Hen acting very odd

[picklestheduck]

Hey guys so my hen Karen was sitting hunched in the coop today instead of rushing out in the morning sun like the rest of the flock. I went in to check on her, and she is very slow moving and seems almost unbalanced and keeps moving her head weird. Almost turning and twitching it, and can’t seem to reach the food bowl etc. her neck feathers are ruffled oddly too.
she had a bald spot on her back a few weeks back and a tiny little scratch on it, so I have been keeping an eye on her, and she has started growing those feathers back, and now she’s acting oddly. She is about a year and a half old, she lives with our other chickens and some ducks, and she eats layena Purina brand with a little bit of scratch grains and sometimes oyster on the side. I give treats daily, but not even close to more than 10%. I feed back all the egg shells crushed up and lettuce ends, any vegetable scraps etc. A few months back I almost lost her, when she had an egg break inside of her. After moving into my room and getting around the clock care, she pulled through and has been thriving since, until now what seems to be an illness of sorts? I’m really hoping it’s not mareks. And I guess if it is mareks how do I move forward. Any help appreciated. Thank you.


Also just a side note- she didn’t loose her tail feathers until recently, I just assumed she was molting since my brahmas are going through a real hard one right now.

 

[Sc_chickengirl]

Hey guys so my hen Karen was sitting hunched in the coop today instead of rushing out in the morning sun like the rest of the flock. I went in to check on her, and she is very slow moving and seems almost unbalanced and keeps moving her head weird. Almost turning and twitching it, and can’t seem to reach the food bowl etc. her neck feathers are ruffled oddly too.
she had a bald spot on her back a few weeks back and a tiny little scratch on it, so I have been keeping an eye on her, and she has started growing those feathers back, and now she’s acting oddly. She is about a year and a half old, she lives with our other chickens and some ducks, and she eats layena Purina brand with a little bit of scratch grains and sometimes oyster on the side. I give treats daily, but not even close to more than 10%. I feed back all the egg shells crushed up and lettuce ends, any vegetable scraps etc. A few months back I almost lost her, when she had an egg break inside of her. After moving into my room and getting around the clock care, she pulled through and has been thriving since, until now what seems to be an illness of sorts? I’m really hoping it’s not mareks. And I guess if it is mareks how do I move forward. Any help appreciated. Thank you.


Also just a side note- she didn’t loose her tail feathers until recently, I just assumed she was molting since my brahmas are going through a real hard one right now.

I have the same issue with 3 of mine that I just got from a friend.

 

[picklestheduck]

@Wyorp Rock
@azygous

 

[Sc_chickengirl]

@Weeg do you know anything about this?

 

[azygous]

How old is she? Has she been laying regularly? Any issue with shell quality?

Judging from the reported neck movements and fluffed feathers, she may have a crop disorder. You will need to be the judge of that after you read through this. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It does look like she's molting.

I agree, I'd check her crop.

Have you looked at her neck to see if she's got pin feathers coming in there too? Sometimes birds can act odd and uncomfortable during molt, but it's best to check her over.

 

[picklestheduck]

She is a year and a half old. Her crop was empty when I checked, but it was morning, I have her seperate in a crate so she doesn’t get picked on. She does have pin feathers coming in on her neck. As far as egg quality, I have no idea which hens lay which eggs so I’m unsure, but I have seen a few soft shelled eggs, and I had a different hen, the same breed, prolapse slightly and have been giving her calcium, and haven’t seen any more soft shelled eggs. I gave the current hen with issues sone all natural vit c from a local farmer who uses it on all her animals and sees great results. I also gave her nutridrench.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sounds good.
I'd see that what her crop is like in the morning, get a good look at her poop.

If she's perked up in the am, let her out with her flock and see how she does.

 

[picklestheduck]

Her crop has continually been empty, and now she’s sitting oddly with one foot curled. I haven’t had her out of the crate in a while, so I’ll do that soon and see how she walks. I’m worried about her. Do you think it’s mareks?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Let her out and see how she's doing.
She may be just resigned to being in the cage.

She is molting, so handle her gently. See that she's eating her normal feed and drinking well. You can give her a little extra protein like egg, fish or meat as her daily treat instead of filler like scratch. It won't hurt to give her vitamins a couple of times a week too.