Lethargic chicken not eating

[bhawk-23]

I don't have any useful experience. Sorry.






About the weird behavior with food, do you think she might have some kind of vision problem? That would make things look different, so she might not trust what she sees. But unless it is a problem that progresses quite quickly, I would expect her to get used to the "new" appearance, and quit acting that way.

It sounds like she is concerned that something may be a problem, that she cannot tell by looking. So if she has been feeling sick, and thinks maybe the food caused the trouble, that might explain it. Or if the food sometimes has bits that taste bad, and she can't tell whether it will have the bad bits this time. But that is my thinking as a person, and may not have anything to do with how a chicken would think.

It does remind me of how one dog acted, after it ate spicy food and burned its tongue. It was very cautious of all foods for a while, until it could work out the pattern of which foods would burn the tongue and which would not. I do not think actual spicy food could be the problem here, since chickens do not get their tongues burned by the capsaicin that bothers dogs and people.

We have considered both the vision and food theories. Glad to hear another opinion on this. I was researching eye issues and do not believe it is ocular Mareks. But I also know she is not completely blind. I was trying to research if trauma could cause eye issues and from what I read it can, but most seemed to be complete blindness or they regained eye sight. Her odd behavior and sight is neither getting worse nor improving.

Thank you for your input

 

[bhawk-23]

She will see the vet tomorrow. I may have hit the end of what I can do but she is very clearly not ready to be euthanized.
She may just become an indoor chicken. She was already coming and going as she pleased

Off to research chicken diaper patterns! Lol

Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry she's not doing well.

Looks like you have been given very good suggestions, I don't have anything to add at this time.
I hope the vet visit goes well. Let us know what you find out.

 

[bhawk-23]

@NatJ @Wyorp Rock

Just got home from the vet. They aspirated 5cc of fluid from her abdomen and centrifuged it. He is leaning towards EYP and prescribed Baytril for a bit longer. Her eyes look fine as far as any mareks symptoms or blindness so…

And @azygous , turns out you offer some pretty guidance from the very little information you have to go off of Fluffy and I are truly grateful

Here’s to hoping she continues to mend and no more internal laying

Out of curiosity, since this happened right after the stressful encounter could that have had something to do with all this?

 

[azygous]

It's nice to know what's really going on and not need to rely so much on guesses. As to whether this was caused by her encounter with the nasty boys, it's possible it tipped her over the edge, but more likely it's just a coincidence. I'm sure both you and your hen would just as soon not see the nasty boys ever again.

 

[bhawk-23]

It's nice to know what's really going on and not need to rely so much on guesses. As to whether this was caused by her encounter with the nasty boys, it's possible it tipped her over the edge, but more likely it's just a coincidence. I'm sure both you and your hen would just as soon not see the nasty boys ever again.

She is my best friend. Her boys know my rules and do NOT behave that way when I am around. I am very stern with kids to treat my animals with respect or they (the kids) will be put away. Her boys know this and I can keep them in line without issue. Unfortunately, I believe she was unable to control both of them at the same time and quickly became overwhelmed. Once I yelled through the camera to redirect she was able to get them out.

My HFA and ADHD is good for setting boundaries. And I’m too rigid and stubborn to change them

Hopefully this was just a one time deal though I am guessing it won’t be. She has not laid again yet.

 

[bhawk-23]

We had to euthanize Fluffy. A quick look inside showed a whole mess of her ovary and egg yolk peritonitis. She had been on baytril for nearly 2 weeks and the fluid in her abdomen was just increasing. We made the right decision, it’s just never easy to accept right away. Thanks for all the input, I am very appreciative.

And here is Fluffernutter hanging out with her crew last night. Fluffy, the cat and 1 of the dogs. (Please don’t mind the mess, it’s been a long 2 weeks).

 

[azygous]

I'm so sorry. It must have been a wrenching decision.

 

[NatJ]

We had to euthanize Fluffy. A quick look inside showed a whole mess of her ovary and egg yolk peritonitis. She had been on baytril for nearly 2 weeks and the fluid in her abdomen was just increasing. We made the right decision, it’s just never easy to accept right away. Thanks for all the input, I am very appreciative.

Thank you for updating. It is nice to know the answer, even when it is a sad answer

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about Fluffy, what a sweet photo of her.