How to tell if my hen is just cold or actually ill?

[enola]

I just reread your post...... I would hold off on the antibiotics until after you worm her. You may find that is all she needs. If she shows improvement you should consider worming all the girls.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I think you are on the right track by worming her. I wormed my hens last month with Safeguard. They are going through molt and look much better this month.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/597723/worming-while-molting
see post #3- you may know this already

don't know if they were molting last month or not but hope this helps you for next year

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thank you all for your help and support. Pumpkin is a little perkier this evening. She is standing up now and still puffed up but not as much as she has been. She is still residing in my living room so I know she is not cold. She did not want anything to eat or drink last night, the only thing I could get her to eat was about ten meal worms. Today she has been drinking and eating a little bit here and there(scrambled egg) but not anywhere near normal amounts. I checked her abdomen for swelling and it feels normal to me, also her vent feels and looks normal. The stools she passed last night were small and white and bright green colored.

I checked her over again and there were no signs of mites or lice and I didn't see any signs of injury. Her last egg was 4 or 5 days ago. I have been getting about 2-3 a week from her.

I don't think it is coccidiosis, the coop and run stay very dry and I have not let them out into the snow to free range. I have not wormed any of my chickens yet. My chickens range in age from 9 weeks to 9 months. How often should it be done and what is the best broad spectrum wormer to use? I have seen absolutely no signs of worms in their feces but I also know that they can be easily missed. I do believe I have some research to do.

She is also holding herself normally, not like she is egg bound or has EYP.

I will get some wormer tomorrow and start her on an antibiotic. Poor girl, I just wish she could tell me what was wrong. She is usually pretty fiesty and a bit of a bossy moo so to see her like this is rather sad.

Thanks again for everyones help. I will keep you posted on her condition,

I hope she gets better soon- poor girlie!

 

[Imachicklvr2]

I just reread your post...... I would hold off on the antibiotics until after you worm her. You may find that is all she needs. If she shows improvement you should consider worming all the girls.

How long after worming do you generally see an improvement?

 

[Imachicklvr2]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/597723/worming-while-molting
see post #3- you may know this already

don't know if they were molting last month or not but hope this helps you for next year

Thank you for the link, this is good to know because I was going to go ahead and worm my entire flock but I have a couple of girls moulting so I will use something that will not affect their feather development.