Help! Welsummer is Malnourished!

[Poultry Maniac]

I have a Welsummer that is about 5 months old that has not been eating much lately. She is at the bottom of the pecking order and is always driven away from the food by the other chickens. She has a Speckled Sussex sister that was raised with her that is perfectly fine. I left her and the Speckled Sussex in the coop alone together today so she maybe wouldn’t feel as stressed and would eat more, but she still hasn’t been eating much. She also is very lethargic and weak looking. Do any of you have suggestions on what to do?

 

[Birdsong 82]

Could you post a picture of her? Have you checked her droppings? Sometimes they tell you a lot about what’s going on. I had a problem with my Rhode Island Reds trying to steal my younger chickens food and I found it helped when I put out several food bowls but if I put them at different levels. I had a small table type thing And my run so I would say some of the feed up on the table so I’m near the ground and then some hanging in a separate area. They are still seemed to be a little bit of a problem but everybody was eating and it seemed to work to have them at different levels

 

[ChickenCanoe]

First place to start with bullies is to provide multiple food and water stations around the area.
Weigh the bird so you can see if she's improving or getting worse.

 

[336White Phoenix]

What I would do is keep her with her sister and when she is better take the rooster and put him with them and after about 2 weeks put them back in cause he will treat them and should stop the others picking on her cause shell be like is queen in some sense
And sorry to hear she's not feeling the best and a few pics would help

 

[Poultry Maniac]

We don’t have a rooster in our flock. Do have a very large Cuckoo Maran that is very gentle and sweet if that would help.

 

[Poultry Maniac]

There she is with her sister. They’re about 21 weeks old. The Speckled Sussex started laying a week ago, but the Welsummer hasn’t even shown any signs. She is very weak and light.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Rather than separate the bullied, it is always better to separate the bullies. Then when you start returning them(worst offender last), one at a time every couple days, they'll be the newcomers.

 

[GC-Raptor]

Check for impacted crop. If it's hard then you need to fix that first.
I wet crumbles for my chickens that are not feeling well, but should work for a malnourished hen.
My hens love wet feed, they get it as a treat.
Try offering her wet crumbles or pellets. Crumbles can be served immediately. Pellets should sit a minute or two. It'll give her nourishment and water. GC

 

[blackdog043]

Like GC said, I would try some wet/moistened feed. I would also give her some Nutri-Drench. Hopefully you have some on hand.

 

[Poultry Maniac]

She seems to be doing a little bit better today. She’s been eating more and her walk doesn’t seem as weak. We’ll see how she does over the next week or so. I’ll take into account some of the things you guys said. Thank you so much for the help. I’ll keep you guys posted.