Just laying around the chicken yard —

[jBabychickn]

I have a 3yr old Silked Easter Egger who’s the Head Hen of our little flock.
Pippa is normally quite active with a bright personality; however, today is Day 3 of her preferring to lay around the chicken yard instead of being her little Head Hen self…
She does get up to drink and eat occasionally through the day. She does still interact with the flock, here & there, like when another hen laid her egg earlier today and everyone chimed-in with her Egg song, so did she…But, then she’s right back to laying down. — This is not her normal behavior.

I’ve checked her all over for mites & lice.
I’ve palpated her body; her belly isn’t hard or squishy fluid-filled.
I DID feel a prominent Keel Bone.
I put on gloves and used some KY jelly to assess inside her vent.
I felt in about 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep and I didn’t feel an egg or anything abnormal.
I should mention that she hasn’t laid in a week. She usually lays 4-5 eggs per week.
I listened for & watched for labored breathing, I did not see any signs of her having trouble with breathing.
Her poops seem normal
The rest of the flock is doing well.

As of yesterday, I’ve added Poultry Cell to the flocks water.
I was thinking of tonight, before her roost,
I should dose her with some Poultry Cell orally, as even though I saw her drinking today, I doubt it was as much as she usually does.

My only thought is to perhaps worm the flock, as I haven’t wormed them yet this year. I usually do it around Nov/Dec.
I do have Valbazen on hand.

Anyone else agree?

Would this be a safe course of action if she happens to be sick with something else?
I don’t want to do anything to make her worse, of course…

Thanks!

 

[jBabychickn]

Great ideas! Thank you! I’ll incorporate those for sure.

I believe those feathers are her Sisters; she lost all her tail feathers last month. I’ve cleaned most of them up but ya know how that goes they tend to linger for awhile, so you’ve got a great point. She could very well be coming into molt, just right under my radar.

Will update in a few days!

Great ideas! Thank you! I’ll incorporate those for sure.

I believe those feathers are her Sisters; she lost all her tail feathers last month. I’ve cleaned most of them up but ya know how that goes they tend to linger for awhile, so you’ve got a great point. She could very well be coming into molt, just right under my radar.

Will update in a few days!

@CoopBoots @coach723

Well, my friends…
The answer is: Molting !!

Today was a much better day, now I can conclude my assessments with a reasonable Diagnosis. — Miss Pippa has been flapping her wings and sending feathers everywhere!

She’s still resting a lot, but now I know why. She still hasn’t laid, but now I don’t expect her to.

Last night, I gave her a dose of Nutri-drench and I think that helped to replace some energy for her as she seemed to act like she feels a bit better today, by being up more with eating/drinking.
I’ve added the Nutri-drench to their watering pan that they most prefer to drink from. I’m keeping plain water in the hanging waterer so that’s available too…
I don’t think I’ll need to be dosing her with it anymore as long as I see her continuing to drink on her own like she did today. She did really well.

Please Click Down Below this Description:
— Pippa will be the white Silkie/Easter Egger that’s actively drinking water from the shallow pan in the middle of the chicken yard. Then, you can observe her walking to & around the large green feeder. (Please excuse the gross fly trap hanging in the tree!! LOL!)

CLICK HERE

Thanks to you guys, I was able to talk all of this thru. — I didn’t panic. I didn’t go & spend stupid amounts of money on a Avian Vet that’s 85mi. away. I didn’t over-treat my birds with medications they didn’t need, thinking I was helping them. The list goes on…
Thank you!!
— Johnna : )

 

[coach723]

Glad it's figured out! Just keep an eye on her, give her some support if she needs it. I have occasionally had one that I would separate once a day and give a scrambled egg to, so there was no competition, to boost nutrition. They sometimes lose weight, so something to watch for. Also sometimes when they don't eat well they can have some deficiencies. If you see any balance issues, walking like drunk, stumbling, anything that could be neuromuscular, give a B complex tablet or capsule daily until that resolves. I've had a few like that, sometimes just one or two doses gets them back to normal. The b's are safe, extra will be excreted, so no worries.
And I've seen WAY grosser fly traps!
I learned the hard way to hang them up wind of where you tend to be!

*Edit* I think I mean down wind, I'm direction-ally challenged! I mean which ever way the wind blows the stink away from you.

 

[coach723]

Any signs of molt? This time of year it's common and sometimes they don't eat well or feel well. Any pin feathers coming in anywhere? Molt will also stop her from laying until it's complete.

 

[CoopBoots]

What types of signs do you tend to see at the “beginning” of a molt?

For me, it's suddenly more feathers in the yard and coop (if she's a unique color in the yard that can help; if she isn't that at least tells you that some of your birds are probably starting), seeing pin feathers sprout from bare backs or any other sparse areas, standing around more than foraging (which can sometimes include laying around more than usual but if I note a change as dramatic as yours, I start considering other possibilities), and a decline in egg production.

 

[coach723]

Worming is pretty safe in general. Sometimes you would not want to worm a very sick bird unless you know for certain that is the issue. But having said that, I deal with roundworm all the time and if I get a sick bird, crop back ups, I will often worm as I know that it can be an issue in my flock. I haven't hurt or killed one yet by worming them. She doesn't look like she has coccidiosis, and I would think you would be seeing more severe symptoms or changes in droppings if it were that. Sometimes it can be hard to narrow down. I would definitely check her crop function, and keep an eye on her. Let us know what you find on that in the morning. Also could be something reproductive, those are often hard to diagnose until there is something obvious. Check where she is roosting tonight after dark, and then get a good look at her droppings left overnight. Do they have access to oystershell for calcium?
Often the first signs of new feathers/pin feathers are around the face/head/neck, around the vent, or under the wings.

 

[coach723]

Droppings look pretty normal, I see nothing remarkable. There are feathers, I'm not sure that she's not actually starting molt....Is anyone else molting now? I see feathers and feather shaft dust/particles in/around the droppings, so someone appears to be, and the feathers in the picture are white... Sometimes molt is so soft and gradual that it can be missed if not really looking for it. I'm not saying that you are wrong, when we feel something is off, we are usually right. I just don't see anything obvious that helps home in on why she may not be feeling 100%. And sometimes molt really affects them a lot, even if it hasn't before. I have several molting right now, they are standoffish, tend to lay by themselves away from others, and don't always eat well.
You can try giving some poultry nutri drench for a few days, it's faster absorbed and gives them a boost, and may help with appetite. Don't use for more than a few days running, once a day, too much can cause diarrhea. Try giving her some scrambled egg, see if she can be enticed to eat that. There are also recipes on line for things like 'molt loaf', a higher protein treat you can try. I would try to stick with things that are good protein sources. And continue to monitor the crop. You can also make a mash with the feed, just mix with some water, experiment with consistency, some like it thicker, some like it runnier. They usually like it that way.

 

[jBabychickn]

Droppings look pretty normal, I see nothing remarkable. There are feathers, I'm not sure that she's not actually starting molt....Is anyone else molting now? I see feathers and feather shaft dust/particles in/around the droppings, so someone appears to be, and the feathers in the picture are white... Sometimes molt is so soft and gradual that it can be missed if not really looking for it. I'm not saying that you are wrong, when we feel something is off, we are usually right. I just don't see anything obvious that helps home in on why she may not be feeling 100%. And sometimes molt really affects them a lot, even if it hasn't before. I have several molting right now, they are standoffish, tend to lay by themselves away from others, and don't always eat well.
You can try giving some poultry nutri drench for a few days, it's faster absorbed and gives them a boost, and may help with appetite. Don't use for more than a few days running, once a day, too much can cause diarrhea. Try giving her some scrambled egg, see if she can be enticed to eat that. There are also recipes on line for things like 'molt loaf', a higher protein treat you can try. I would try to stick with things that are good protein sources. And continue to monitor the crop. You can also make a mash with the feed, just mix with some water, experiment with consistency, some like it thicker, some like it runnier. They usually like it that way.

Great ideas! Thank you! I’ll incorporate those for sure.

I believe those feathers are her Sisters; she lost all her tail feathers last month. I’ve cleaned most of them up but ya know how that goes they tend to linger for awhile, so you’ve got a great point. She could very well be coming into molt, just right under my radar.

Will update in a few days!

 

[CoopBoots]

Just some additional data points that might be helpful:

Poop appearance?
Does crop seem full/round/large before bed and flattened first thing in the morning?
Any signs of molt beginning?

Pictures can help assess how she's feeling as well; is she "puffy" at all or just laying with smooth feathers like usual?

 

[jBabychickn]

Any signs of molt? This time of year it's common and sometimes they don't eat well or feel well. Any pin feathers coming in anywhere? Molt will also stop her from laying until it's complete.

Thank you, great question. No, I’m not seeing that from her. - I don’t notice any shedding of feathers, nor did I notice any new pin feathers during my overall feather assessment/looking her over for mites & lice…