I've been concerned about my girl Ames since March. She's a Buff Orpington, just turned 2. I noticed her sitting down a lot more than the others a few months ago. I found a lash egg in the coop in April, then took her to the vet. After suspecting some kind of infection, she went on a course of antibiotics. She appeared to get her energy back for a week or two, but then she slowed down again. I took her back to the vet in May, to discover that she had lost a lot of weight - from 2.7kg in April to 2kg in May. We tried a different medication as well as emergency food. She's refusing to eat most things, except for her favourite treat of yoghurt and the occasional piece of watermelon. Not nearly enough to put on any weight. When I took her in again last week, she was down to 1.7kg. Because she's mostly drinking and not eating, her poop is pretty much just clear liquid with the occasional bits in it. Tonight she struggled to make it up to the roost. I've been bringing her in and handfeeding her as much as I can, but she just shows no interest in food. Her crop isn't hard or soft, but before bed it definitely had something in it. The only things she seems interested in eating at the moment have been non-food: grit, pine shavings, etc. Can chickens develop eating disorders like pica?
I worry that syringe feeding her will make her uncomfortable, but perhaps that is the only option with this degree of weight loss. She's been wormed recently, so that isn't the problem. Has anyone seen symptoms like these before? I'm at a loss.
I worry that syringe feeding her will make her uncomfortable, but perhaps that is the only option with this degree of weight loss. She's been wormed recently, so that isn't the problem. Has anyone seen symptoms like these before? I'm at a loss.