Last week, one of our four Buff Orpingtons got real lethargic. At first I thought she may be getting ready to lay, but after a few days I noticed she didn't move around much at all. She'd just slowly peck at the food and slowly drink. She just kept slowing down more and more and on Saturday, she just lay there in the barn.
Based on the posts here, I tried feeding her oatmeal, wet catfood and yougart. Nothing seemed to help.
We got these 4 chickens about 6 weeks ago and I think they were about 16 weeks old then and all had the pinkish combs. Out of the four chickens, one had her comb turn to the bright red within a few weeks. My guess is she was a bit older. The other two combs turned red about the time this one got sick. The sick chickens comb was still pinkish. Her eyes were still clear and I could find no lumps or trauma on her body. Her feathers looked nice and clean, no lice or anything and she looked to be in great shape. The only thing out of the ordinary, is there were dark tan-orangish "lines" down her legs that also were on each of her toes. Kind of like the main artery to her feet were off colored. If that makes sense?
I know its hard to figure out online, but any idea what may have caused this?
The good news is the other 3 seem to be doing fine - for now. Should I take any precautions? Should I try to worm them?
The silver lining is my four year old learned about life on a farm. She was upset, but more from the standpoint of not understanding I think. Lots of questions that just became more curious as the days have passed.
Based on the posts here, I tried feeding her oatmeal, wet catfood and yougart. Nothing seemed to help.
We got these 4 chickens about 6 weeks ago and I think they were about 16 weeks old then and all had the pinkish combs. Out of the four chickens, one had her comb turn to the bright red within a few weeks. My guess is she was a bit older. The other two combs turned red about the time this one got sick. The sick chickens comb was still pinkish. Her eyes were still clear and I could find no lumps or trauma on her body. Her feathers looked nice and clean, no lice or anything and she looked to be in great shape. The only thing out of the ordinary, is there were dark tan-orangish "lines" down her legs that also were on each of her toes. Kind of like the main artery to her feet were off colored. If that makes sense?
I know its hard to figure out online, but any idea what may have caused this?
The good news is the other 3 seem to be doing fine - for now. Should I take any precautions? Should I try to worm them?
The silver lining is my four year old learned about life on a farm. She was upset, but more from the standpoint of not understanding I think. Lots of questions that just became more curious as the days have passed.
