Hen not acting herself

[Roger98]

I have a Sebright hen that for a week or so has been kind of not acting herself, she's not really been lethargic, but she's slowed down? I've seen her eating and drinking with the other as well as going outside on the nicer days. But she seems like she's just not as active and as moving around as she was before. Another odd thing she's been doing is, when I go to put them in at night, she's always still outside while the others have gone in already. When i go out, i find her falling asleep under the rant or nearby the ramp and I know very well that she knows how to go up it to go in because I've seen her go in and out. She used to have no problems with that.
That said, I am treating the flick with corid in case shes not feeling well and it could be cocci again, my flock seems to get it often so I'm treating to be safe. I just don't know why she's acting so off, I also forgot to mention she has a little bit of color loss in the face, not to the point where she looks sickly, but enough that she just doesn't seem as brightly colored as she was. And like I said, I see her move around eating and drinking.

 

[A.M. Eggs]

I have a hen with the same symptoms. Appears slow and is still eating and drinking a little. Isn't laying and is barely making it into the coop on her own. However, she is vaccinated for cocci and so, for me, it is not possible. She has also not lost much coloring in her face. Is your hen straining to poop? Mine is doing that. I have a thread about my hen if you want to try and pull some info from there.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lethargic-hen.1297047/#post-21113350

 

[Roger98]

I have a hen with the same symptoms. Appears slow and is still eating and drinking a little. Isn't laying and is barely making it into the coop on her own. However, she is vaccinated for cocci and so, for me, it is not possible. She has also not lost much coloring in her face. Is your hen straining to poop? Mine is doing that. I have a thread about my hen if you want to try and pull some info from there.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lethargic-hen.1297047/#post-21113350

I haven't observed her enough to know if she is.. but I will take a look. Thank you

 

[micstrachan]

I think you should check that her crop is functioning properly. It should be pretty full before going to roost and empty in the morning before she’s had a chance to eat or drink anything.

Also, at least one of my hens tends to slow down when she’s not in lay. It may be normal, but I like to err on the side of caution. Do you know when she last laid and egg? You might also want to check her abdomen (fluffy area below vent and between legs) and che k for bloating with fluid. If you can’t tell, compare her to other birds in the flock. Cantu do that and get back to us?

Finally, if she’s reluctant to go to roost, maybe there is a mite problem in there. Can you check at night with a flashlight?

 

[WindingRoad]

I have a Sebright hen that for a week or so has been kind of not acting herself, she's not really been lethargic, but she's slowed down? I've seen her eating and drinking with the other as well as going outside on the nicer days. But she seems like she's just not as active and as moving around as she was before. Another odd thing she's been doing is, when I go to put them in at night, she's always still outside while the others have gone in already. When i go out, i find her falling asleep under the rant or nearby the ramp and I know very well that she knows how to go up it to go in because I've seen her go in and out. She used to have no problems with that.
That said, I am treating the flick with corid in case shes not feeling well and it could be cocci again, my flock seems to get it often so I'm treating to be safe. I just don't know why she's acting so off, I also forgot to mention she has a little bit of color loss in the face, not to the point where she looks sickly, but enough that she just doesn't seem as brightly colored as she was. And like I said, I see her move around eating and drinking.

Mites might be causing anemia. That can make a chicken "off". Has she been wormed?

 

[Roger98]

I think you should check that her crop is functioning properly. It should be pretty full before going to roost and empty in the morning before she’s had a chance to eat or drink anything.

Also, at least one of my hens tends to slow down when she’s not in lay. It may be normal, but I like to err on the side of caution. Do you know when she last laid and egg? You might also want to check her abdomen (fluffy area below vent and between legs) and che k for bloating with fluid. If you can’t tell, compare her to other birds in the flock. Cantu do that and get back to us?

Finally, if she’s reluctant to go to roost, maybe there ya a mite problem in there. Can you check at night with a flashlight?

I know for sure there isn't any mites. I check every night when I put them to bed. I'm always worried about mites because I have hens shaking their heads a lot but like I said I've never seen any mite on the roosts, in the boxes or on the birds. As for her crop, I know that its felt pretty empty, like she's not eating enough. I can check again tomorrow and give her a more thorough body check. I might also take a picture of her as well so you guys can see what I mean about her loss of color. I also don't know when she last laid, I have several bantams and they all lay the same colored eggs.

 

[Roger98]

Mites might be causing anemia. That can make a chicken "off". Has she been wormed?

No, I haven't wormed any of them

 

[micstrachan]

Loss of comb color can indicate illness, but it can also be hormone related. Please let us know how her abdomen feels. You might crate her for a couple days to see if she lays. Also, where is shein the pecking order? Any chance she’s being bullied off feed?

 

[Roger98]

I watched her for a bit when I let all of them out this morning and I noticed her poop is very watery, it had some graininess but it was mostly clear. It was slightly green but not bright green like if she was starving. I also checked her abdomin and it didn't feel bloated or full of fluid. I also checked under her wings and around her vent for some sign of mites and still as usual I didn't see anything. I did notice today the feathers around her head and neck are sticking out, like how they do when they puff up? Not sure what that means but from my experience so far, its usually not a good thing. But otherwise, she's still walking around and picking st food and drinking like normal with the others

 

[Roger98]

The top picture was taken in the beginning of February. The bottom one was taken today, to show how much color is lost in her comb. And again, I found her outside when I put them to bed.