ill chicken help please

[Amyandalan]

hi, we have 4 chickens who are coming up to about 9 months old, one of our chickens has been going down hill over the last 2 weeks and we thought this was due to the snow and cold weather we have had, she has stopped laying eggs, her comb has gone from bright red to a pale colour, she is reluctant to eat and drink and spends most of her time in her house while the others run around their run. now i have noticed she is doing this neck stretching thing and opening her mouth in the process. no other chickens are displaying these signs and they are still laying. i bought her in the house and put her on my table and she just stood there and let me stroke her which is unlike her. also one of the other chickens has started to peck at her. im at the stage now of just wanting to take her to the vets and putting her out her misery which upsets me
any ideas? is this gape worms?

 

[tammye]

Try to see if a little time inside getting warmed up helps her. Sometimes the weak hen gets Little feed and water. The bullies will stop her from eating, so she may be weak from the cold, she can not keep herself warm without food. I set up two feed and water stations so the weaker birds have a better chance to eat and hand feed one so I know she is eating. Put some electrolyte solution in their water for added nutrients. On real cold nights I give my birds corn it helps to keep them warm, we are at 20 below here at night. Also, for winter boredom give them a bail of hay to kick around, throw treats, seeds, feed into it for them to peck at. Also, half heads of cabbage/lettue for them to peck at.

 

[Amyandalan]

we have a cabbage hanging up for them and corn on the cobs, we spoke to the farm where we got them from and they said to stop treats to ensure she eats the layer pellets (i was giving them porridge or scrambled egg in the morning along with their layers in the cold weather), i let them all run round the garden today, she was happily picking at grass but not as active as the rest

 

[lily12]

i dont know if its any help but one of my chickens was a bit like that a few weeks ago i thought it might be off-lay but now im not so sure it was. i kept her in the house seperated from the others and a few days later she was back to normal.

 

[Amyandalan]

Thanks. I'm not convinced it is gape worms as according to the Internet it is quite rare and the chickens die quite quickly. She isn't getting any worse except is being feather plucked by another chicken (we will be putting a bumpa beak bit on her tonight).

 

[PoultryPedia]

I'm not sure what it might be, but if you think she may have a respiratory illness, you could try antibiotics?? There are some listed in the Chicken Medicine Chart on my site linked in my sig.
Best wishes

 

[Amyandalan]

Well I took her to the vets this morning, he diagnosed a respiratory Infecotion but said she was too far gone and the kindest thing was to put her to sleep. R.I.P pepper x

 

[tammye]

always stinks, so sorry. You did your best, more than alot of non-chicken owers would think to do for "just" a chicken. To bad these peolpe don't know how cool chickens can be and how much we can care for them.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Very sorry for your loss.

You showed your hen a caring heart.

 

[Amyandalan]

thanks, feeling better about it today