- Jul 20, 2010
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BR pullet, about 7 months old, give or take. NOT laying yet, and according to her comb/wattles...not about to, either. (red, but still pretty small. A hatch mate BR is much more mature in comb/wattles...but still not laying even though it appears she should be *there*)
I've noticed for a couple of days that this pullet is not very active. She's 'sleepy' and lethargic. Mostly seen standing, with head tucked under a wing.
She will peck, halfheartedly at food/treats, but not really eat with any vigor. Haven't seen her drink, but I'm sure she is some.
She is light... not bony(yet) but much lighter compared to her flock mates of the same age. (same size height wise)
Her crop is empty every time I check. However, when I see her poop, they are formed, normal size and consistency. Probably just not as frequent.
Her color looks good. She doesn't appear to be molting.
She has no obvious injuries, NOR any other signs of sickness... clear eyes, clear nose, no coughing or sneezing. Vent is clean.
The entire flock has been wormed within the last two months, last deworming was with Z-gold. Someone, not sure which bird, dropped 2 round worms after that deworming in the coop while roosting at night, but that was it. I DID reworm just THIS gal yesterday just in case it was her and maybe she'd developed a worm load from eggs...
No one else in the flock is acting off at all, in any way.
This flock has some form of CRD, probably MG (99% sure) but it's not in any acute stage. No one has had any respiratory symptoms for months, and this particular pullet never really showed any respiratory symptoms when others did.
Lastly, I checked her very carefully for lice/mites yesterday and didn't see anything. I did not, however, check at night (when mites might come out in numbers), and I plan to tonight. I don't think this is the problem, though... as I DID have the beginning of a mite problem a few months ago (missed them a few times when checking because I didn't realize just how tiny of specks I was looking for...dust size! lol) and bedding was changed, everyone was sevin dusted, and the coop was dusted before putting the bedding back in. I have not seen any mites on anyone since. But, again... I'm going to check tonight after dark just to make sure.
Other relevant information possibly... they eat grower crumbles (no change in feed), small amounts of scratch treats, and random table scraps if/when we have them available. Oyster shell is available free choice for those that are laying. They are in a run that is 12X50, with a 6X10 coop, locked in at night and I use the deep litter method with pine chips. They get let out to 'free range' my large backyard a few times a week, but not daily. Besides some dying grass, there's not much to forage for...given the time of year and cooling temps. (SE Kansas)
I don't know WHAT else I could be missing... what else might be wrong with this gal. I don't suspect egg bound because, while she's old enough to lay, she doesn't appear mature enough and none of the pullets have started laying yet. I don't believe she'd have any worm infestation significant enough to be causing this, given that they were dewormed just a short time ago. She shows no other symptoms of illness, respiratory wise. Poops seem 100% normal. I really don't know ANYTHING about crop issues... her crop IS empty... she's just not eating much at a time at all, but enough that her poops are normal.
ANY ideas on what might be going on? What I'm missing? She's a sweet gal and I hate to see her so under the weather. I'm afraid, given the weather, that if I don't get her feeling better soon... gaining some weight back... she's not going to be able to handle the cold and won't make it. I just don't know WHAT else to do...
I've noticed for a couple of days that this pullet is not very active. She's 'sleepy' and lethargic. Mostly seen standing, with head tucked under a wing.
She will peck, halfheartedly at food/treats, but not really eat with any vigor. Haven't seen her drink, but I'm sure she is some.
She is light... not bony(yet) but much lighter compared to her flock mates of the same age. (same size height wise)
Her crop is empty every time I check. However, when I see her poop, they are formed, normal size and consistency. Probably just not as frequent.
Her color looks good. She doesn't appear to be molting.
She has no obvious injuries, NOR any other signs of sickness... clear eyes, clear nose, no coughing or sneezing. Vent is clean.
The entire flock has been wormed within the last two months, last deworming was with Z-gold. Someone, not sure which bird, dropped 2 round worms after that deworming in the coop while roosting at night, but that was it. I DID reworm just THIS gal yesterday just in case it was her and maybe she'd developed a worm load from eggs...
No one else in the flock is acting off at all, in any way.
This flock has some form of CRD, probably MG (99% sure) but it's not in any acute stage. No one has had any respiratory symptoms for months, and this particular pullet never really showed any respiratory symptoms when others did.
Lastly, I checked her very carefully for lice/mites yesterday and didn't see anything. I did not, however, check at night (when mites might come out in numbers), and I plan to tonight. I don't think this is the problem, though... as I DID have the beginning of a mite problem a few months ago (missed them a few times when checking because I didn't realize just how tiny of specks I was looking for...dust size! lol) and bedding was changed, everyone was sevin dusted, and the coop was dusted before putting the bedding back in. I have not seen any mites on anyone since. But, again... I'm going to check tonight after dark just to make sure.
Other relevant information possibly... they eat grower crumbles (no change in feed), small amounts of scratch treats, and random table scraps if/when we have them available. Oyster shell is available free choice for those that are laying. They are in a run that is 12X50, with a 6X10 coop, locked in at night and I use the deep litter method with pine chips. They get let out to 'free range' my large backyard a few times a week, but not daily. Besides some dying grass, there's not much to forage for...given the time of year and cooling temps. (SE Kansas)
I don't know WHAT else I could be missing... what else might be wrong with this gal. I don't suspect egg bound because, while she's old enough to lay, she doesn't appear mature enough and none of the pullets have started laying yet. I don't believe she'd have any worm infestation significant enough to be causing this, given that they were dewormed just a short time ago. She shows no other symptoms of illness, respiratory wise. Poops seem 100% normal. I really don't know ANYTHING about crop issues... her crop IS empty... she's just not eating much at a time at all, but enough that her poops are normal.
ANY ideas on what might be going on? What I'm missing? She's a sweet gal and I hate to see her so under the weather. I'm afraid, given the weather, that if I don't get her feeling better soon... gaining some weight back... she's not going to be able to handle the cold and won't make it. I just don't know WHAT else to do...
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