Hen not well. Sitting on ground all day.

[vantain]

My hen Gwyneth is not feeling well. This started yesterday, but today she is worse off. She's an almost three year old ISA Brown. She went into molt about 6 weeks ago, and stopped laying then. Since then, she has pretty much been her normal self until yesterday. She was slow moving around, and sat around a lot, usually on one of the outdoor roosts. We are having a cold blast this week, so temperatures have only been in the single digits. Today's high was 1, and it's supposed to get down to -20F tonight. The near zero and below temperatures are supposed to last for the next 10 days.

Today, Gwyneth wouldn't leave the roost in the coop this morning, when I let them out into the run. Her crop was empty this morning. I mixed a mash of her feed, with electrolytes and some Nutri-Drench. She gobbled it up, then went back to sitting on the roost, hunched up, and not moving. She stayed that way for several hours, and then this afternoon, finally went out to the run. However, once she got out there, she just found a spot on the ground, and has been sitting there all the rest of today, eyes closed.

I'm not sure what's up with her. I decided it would be best to bring her inside where it's warm, and maybe at least take the extreme cold out of her equation. I'd rather she not have to fight some health issue, and try to stay warm. I figured that allowing her inside where it's warm, may help me diagnose better what is going on, and give her an opportunity to come around..if possible.

Any thoughts on what I should do with her? Her vent looks and feels fine, and I don't fell an egg or anything inside. She is drinking the electrolyte water. Since her crop is full at the moment, I am withholding food till she clears it.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

It sounds like you're doing the right thing for now. Keep her warm and inside, separated from the other birds. She could just be hypothermic, but if not, then it'll prevent the others from getting what she has. Are there any other noticeable symptoms (boogers, gasping, weird poo, etc)? Keep giving her food and electrolytes, they'll keep her energy up till we figure out what's wrong.

 

[vantain]

Her crop was empty this morning. She's eating normally this morning. I just don't know what's up. Her poop looked mostly normal, with maybe a tinge of green in it, and a lot of urates. I'm going to keep her inside till early afternoon, when the temperature is highest outside..which for today is supposed to be -3F. It's -20F outside right now. My plan is to put the crate I have her in, in the coop itself, and put a Sweeter Heater above it keep her warm. If I sit it right on top of the crate, she should be warmed enough to be outside with her flock. I can continue to observe her droppings, and slowly raise the heater to re-acclimate her to the outside.

I decided to worm her, to be on the safe side.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Was she laying regularly before she molted?
She may be coming back into lay after molt and is having some reproductive issues.

If she were mine I would direct dose her with poultry vitamins for a couple of days and get some extra calcium into her (1/2 tablet Caltrate for up to 3 days). Look her over for lice/mites too.

Giving her a little extra protection during your cold snap would be good too.

 

[Myrshine]

Sadly Isa Browns were bred to lay an unnatural amount of eggs in their life, which causes a shorter life span. They are more prone to reproductive complications because of this. Are you able to share photos of her? Have you felt her abdomen for any swelling? Have you checked to see if she’s egg bound?

Lice and mites can also suck the life out of a bird, making them sleepy, weak and lethargic overall. So I would suggest looking around her for lice or mites. Worms can cause the same thing, so watch her poop and make sure you don’t see any worms or other parasites.

I really hope she gets better, if she doesn’t, just know she knew that you loved her, because I can see that myself just by reading about her, that you care.

 

[vantain]

Was she laying regularly before she molted?
She may be coming back into lay after molt and is having some reproductive issues.

If she were mine I would direct dose her with poultry vitamins for a couple of days and get some extra calcium into her (1/2 tablet Caltrate for up to 3 days). Look her over for lice/mites too.

Giving her a little extra protection during your cold snap would be good too.

She has not been laying regularly since she started molting a few months ago. I have looked her over for mites and lice, but I don’t see anything. I can try the calcium.

Here she is as of a few minutes ago.

 

[vantain]

Was she laying regularly before she molted?
She may be coming back into lay after molt and is having some reproductive issues.

If she were mine I would direct dose her with poultry vitamins for a couple of days and get some extra calcium into her (1/2 tablet Caltrate for up to 3 days). Look her over for lice/mites too.

Giving her a little extra protection during your cold snap would be good too.

If anything, she has been more alert since I brought her inside. She pretty much is standing like you see in the picture. She’s drinking a lot of water, so her droppings are very wet and messy right now. She seems to be depressed right now, not being with her flock mates. She is the queen.

 

[vantain]

Sadly Isa Browns were bred to lay an unnatural amount of eggs in their life, which causes a shorter life span. They are more prone to reproductive complications because of this. Are you able to share photos of her? Have you felt her abdomen for any swelling? Have you checked to see if she’s egg bound?

Lice and mites can also suck the life out of a bird, making them sleepy, weak and lethargic overall. So I would suggest looking around her for lice or mites. Worms can cause the same thing, so watch her poop and make sure you don’t see any worms or other parasites.

I really hope she gets better, if she doesn’t, just know she knew that you loved her, because I can see that myself just by reading about her, that you care.

I posted a photo. She’s not egg bound. She is eating and clearing her crop. I will check her again for lice and mites, but I certainly haven’t seen anything.

 

[vantain]

It’s still well below zero here in Minnesota. I’m still contemplating putting her back out with her flock mates, but in her crate, in the coop, with a sweeter heater above her. At least she can be with them that way, and hopefully warm enough.

 

[vantain]

So..I checked her over with a flashlight, and I cannot find any evidence of lice or mites. In fact, I found her feathers and down to be very nice and full, including a few new shafts of in growing feathers.