Kerry Thorn
Hatching
- Jun 17, 2020
- 6
- 1
- 9
Hi, I am hoping for some guidance regarding one of my girls (ISA Brown) who from day one has always been picked on by the others which unfortunately occurs despite trying to ensure they are not getting bored or running out of food. I have read that chickens can sense illness and try to remove an ill chicken from the flock which could explain her treatment. They have a huge coop and free range in our paddocks. My flock are about 12 months old. My sick girl, Vanilla, has spent most of her life withdrawn and weak, has never laid an egg from what I can tell and never made one single sound. She also has never squatted down when I pick her up. I have always ensured she could access food but about 1 month ago she was extremely badly attacked leaving a large patch on her back with the feathers pulled out (but not bleeding). I have taken her out of the flock and she spent 1 week in my laundry while I attempted to nurse her back. She is now outside again in her own enclosure so she can see the other girls but they can't attack her. I have been feeding her on the usual good things plus meat and she has been wormed and I have been adding electrolytes to her water. Her feathers have started to finally grow back which I am told suggests that she does not have an infection but she is still weak and doesn't move around alot during the day and her comb is not looking healthy. When she does move she uses her wings to balance. She is not showing the obvious signs of Marek's disease. I'm not sure if her recovery is being hindered by the colder weather we now have in Australia or if there is another issue. I also don't want to prolong her life if she is in pain and she is being stoic regardless of any pain. I see small improvements in her and she is eating extremely well but when she is not eating she is just sitting around and not enjoying her life like the others and like a chicken should do. Any urgent advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
He is also an animal lover but more pragmatic than me. 
and I am in tears typing this message. She was really not great this morning and fell into her food bowls and couldn't get up. I had to weigh up the special care she has received for 5 weeks now versus her overall improvement. I have also been looking into Marek's disease over the past few days and didn't want to consider it but with what could be described as partial paralysis with her movements, depression, extreme weight loss, lack of balance and similar feet and body stance to video footage of chicken's with Marek's, I feel that this may have been the underlying issue and could explain why the others have always isolated her. She was a fighter if this is what the issue was but her quality of life was not fair on her and I had to be honest with myself that she was not improving despite trying to convince myself that she was. Thank you so much for your support. She was loved by me at least and we laid her to rest in our paddock so that she can free-range in heaven. I am going to miss her 
