Just not right Wyandotte

[TiasChickens]

This is my first time raising chickens and I’m not sure what’s 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.

 

[cjeanean]

Do any of the other chickens have any symptoms?

 

[momreda]

I am not an expert by any means however when I do see something going on I usually go to this link

for assistance so I hope it will be helpful to you. Good luck!

 

[cjeanean]

Is she laying right now too? I don't know that much about it, so hopefully someone with more experience will chime in.

 

[TiasChickens]

All of the other chickens seem fine

 

[TiasChickens]

UPDATE: So this morning I go to the coop and can’t find the sick hen (Angel). Turns out she in the nest box, shoved into the corner sideways, with her legs straight out, with two others completely on top of her. I prod her a bit, but nothing. Her body is stretched out rather akimbo and she seems quite dead. So I scoot the other hens out (forcibly and none too quietly)….. They’re hell bent on getting back in, so I put a board on top of Angle to keep them out. I go back into the house to grab gloves and return with a bucket. I remove the board and scoop up the still unmoved chicken… only half way into the bucket she wakes up and looks at me as if I to say “what’s up”. Ok so now I’m feeked because I swear anyone looking at her would have thought she was dead. So now I take her into the house and she seems much like she did last night. I get a tiny bit of Pedialight into her as well as a mouthful or two of Kefer. Then I scramble an egg and she eats about half. Again she seems to be just a bit off when aiming for the food. She thanks me by depositing what looks to be an almost normal poop. I checked it well. No bugs and evidence of having eaten her regular crumbles and some of the canned green beans I give. At that point she decides she wants to nap, at first standing, but then she settled on to her chest, feathers puffed. She just there now, no cage, just napping on my granite countertop. I swear it’s as if she has Alzheimer’s! What is wrong? I wont put her back in the coop now but I don’t want to euthanize her. She doesn’t seem to be suffering… just slowly fading away.