How long do you sit back and watch?

[roz]

I have a 1 1/3 year old golden comet who just today has been huddled in the corner of the run not being herself. I went out and checked her over and saw no lice, mites, or anything else. She has a bright red comb too. She was wormed in August when I found we had a problem (we had a problem earlier too ut tried the all natural route until August when i gave up and used valbazen). We nursed her back to health after she laid a shelless egg in June too ( that was when she expelled a load of worms which is why we found out). So my question is what should I do? She hasn't laid an egg since June when she was really sick, but has been a fiesty happy hen until today. I'm perplexed!

 

[Avalon1984]

It depends on what you are willing to do I guess. Some people would just slaughter her but if she is a pet and somebody you'd liek to keep around I would first isolate her and feed her some electrolytes. Watch her for eating, drinking and pooping. Has she been stressed by other birds? I have had chickens get stressed out and quit laying until I put them in a quiet environment. Hope she will perk up soon.

 

[roz]

I got her from a friend a last summer. She came debeaked already, but she is the most aggressive one out there and is my feather plucker. Her redeeming quality ( other than being a chicken) is that she is sooooo curious she cracks us up. We had a really bad summer health wise with our chickens, and I hate to say this, but I don't know how much I'm up for this round. All our "girls" are pets, and I don't want any of them to die prematurely, but it's frustrating when you don't know what's wrong.

 

[roz]

So do chickens ever just have a bad day and fluff up and stand in the corner and the next day they are fine? Or, do you have to always intervene for them to get better.

 

[Avalon1984]

I hear you. It is a very tough decision to make. All I can say (if that comforts you) is that I have found that I feel a lot better after making a difficult decision and culling, selling, or in your case maybe killing a bird. There are several reasons for that. If she is aggressive and a feather plucker, she is stressing out your other birds. Just like a rooster that stresses out hens, you need to carefully manage this for the rest of your “girls”.

The other reason is that there is obviously something wrong with her. To me eggs are fairly important, after all, I sell them to pay for the chickens feed. If I have a chicken that consistently won’t lay, I will get rid of her, either by processing or by selling (I will tell the buyer about her egg laying habits of course). You also don’t know just how much she is suffering. If she is huddled up in a corner you have a problem on your hands. Chickens are very ruthless little things so if she acts weak, the others will get on her case in no time, which means you need to isolate her and see if she gets better. If not, you will have that difficult choice on your hands again. I have had to make that difficult choice a few times now and I cannot think of a single incident where I regretted it.

Have you isolated her and watched her for a while? That may give the rest of us a better understanding of what is wrong. Have you weighed her? Does she feel light? Is her crop full? How does her poop look like?

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
Sorry, I have yet to find a chicken that has a bad day like that

Chickens are troopers. They can handle a whole lot of pain and suffering and sometimes don't show it until the very end. By the time you see that something is wrong, it is very close to being too late. If she huddles like that, something is wrong with her. Sorry.

 

[roz]

Crud! That's what I was afraid of. I already brought her in but I hope she gets better before my anti animal loving in laws come this Friday. Our chicken is in a crate on our dining room table now...don't think that would go over well.

 

[dawg53]

Roz, it sounds like she is eggbound. Place her in a container of warm water up to her sides, massage her underside front to rear for about 20 minutes. Then wear a plastic glove and put some olive oil on your finger and insert it into her vent checking for obstructions. Then remove your finger and lube her vent area with olive oil. The warm water will expand her innards, massaging will help move the egg along. The finger inside her stretches it and the olive oil makes it easier to let the egg slip out. Repeat with the warm water and massage as necessary. Hopefully she'll lay an egg but be prepared if it's without a shell or a soft shelled egg. Without a shell will be yolk and whites from her vent. Just a softshell will look like a large tapeworm, but isnt.

 

[roz]

Hi Dawg53! It's been a while! I really don't think she's she feels normal. I have been wondering if she'll ever leay eggs again after being so sick this summer, and I've been ok with that as long as she's healthy. She ate a couple of nibbles od oatmeal from one of my boys, but isn't interested in water or food either. I went to check on her a few minutes ago, and a couple of times when she was breathing, she sounded like my dogs when they take a deep breath and sigh. Not sure if that means anything or not.
She stretched out her neck and gaped a couple of times too, but I can't imagine she would have gapeworm. Can she already be infested with worms again after just being treated in August? We have had geese up the wazoo migrating above us. Should I expect more internal parasites?

 

[Lucysmom002]

I keep repeating myself to people .... but please check her crop. I've lost a few chickens needlessly due to an impacted crop. I've had hens get sick and hide and refuse to eat only to find out it was something dumb like that.