New and with a sleepy chicken

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LadyWarmack

LadyWarmack

Hatching
6 Years
Jun 20, 2013
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I am new to backyard chickens, but I have done a good bit of searching for answers on this site.
Right now I could use a bit of help.
We lost all but 2 of our 2 year old chickens 3 weeks ago to a pack of racoons. It was a blood bath!! The two left were in shock for a bit and did not lay or eat, etc.... We ended up getting a few chickens to replace the ones we lost and in time they seemed to perk up a bit. Now, one of the remaining hens is sleeping all the time. She seems to be in good health otherwise, but it's like she can't stay awake. Concerned that bringing the new chickens in got her sick or the stress of it all just effected her poorly.
I separated her and am thinking of starting some antibiotics. Please, any Advice would be very helpful!!
 
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Are you sure your sleepy hen doesn't have some injuries from the attack - that may be covered by her feathers? Please post her symptoms in detail and photos too , if possible at "Emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures." More experienced people monitor that site and should have better advice.
 
LadyWarmack said:
I am new to backyard chickens, but I have done a good bit of searching for answers on this site.
Right now I could use a bit of help.
We lost all but 2 of our 2 year old chickens 3 weeks ago to a pack of racoons. It was a blood bath!! The two left were in shock for a bit and did not lay or eat, etc.... We ended up getting a few chickens to replace the ones we lost and in time they seemed to perk up a bit. Now, one of the remaining hens is sleeping all the time. She seems to be in good health otherwise, but it's like she can't stay awake. Concerned that bringing the new chickens in got her sick or the stress of it all just effected her poorly.
I separated her and am thinking of starting some antibiotics. Please, any Advice would be very helpful!!
Click to expand...

Hi LadyWarmack:

Oh my gosh, that is TERRIBLE about losing most of your flock to racoons! I'm glad that the 2 survived, but you're correct that something's just not right. If the other survivor has rebounded & is doing well, then whatever's wrong is probably just with the one girl. What's her name? I don't know about starting an antibiotic. What makes you think that you need one? Is she showing some signs of distress like raspy breathing, having liquid bowel movements ONLY or something else? Please advise.

Have you ever heard of Bach Flower Remedies? They're a natural, homeopathic remedy for people & come in a pet formula, too.
There's one called "Rescue Remedy" & it helps with stress. Perhaps that would help your girl? Try one drop, diluted in some unflavored Pedialyte. Use a syringe to feed the liquid to her if she won't drink it herself. Put the liquid into a syringe (no needle) and squeeze the plunger verrrry slowly so that only a drop or two comes out at a time. Do this while rubbing the syringe tip along the side of her beak, staying away from the nostrils--you don't want liquid in her nose, which leads to her lungs.... Her normal response should be to open her mouth and lick the drops off of her beak. If you have a little bowl that you can put the liquid into & load it into the syringe from there instead of dipping into the original container, you won't contaminate the whole container with whatever she may have (if it's contagious for the others. You'll probably keep the bottle of Pedialyte for a later use & it may not be for the same gal or for the same problem.)

Is she eating & drinking normally otherwise? Maybe there's a vitamin and or mineral deficiency that's causing so much drowsiness? Have you inspected her for fleas, lice, mites? That's not a slight against your Chicken parenting skills, it's more like they're opportunistic little bloodsuckers that drain the life right outta our girls & it's tough NOT to get them. Have you dusted her and the other girls/boys?

If it were my girl having this issue, 1) I'd separate her,

2) I'd dust her immediately (do it outside & away from the others) and watch to see if anything starts crawling off of her. Maybe put down some newspaper or an old, dark towel that she can lay on after the dusting, just so you can see if anything abandons ship. Believe me when I say that even if you've inspected her and found nothing, you might be surprised if/when you see things crawling away from her & the dust. They shouldn't harm you & will be well on their way to death's doorstep by the time you see them, but it can be a bit surprising to suddenly see what you'd looked for and not seen. (They're quick, wiley & not easily found.)

3) I'd give her plenty of doses [of Pedialyte + 1 drop Rescue Remedy] over the course of the evening & over the next several days. Even just Pedialyte alone will help. If she does or did have fleas/mites/lice, then they're weakening her. I have 3ml syringes & would give that amount in the 1st sitting. If she's really bad, I'd be checking on her every hour or so, and try to giver her at least 1/2ml to 1 ml Pedialyte each time. The electrolytes in the Pedialyte will help her get back into shape & brighten up her eyes.

4) I'd give her special foods like:
*1 scrambled egg with a little freshly minced garlic [garlic is a natural anit-viral & the cooked eggs (no oil) are fabulous protein],
next meal, I'd give her
*tofu with chia & flax seeds mixed together [tofu is high in protein, these seed have high amino acid & nutritional properties)

I'd mash the eggs and the tofu into small pieces (no need to cook the tofu) with a fork, as you want it easily picked up with her little beak. If she's eating on her own, you can try mixing in some of her regular food into the above. That'll keep her interested enough to keep eating, which is what she needs in order to build up her strength again.

5) I'd be praying non stop, even in the back of my mind as I went about my day. Yahweh is the ancient name of the Creator & I'd be asking for His healing, my understanding, His guidance as I tried to help my baby, and His Spirit of peace & comfort to surround my girl, and all of the flock.

If you have to dust her, wear rubber gloves. If someone can help you, that's going to make it a whole lot easier. If you don't have any "Poultry Dust" dusting powder, your local Agway or Tractor Supply should have it. If they don't, or are closed, you'll have to wait until tomorrow or call a farmer (or better yet, another chicken keeper in your area) to see if you can borrow some.

If you don't want to do that, you can use natural wood ash to dust her. Like from a fire pit. It CANNOT have any lighter fluid, plastic, etc in it. It has to be just plain old wood ash.

I recommend you search this site for the article "Mites & Lice! Treatment and Prevention".
It's good & the comments at the end by CluckCluckLuke ("A mix of sulfur, lime & Diatomacious Earth" has worked"
&
Yard Full 'o Rocks ("...another solution that works very well is Petarmor for dogs (not the PLUS version) in the XL size (89 to 132 lbs). A package contains 3 vials normally. Add 2 vials to 16 oz of 90+% isopropyl alcohol (found readily at any pharmacy now) in a clean spray bottle, shake well and put one spray in the vent area (near, not "in") and one spray under each wing. The liquid needs to touch the skin, so separate the feathers.")

I hope this helps & please keep us posted.
 
drumstick diva said:
Are you sure your sleepy hen doesn't have some injuries from the attack - that may be covered by her feathers? Please post her symptoms in detail and photos too , if possible at "Emergencies, diseases, injuries, cures." More experienced people monitor that site and should have better advice.
Click to expand...

Drumstick Diva could be right about her having unseen injuries. When they're sick, they hide it in order to protect themselves from seeming weak & getting picked on.
And I am not one of the more experienced people on this site, I have just had experience with losing my favorite chicken to mites/lice when I didn't know anything about what they were, how they affected chickens or what to do about it. She hid it so well and I didn't know what she was trying to tell me when I was looking at her & noticing "something was off."
 
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Thanks for all of the replies. I've separated her and checked her all over. She went to sleep while I was messing with her! I held her for about 10 minutes while she just sat there asleep. Hadn't thought about it potentially being injuries from the attack. However, everything seemed just fine. I'll know more about her eating and drinking now that she is apart from the others. We have 27 chickens so its hard to tell what one is doing.

I'm going to dust her in the am and we will go from there.

Thanks! I'll keep you updated.
 

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