My hen is super thin and not gaining any weight.

[Sezza4ever]

Hello hoping everyone is doing well.
I own a 1 year old barnevelder who has just finished a rough molt. She wasn't eating as much during her molt but she finally got through it and most of her new feathers are out. But she is still super thin i can feel her keel bone. She is now eating like a pig but not gaining any weight does this take time? As a worried chicken parent i took her to the vet and they said this is due to her molt but they took some bloods did a poo sample and checked for mites/lice. The poo sample came back all clear and also no mites or lice. The vet said she was a very healthy hen just underweight But the vet did say she had somthing strange in the bloods like lead in her blood but she wasn't sure if it was accurate or not and suggested to do another test that will cost me $900 dollars! I said can i think about it as she isn't exposed to any lead or metal posioning and all my other hens are fine and that she only went down hill since her heavy molt. So she gave me some antibiotics insted to go on for now. I am unsure what to do? as its a lot of money. So i thought i would ask on this awesome chicken forum for advice and help.
Also i live in Australia, she is feed on red hen free range layer. veggies, some fruits. Currently to gain weight giving her tuna, cooked pasta, yoghurt, scrambled eggs and corn as she loves corn. But is still not gaining weight. Wormed with kilverm.
Appreciate all your help and advice for my Girl.
Just want to do the best for her
Thank you so much.

 

[SmiYa0126]

@Sezza4ever Hello! Is it possible your soil is contaminated with lead paint? I haven't had to detox chickens from heavy metals, but this is what I would do if I had to do it for mine. Give them all cilantro, fruits high in vitamin c, seaweed and chlorella in their food. I would stop feeding her tuna as that can be high in mercury, if you want to give her fish, give sprats or anchovies (fresh if possible), you want to feed fish that's lower on the food chain.

How long has she been eating well?

 

[Eggcessive]

Did the vet actually test her for lead? Or was there something that made them suspicious of lead/heavy metals? Most of us cannot afford $900 for a chicken, but some people probably would do it if they could. I don’t know a lot about treatment, but I think they use chelating agents. Birds can get exposed to lead from old paint around homes, lead shot from bullets in the ground, and possibly other sources.

Many chickens will lose weight or eat much less during a molt. I would skip the carbs, corn and pasta, and offer a little scrambled egg or tuna in the late afternoon once she has eaten her balanced layer feed during the day. I would get a baseline weight now, on a kitchen scale, or hold her while weighing yourself, then subtract your weight. Then weigh her often. Make sure that others are letting her eat.

 

[Sezza4ever]

@Sezza4ever Hello! Is it possible your soil is contaminated with lead paint? I haven't had to detox chickens from heavy metals, but this is what I would do if I had to do it for mine. Give them all cilantro, fruits high in vitamin c, seaweed and chlorella in their food. I would stop feeding her tuna as that can be high in mercury, if you want to give her fish, give sprats or anchovies (fresh if possible), you want to feed fish that's lower on the food chain.

How long has she been eating well?

Thank you so much for your reply.
We have had our land tested when we first brought the land and got the all clear of any contamination of lead or other contaminations. Oh okay thank you for that will stop with the tuna she wasn't tottaly fussed in it anyway

She has only just started to eat better this week ( Mon) and bully all the other hens out of the feed so she has become her normal self that way. but i do notice she eats so much grass also when she is free ranging not sure if this is normal or not?
Thank you so much for your help

 

[Sezza4ever]

Did the vet actually test her for lead? Or was there something that made them suspicious of lead/heavy metals? Most of us cannot afford $900 for a chicken, but some people probably would do it if they could. I don’t know a lot about treatment, but I think they use chelating agents. Birds can get exposed to lead from old paint around homes, lead shot from bullets in the ground, and possibly other sources.

Many chickens will lose weight or eat much less during a molt. I would skip the carbs, corn and pasta, and offer a little scrambled egg or tuna in the late afternoon once she has eaten her balanced layer feed during the day. I would get a baseline weight now, on a kitchen scale, or hold her while weighing yourself, then subtract your weight. Then weigh her often. Make sure that others are letting her eat.

Thank you for your reply.
Well first she said to me i had a very healthy hen but was very under weight due to heavy molt. Then she came up with lets do a blood test to make sure so went ahead with it called me the next day and said i am still learning about all this but somthing but not sure might be in the blood and to do this $900 dollar test for possible lead poisoning but she wasn't really convinced it was lead poisoning but said i should do it to make sure. I am just not sure as my hens are not exposed to any lead or metal material unless they can be exposed from a yonger age from the breeder?

Thank you i will skip the carbs
Thank you for all your help and advice

 

[Eggcessive]

I really know very little about heavy metal poisoning, but I would be reluctant to spend money yet on testing. Ground meat or tofu can be substituted for the tuna. Good for @SmiYa0126 for pointing out the possible mercury in tuna.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hmm, I don't know, sounds like the doc is fishing. If your land was tested then I don't know if it's lead poisoning. When the grass is growing the hens do eat more grass.

If you could add another feeding station or two so she gets more opportunity to eat. I have eight hens and have four feeding stations, two feeders and then also put feed on two spots on a bench in the chicken run.

 

[Sezza4ever]

Hmm, I don't know, sounds like the doc is fishing. If your land was tested then I don't know if it's lead poisoning. When the grass is growing the hens do eat more grass.

If you could add another feeding station or two so she gets more opportunity to eat. I have eight hens and have four feeding stations, two feeders and then also put feed on two spots on a bench in the chicken run.

Agree i couldn't understand when he said to me that she was completely healthy then rang me to say " oh her bloods came back all look good but then he started like oh lead poisoning can cause weight loss and so his like this is great i have never done this advacned blood test for lead poisoning before and his like this will be a great learning tool for himself. And it will cost me approximately $900 plus have to send the bloods to a testing lab which could cost me an extra $50. I just kept telling him she isn't showing signs of lead poisoning just the lost weight when she went through her first ever heavy molt which was about 3 weeks ago and stopped eating before this she was not thin at all and she is super active and She has now slowly started to eat alot more but i thought he might of been able to give her somthing to help put on weight. But he refused and just gave me antibiotics and told me to do this $900 test
That is why i came on here for advice as i just don't believe she has lead poisoning and have no idea how she can be exposed.

Thank you so much for all your help i appreciate it all so much.

 

[Perris]

Agree i couldn't understand when he said to me that she was completely healthy then rang me to say " oh her bloods came back all look good but then he started like oh lead poisoning can cause weight loss and so his like this is great i have never done this advacned blood test for lead poisoning before and his like this will be a great learning tool for himself. And it will cost me approximately $900 plus have to send the bloods to a testing lab which could cost me an extra $50. I just kept telling him she isn't showing signs of lead poisoning just the lost weight when she went through her first ever heavy molt which was about 3 weeks ago and stopped eating before this she was not thin at all and she is super active and She has now slowly started to eat alot more but i thought he might of been able to give her somthing to help put on weight. But he refused and just gave me antibiotics and told me to do this $900 test
That is why i came on here for advice as i just don't believe she has lead poisoning and have no idea how she can be exposed.

Thank you so much for all your help i appreciate it all so much.

I would go with your instincts and save the money to spend in a more reliable way than a vet who's fishing for answers (and at your very considerable expense).

i do notice she eats so much grass also when she is free ranging not sure if this is normal or not?

yes it is; she is seeking one or more of the nutrients in grass.
This is a short paper on the feed value of fresh grass, aimed at the dairy industry but relevant for chickens too:
https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/animals/dairy/Whats_in_Grass_Todays_Farm_May2014.pdf

I would continue to support her in the way you are currently, offering a wide range of different foods and letting her choose what to eat and how much of it in order to obtain the nutrients she instinctively knows she needs to get better. I would focus especially on offering her good quality, easily digested (i.e. meat, fish or insect) protein.

 

[Sezza4ever]

I would go with your instincts and save the money to spend in a more reliable way than a vet who's fishing for answers (and at your very considerable expense).

yes it is; she is seeking one or more of the nutrients in grass.
This is a short paper on the feed value of fresh grass, aimed at the dairy industry but relevant for chickens too:
https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/animals/dairy/Whats_in_Grass_Todays_Farm_May2014.pdf

I would continue to support her in the way you are currently, offering a wide range of different foods and letting her choose what to eat and how much of it in order to obtain the nutrients she instinctively knows she needs to get better. I would focus especially on offering her good quality, easily digested (i.e. meat, fish or insect) protein.

Thank you so much really appreciate it.
Will definitely focus more on feeding her more meat, fish and insect for protein. She is very fussy at the moment she is only wanting to eat cooked corn, grass, little bit of her normal feed, some scrabbled eggs plus wanting lots of water.I am just happy she is eating somthing better than nothing i guess. Her crop was much fuller tonight than other nights so happy about that.
Thank you once again for all your help