How do I tell if my chicken is sick or broody?? and what do I do its zero degrees!!

[NatJ]

Okay yes hopefully her crop is just full from food, I wish I had known sooner so I could compare it to how it normally is! Because her sisters is like almost unnoticeable in comparison so now im like did that one not get enough food??

If she is broody (sounds likely), then she will want to stuff her crop really full once or twice a day, so she gets enough food without being off the nest for long.

A non-broody hen will eat smaller amounts all day long. She doesn't have much else to do--eat, preen, take a dustbath, eat some more. But the broody hen needs to spend her time on the nest, so she rushes through the eating and mostly skips the rest.

 

[AlienMarie26]

If she is broody (sounds likely), then she will want to stuff her crop really full once or twice a day, so she gets enough food without being off the nest for long.

A non-broody hen will eat smaller amounts all day long. She doesn't have much else to do--eat, preen, take a dustbath, eat some more. But the broody hen needs to spend her time on the nest, so she rushes through the eating and mostly skips the rest.

that makes so much sense and that why I think she might be broody and not sick?? but its so hard to tell and im worried that If I do nothing she wont make it

 

[NatJ]

that makes so much sense and that why I think she might be broody and not sick?? but its so hard to tell and im worried that If I do nothing she wont make it

I think she's probably broody.
The behavior you described in the first post is just right for broodiness.

If they have been fine in your chicken coop at night for this much of the winter, I think they will probably all be fine tonight too.

Of course there are no guarantees with chickens, but I would just let her sleep on the usual perch, and see how she is in the morning.

Or, you could bring her in for the night, mostly to keep you from worrying I don't think it's needed, but I also think that a single night in a warmer place should be safe enough. A garage or basement (warmer than chicken coop but cooler than your house) would be better if you have it, instead of all the way to human-comfortable temperature. Yes, of course you could bring in more than one chicken, assuming you've got a safe place to put them.

To check her crop in the morning, you should either take away the feed after dark tonight and return it after you check her crop, or else go out to check while it is still dark tomorrow morning, because she will probably start eating as soon as there's a bit of light to see by. And a full crop feels about the same, whether it's newly-filled or still full from the previous night.

 

[AlienMarie26]

I think she's probably broody.
The behavior you described in the first post is just right for broodiness.

If they have been fine in your chicken coop at night for this much of the winter, I think they will probably all be fine tonight too.

Of course there are no guarantees with chickens, but I would just let her sleep on the usual perch, and see how she is in the morning.

Or, you could bring her in for the night, mostly to keep you from worrying I don't think it's needed, but I also think that a single night in a warmer place should be safe enough. A garage or basement (warmer than chicken coop but cooler than your house) would be better if you have it, instead of all the way to human-comfortable temperature. Yes, of course you could bring in more than one chicken, assuming you've got a safe place to put them.

To check her crop in the morning, you should either take away the feed after dark tonight and return it after you check her crop, or else go out to check while it is still dark tomorrow morning, because she will probably start eating as soon as there's a bit of light to see by. And a full crop feels about the same, whether it's newly-filled or still full from the previous night.

thank you so much this is so helpful and yes I am back to thinking its broodiness though i took her to the vet to get antibiotics which I am not sure was the right move. but they are all settled in bed for the night and yes I think they will be okay in the coop and I will check her crop in the morning!! seriously thank you so much!!

 

[AlienMarie26]

thank you so much this is so helpful and yes I am back to thinking its broodiness though i took her to the vet to get antibiotics which I am not sure was the right move. but they are all settled in bed for the night and yes I think they will be okay in the coop and I will check her crop in the morning!! seriously thank you so much!!

I think she's probably broody.
The behavior you described in the first post is just right for broodiness.

If they have been fine in your chicken coop at night for this much of the winter, I think they will probably all be fine tonight too.

Of course there are no guarantees with chickens, but I would just let her sleep on the usual perch, and see how she is in the morning.

Or, you could bring her in for the night, mostly to keep you from worrying I don't think it's needed, but I also think that a single night in a warmer place should be safe enough. A garage or basement (warmer than chicken coop but cooler than your house) would be better if you have it, instead of all the way to human-comfortable temperature. Yes, of course you could bring in more than one chicken, assuming you've got a safe place to put them.

To check her crop in the morning, you should either take away the feed after dark tonight and return it after you check her crop, or else go out to check while it is still dark tomorrow morning, because she will probably start eating as soon as there's a bit of light to see by. And a full crop feels about the same, whether it's newly-filled or still full from the previous night.

and now im wondering if its worms because her poop has been weird but I cant see anything that definitively looks like worms its hard to say

 

[NatJ]

and now im wondering if its worms because her poop has been weird but I cant see anything that definitively looks like worms its hard to say

If she's broody, she could be back to normal in a few days.
If it's worms, you can get a fecal sample checked by a vet, or you can see how her poop is doing in a few days.

There are an amazing number of things that CAN go wrong with chickens, and a lot of them can have similar symptoms, so it can be hard to sort it out. But many of the ones that can be treated will survive for a few days while you figure it out. And some things even get better by themselves.

I know it's hard to quit worrying, and it's easy to find more things it could be, but I think the first step is to find out tomorrow morning if her crop is empty. Full crop in the evening, empty crop in the morning tells you that many parts of the chicken are working properly

 

[AlienMarie26]

If she's broody, she could be back to normal in a few days.
If it's worms, you can get a fecal sample checked by a vet, or you can see how her poop is doing in a few days.

There are an amazing number of things that CAN go wrong with chickens, and a lot of them can have similar symptoms, so it can be hard to sort it out. But many of the ones that can be treated will survive for a few days while you figure it out. And some things even get better by themselves.

I know it's hard to quit worrying, and it's easy to find more things it could be, but I think the first step is to find out tomorrow morning if her crop is empty. Full crop in the evening, empty crop in the morning tells you that many parts of the chicken are working properly

THANK YOU!!! Seriously all so true I'm like wow it could be this or this or this. But you are right, I have a plan and I just have to trust that I am doing my best and she is a tough baby!
Honestly I really needed to hear this thank you so much. Endlessly grateful <3

 

[NatJ]

How's she doing now?

 

[AlienMarie26]

How's she doing now?

Thank you so much for checking!!!!! It turned out to be an impacted crop. She is still at the vet but her crop is slowly going down!!! I am stull nervous but it sounds like she might be able to come home in a few hours if it continues improving! I also have to bring her inside since shes been inside for almost two days now and its in the negatives here which is NOT ideal and I wanted to avoid at all costs but I am hoping that after a week or so inside and it warms up a bit I can ease her back out.
Thank you again for checking I honestly couldn't do this without all the support!!!

 

[NatJ]

Thank you so much for checking!!!!! It turned out to be an impacted crop. She is still at the vet but her crop is slowly going down!!! I am stull nervous but it sounds like she might be able to come home in a few hours if it continues improving! I also have to bring her inside since shes been inside for almost two days now and its in the negatives here which is NOT ideal and I wanted to avoid at all costs but I am hoping that after a week or so inside and it warms up a bit I can ease her back out.
Thank you again for checking I honestly couldn't do this without all the support!!!

I'm glad you got it figured out, and that it is something treatable!

For getting her back outside, I would think as soon as she is healthy you can start taking her out for a few minutes, as many times a day as you have patience for, to start getting her used to it again. And work up from there. Because she was outside before, she can probably go back out much sooner than a chicken that never was outside--she won't lose ALL her adaptation in a few days' time. (But of course she needs to be healthy first).