this winter took a tool on my red sex link lilac. She was thin with thin feathers and was lethargic and slow. I made her a nice jacket and she went back to normal. She popped a button off her jacket and then it warmed up so I didn’t fix it and put it on .now it is warmer (average 50F) and she has started acting simmilar again except now her comb is pale and droopy. I can’t put wait on her or make her eat (she won’t even take worms
) . I found her outside of the coop tonight and had to put her on the roost. Please help! I want her too get better . Should I make a thinner spring jacket? I can’t make her eat (cause chickens) so not edible would be great
Have you ever dewormed her? Do have pictures? When you say thin feathers, how bad is this? Maybe she was just molting? She should never need a jacket. If you can, take a fecal sample to your vet and ask them to do a fecal float for you. If that's not an option, it will not hurt her to deworm her anyway. It is important that you do this quickly. You will, however, need a dewormer that's treats all worms, like Safeguard. WE use Safeguard suspension that we get from the vet, for a standard size hen like yours, it would be one CC per day for five days. You can put it in a dropper and have someone help you, hold her in your lap, pin her wings or wrap in a towel. Gently pry her beak open and dribble the dewormer a little at a time in the side of her beak until she swallows. Or, if you can, get her to eat it in something like applesauce or small bread crumbs soaked in buttermilk. Hurry, please, if you want her to live, because from what you describe she is very sick. She should improve with the dewormer in the first few days, but go the full five days. You will not necessarily SEE worms...capillary worms are not visible except under a microscope. If she does improve, you will need to deworm her again ten days later just to be safe. If you can't get the Safeguard suspension, you can use Safeguard goat dewormer that you get from the feed store. I've never used the goat dewormer but I believe the dosage is less: 1/2 CC. Maybe somebody else can verify this. Valbazen is an excellent dewormer also, as is Levasol, but Safeguard is usually easy to get locally; the others are usually available to order on line and if i were you, I would not want to wait.
She should also be in a hospital pen or crate where she's away from the flock but can still hear and see them, but will have some privacy and feel safe. She needs it to be warm, so a heater panel would be good, or maybe a heat light if you can make sure it is safe.
It is best to get a fecal float done because then you will know for sure what you're dealing with. Coccidiosis can cause the same symptoms, but usually not in older birds. If it IS coccidiosis though, you can treat that with Corid, also available in feed stores.
Use some imagination to get her to eat. They love chopped grapes, applesauce, bread soaked in buttermilk, yogurt, scrambled eggs.
Depending on the environment, some flocks need to be dewormed regularly; every six months. Worms can and will kill the bird, and they sometimes develop infection after severe worm infestations, which can also kill them. That's why it's important to treat worm infestations quickly, and stay on top of it. If you find your bird has worms, treat the whole flock...not just her, whether they show symptoms, or not.
Also check her for external parasites, that might be a reason for the feather issue. Does she have access to a dust bath?
A picture would be helpful. Neither Coccidiosis or worms will cause feather loss, but that MIGHT be because she's just been battling parasites for a while and is a little run down. Birds sometimes molt or lose feathers for other conditions too that are not always treatable, but start with the simple stuff first. Her back and forth pattern of getting better, then worse again, probably means that she's fighting some condition that, when she has a little extra help from you, she can overcome for a while.
She must’ve meant a great deal to you. Hopefully it doesn’t effect the rest of your flock. 
