My Pullet Ate Too Much Grit- yes really!

[Crazy Maizie]

Sometimes you just get a derpy chicken. But, I wonder if she's missing out on some nutrient and is seeking it out by eating grit.
What feed is she on?
I usually take away any treats when issues arise.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Fancy is such a pretty girl! How old is she? Crazy Maizie asked great questions. I've recently read about a hen that overindulged in dirt and had some issues but she was able to clear her crop without surgery. Does Fancy lay eggs? Has she laid recently? I've been treating my Crested Cream Legbar hen for crop issues as well. Today is her first day back with the flock.

 

[Tervuren]

Sometimes you just get a derpy chicken. But, I wonder if she's missing out on some nutrient and is seeking it out by eating grit.
What feed is she on?
I usually take away any treats when issues arise.

I generally feed them a Nutrena feed with protein at least 18% and the most recent mill date. Recently that has been Feather Fixer, though I just bought a Country Companion feed with 20% protein because all the Nutrena stuff was too old. Fancy is still eating Nutrena though because I had a bit left and didn’t want to change things up on her while she’s recovering. I use treats as more of an enrichment activity and they only get them 3x a week tops, sometimes none. If I’m giving scratch it’s one tablespoon per bird and it’s only a cold weather treat. I give them dandelions and veggies tied to a string, so it’s like chicken tetherball. And that’s pretty much it for treats. Right now Fancy is only eating feed, no treats.
I don’t think of Fancy as one of my derpy girls (that’s my Bielefelder!), but apparently I overestimated her lol.

 

[Tervuren]

Fancy is such a pretty girl! How old is she? Crazy Maizie asked great questions. I've recently read about a hen that overindulged in dirt and had some issues but she was able to clear her crop without surgery. Does Fancy lay eggs? Has she laid recently? I've been treating my Crested Cream Legbar hen for crop issues as well. Today is her first day back with the flock.

She is just over 7 months, and she’s the only one not laying. And I’ve read through your thread. It does seem like maybe the breed is a bit prone to crop issues? Seems like there’s quite a few threads about them.

 

[Tervuren]

Hmmm not super pleased with how much she's eating. It is a little harder to watch now that my work week has started though. Made her a scrambled egg and she just picked at it a little. Same treatment towards the warm mash I made out of crumble. She did have a good time lording it over my EE, Ada, who was in with her part of the day. Fancy is between the brooder plate and Nettie again for the night. Seems to be a pretty good system to help her stay warm while she heals up.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I've noticed that my birds like finely chopped boiled eggs more than scrambled. I think it's odd, but......

 

[Tervuren]

I've noticed that my birds like finely chopped boiled eggs more than scrambled. I think it's odd, but......

Thanks for the suggestion! Fancy was more interested in the boiled egg than the scrambled for sure! How odd? Maybe a texture thing? What really got her appetite going was some NutriDrench I picked up today. Put a small amount in her water and drizzled a little bit on her food and she ate more than I’ve seen in the last two days! Yay! One of the main ingredients is molasses, I’m guessing she was attracted to the smell/taste of it? Hopefully she’ll eat even more tomorrow. Have my Australorp, Amelia, in with her tonight for a change. Fancy is still enjoying the heating plates and flockmate to snuggle with at night.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Thanks for the suggestion! Fancy was more interested in the boiled egg than the scrambled for sure! How odd? Maybe a texture thing? What really got her appetite going was some NutriDrench I picked up today. Put a small amount in her water and drizzled a little bit on her food and she ate more than I’ve seen in the last two days! Yay! One of the main ingredients is molasses, I’m guessing she was attracted to the smell/taste of it? Hopefully she’ll eat even more tomorrow. Have my Australorp, Amelia, in with her tonight for a change. Fancy is still enjoying the heating plates and flockmate to snuggle with at night.

Hopefully the food will give her the strength to get better quickly. Thank you for the update It is so strange that some have such strong preferences. I don't have a bird that doesn't go crazy for boiled eggs. If I offer scrambled eggs they make it obvious they're not as excited You could be on to something like it being a texture thing. I'd love to know

 

[Tervuren]

Ugh green poop, which from what I can tell means she definitely isn’t eating enough. She shows some interest, but apparently not enough. Her behavior is still good though, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Edit: oh and she’s still drinking a ton of water.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Do you have her on any electrolytes or vitamins? While the poop is green, it's not neon green so that's good as that would indicate kidney issues.
If she's not already on nutri-drench, I would consider adding that to her regimen.