Molting and Sick?

[HeatherKellyB]

Please overlook the crumbs all over the floor. Sue is still checking everything out around the shop and will move away whenever I try to touch her, but she's not fast like something is after her. Her latest poop has more contents but the color of the contents is worrying to me.

 

[azygous]

I have a "slow" hen. I call her "Slo-Mo". Morgan is a ten-year old Black Cochin, and her movements are those of a tortoise. She will park herself somewhere, anywhere, and as if on a stage "mark", she won't move from that spot for hours. I often get momentarily concerned about her until I get close to her and am able to hear her nearly constant but quiet and contented chatter, "whoop, whoop, whoop".

Even though your hen is normally slow, she should be chatty if feeling well. If she's normally taciturn, she will at the very least move quickly if you tempt her with a favorite treat. A sick hen will be either uninterested or will take more time than usual to notice and react to the treat.

You know this hen better than anyone, and should be able to tell if she's reacting slower than normal to things. If she is, then you can assume she's sick and not just experiencing molt related weakness. Sluggish behavior taken with that poop pic you just put up, would indicate an infection. But I would observe her behavior for a while longer to be sure she's sick and not just still waking up.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@Wyorp Rock My other BR (Sue's flockmate) had a couple of days where I was seriously worried about her but she is almost back to her normal self completely and no longer has any bare spots. I wonder if they have such a difficult time because of their slow feathering? I believe I will just watch her closely for now. Do you feel like she'd be OK to rejoin her flock?

 

[azygous]

I vote for returning her to the flock. You will better be able to observe her behavior if she's doing normal things. How chickens relate to one another can tell you a lot about how they are feeling.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@azygous that sounds just like Sue! She has this whiney sounding chatter that she does all the time. It sounds like Sue is an old worry wort, but she's only 17 months old. I just held up a raisin and she immediately came over to take it from me. I'll keep a close eye on her for now. Should I make her an egg daily? A couple of times a day? While she's going through this difficult part of her molt?

 

[HeatherKellyB]

She just had 2 completely formed dark brown poops! Is it strange that I am excited about poop? Hahaha

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Seems like the more she moves around, the more she improves. She's pooping more too. Maybe like her digestive system was moving as slow as she is until she got up and moving about

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I vote for putting her back too. Just watch to see that she's not picked at.
I rarely isolate a hen. I may take them out for a short period of time to administer vitamins/supportive care, but they go right back as soon as we have our little time out.

 

[aart]

Is it strange that I am excited about poop?

Not at all!!

I keep isolation crate in coop, so she's not 'alone'.
Might let her roam all day then crate at night to check crop function and poops.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

That's a great idea @aart! Unfortunately I can't get a crate inside the coop, so I'll probably bring her inside for the next couple of nights or at least until she's not worrying me and her crop is functioning properly. Thanks again