Hen showing weird signs

[ZepChick]

My 5 and half month old EE hen has been acting really weird.

1) I haven't seen her eating her feed for a while and she is beginning to get skinny
2) She is acting strange, examples- not pecking the ground when she is outside and just standing in one corner, not eating treats out of people's hands or off the ground when set in front of her

I don't know if this has anything to do with her behavior, but the other girls have pecked/pecking really badly (oil gland slightly exposed):| right above her tail. It is happening to some of our other girlies but not as bad as poor Cleo.... Any ideas??

 

[ruby]

I would probably separate her from the others if she's getting pecked, and she's not eating.

 

[sammi]

check her crop..
feel for any lump, squishy feeling, or hardness, like a balloon..check for sour odor.

separate with food and water.

has she been wormed?
if so when? and what was used?

describe droppings..color and consistency.

observe carefully..is she showing any other symptoms?

try giving some vitamins and electrolytes..
Durvet is a good brand..
try to get separate mixes.
in the meantime, if you don't have any on hand..
you can give the Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins, Enfamil brand, no iron..3 drops on beak once a day, for a week or so, then taper off for a week..
also, give her some cooked egg..

 

[ZepChick]

We have not wormed our chickens, how do we get the wormer and how do we give it? Thank you for responding..

 

[ZepChick]

Okay, I just checked her and I noticed that she has a small vent (she has not started laying yet, is that why?) and her crop right now is hard. She eats scratch and everytime I open the food bin she runs toward me and tries to jump into it.

 

[sammi]

she eats scratch?
only scratch?

do you feed them chick or grower feed?

they don't need much scratch, especially in the hot weather.
please say what all you feed..

the best way to check the crop is at roost..it should feel full.
then recheck in the morning before she eats..the crop should feel empty..
post back about what you find in the AM..

the best to know if they have worms is to take a fecal sample to a vet for a fecal float test..for worms and protozoa (cocci).
it's important to know if she has worms or cocci..since the treatment is very different.

please describe the droppings..color and consistency
this might help us to know if she has cocci or worms.

wormers are available at most farm/feed stores..
Wazine 17 (piperazine) is widely available, and not expensive..but it only treats adult round worms, which are common in chickens..
to give Wazine 17..you put it the drinking water as directed on the bottle, for 1 full day with no other water source..
then repeat in 10-14 days..
there are other wormers that treat more kinds of worms...such as ivermectin and levamisole..

here is a link to info about Ivermec/Eprine..which both worms and helps debug..

http://shilala.homestead.com/ivomec.html

to treat cocci you'll need either Corid (amprolium) or Sulmet..also available at feed/farm stores.

in the meantime..keep her separated from the others with food and water..
observe her closely for any other symptoms.
follow the suggestions in the other post....
also, I would try to figure out which one is pecking and separate her also..

will wait for your reply.