Hi everyone. This is my first year with chickens and my favorite hen is not doing good. She is a Jersey Giant so she was always she biggest and boldest. A couple months ago one eye was closed all the time and she started acting different. Her eye has since opened but she has never been the same. Started noticing matted poop stuck to her butt, loss of balance and energy, she is very light and isolating herself from the other 3 chickens. They are off running around and she just sits by herself in one spot. For the last 2 months I have been picking her up to put her on the roost at night but lately she can't even balance on the roost just falls off and lays on her side. Recently she has been losing a lot of feathers, my guess is she is molting but I can't explain the other issues. I haven't isolated her because I didn't think it was fair to keep her alone away from her sisters and the other ones seem healthy and happy so I don't think it is contagious. Tonight I went out and she was just laying under the coop where the others were already inside on the roost. I crawled in the run and brought her out and she can barely stand. She did a big wet milky poop but She was VERY hungry but would only eat out of my hand. Which is sad because she is the only one that will ever eat out of my hand, she really is a sweet girl. I am bummed because I won't have a chance to raise chicks for a while and I hate to lose my favorite one. I have lost a couple for various reasons but this one is tough. I Googled all the symptoms and have so many different things it could be and so many options not sure where to start. I don't have a Chicken Vet around here and I hate seeing her like this. Do I watch her get worse and die slowly? Should I Try epsom salt, vegetable oil, vinegar, rubbing her crop , soooo many options. I wish there was a Vet in NH that could just come look at her and give me an idea. I hate to think of it but I wonder if I should just put her out of her misery because she's so sick. My instinct is that she will pass over the next couple days but I wouldn't want to slowly die like that so why should she? Has anyone had to make that decision and do this?
Welcome to BYC. I'm not at sure at all about this, but I would consider Mareks disease as a cause. If you Google mareks disease, you will get a lot of links for info. Then visit the BYC thread "Not an emergency, mareks in the flock.". There are many mareks people there to answer questions.
