Hen acting weird

[greenchicken22]

I have a 20 week old partridge Cochin. She is very sweet and follows me around when I'm out there. The last four days she seems a little slumply. Feathers downward and very docile.. almost shy. At roost time she sits on the floor instead of sitting in her usual spot. She doesn't seem to be growing as fast as her sister and has recently started getting picked on. I isolated her this morning to see if everything looks normal and other then her head down slumpy behavior she's eating and drinking and poop seems normal, but standing next to her sister you can definitely tell she's not maturing like the she is?

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!

Has she laid yet?
Have you checked her over physically real well to see if it's anything obvious..vent, abdomen, etc?

Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?
Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.
Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).
Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

 

[azygous]

I have a young pre-point of lay EE pullet in the same boat. I noticed she was off her feed and hanging out by herself three days ago with her tail held pointing down, a sure sign of not feeling well.

She appears otherwise in excellent condition, plump, shiny, eyes clear, but occasionally closed as if dozing.

I checked her crop and it's empty, no sign of impaction or sour crop (yeast infection).

But her poop has been runny and white-ish, indication of a possible infection. I started her on a round of amoxicillin and have been giving her Poultry Nutri-drench.

The sad thing is, she isn't responding to the antibiotic. I may lose her before I ever get to see what color eggs she will lay. I've prepared myself for the eventuality that there may be something incurable at work. There are so many things that can go wrong with a young chicken that are beyond our control to do anything.

All that said, only you can be the judge of when to intervene and how. I would suggest that should your girl's poop turn white and runny, you try treating her with an antibiotic. In the absence of any other symptoms, all you can do is feed her well, try a nutritional supplement such as Nutri-drench and a pro-biotic in hopes she will respond to these boosts.

 

[greenchicken22]

Thab

...

Welcome to BYC!

Has she laid yet?
Have you checked her over physically real well to see if it's anything obvious..vent, abdomen, etc?

Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?
Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.
Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).
Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

 

[greenchicken22]

...

Thab

Welcome to BYC!

Has she laid yet?
Have you checked her over physically real well to see if it's anything obvious..vent, abdomen, etc?

Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?
Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.
Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).
Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Thank you. I did see a few mites. Now what

 

[greenchicken22]

...

Thab

Welcome to BYC!

Has she laid yet?
Have you checked her over physically real well to see if it's anything obvious..vent, abdomen, etc?

Have you checked them over real well for mites and/or lice?
Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.
Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).
Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

I she hasn't started laying yet. I'm not even sure what age she should