sisters that are okay. The main concern is one eye is filmed over, tail down, and walks (very slowly)by her nutrena laying pellets and randomly pecks at the ground. She is not laying yet, but I have held her and checked everything and she seems to feel fine from top to bottom. She had her mouth open a lot, but seems to be breathing fine. This is the first time one of the girls has not been happy and running around since the day they hatched. I do not like NOT knowing what to do!