- Feb 19, 2010
- 5
- 0
- 60
This is my first time raising chickens and Im not sure whats going on, I have an almost one year old Wyandotte hen who always been slightly odd in her behavior and now seems quite sick. Out of 8 hens (none of them Wyandottes) I would think her roughly middle ranking, but she has never been aggressive about food, always dossal and slightly apart from the group when it suited her. I noticed weeks ago that she seemed to be getting a little thinner and more aloof, but I thought that was due to our New England winter. I also noticed that the feathers around her vent were soiled, but her droppings were only sometimes loose. (Not sure if she was consistently laying) Anyway, about five days ago she seemed more peckish with her food than normal. Her weight loss seemed more noticeable as well as her loose stools and it just kept getting worse. Two nights ago I took her inside and tried to hand feed her meal worms. She was trying to eat them, but it almost seemed as if her vision was suddenly off and she was missing the worm by an eighth of an inch each time she went for it. I got a few into her and I also got about a tablespoon of Kefer (yogurt) as well as about a tablespoon of water before I just gave up. I was going on an overnight trip, so I put her back in the coop and hoped for the best. While traveling, I started doing some online research and became convinced she was dehydrated due to an intestinal issues and would be gone by the time I got home
. but I got home tonight and she was still with us. I got about a teaspoon of pedialight into her as well as more Kefer,,,, but she still not normal. She was still kind of miss-aiming at the food. I have thoroughly examined her stools and although very watery and white, there are no worms to be seen. Her crop (which I have been examining for at least five days now) seems to be emptying just fine. Her mouth is clear and she does not have bad breath, (her stools seem very sour smelling though). I question her ability to swallow properly. Her keel feels pronounced and I though I heard her belly gurgle when she was in the house. She is just standing with ruffled feather and not going up to the roost. What is wrong with her? She reminds me of my 86 year old father in law
.. just kind of wasting away and suffering dementia.