New chicken-may be sick

[MDcalle]

Hello!
I bought 2 hens today from my local farmer market. One is walking around and eating/drinking fine, the other one has been laying down all day and not very active. When I go to check on her sometimes she'll slowly close her eyes, but will stand up and move if I try to touch her. She drank a bit of water but I did not see her eat today. She did lay an egg probably less than an hour after bringing her home. Right now I have them in a crate separated from the other chickens. I noticed her poop was clear and slimy, I don't know if that means anything. After looking her over I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Is she sick or just adjusting to her new home
Thanks for your help!

 

[angie_02]

Did you interact with her at the farmers market or were you not able to tell if she was walking around there? If she was normal at the market it could be the stress of moving and adjusting to a new home

 

[DocBirdBrain]

With birds there's a fine line between being stressed and being sick. Good idea, keeping them separate. Treat her as if she may be sick-- be sure to take care of all your other birds before handling her, and be careful about hand washing, etc. You don't want to bring any bugs into your flock!
She may respond to some calm TLC. I would keep her quiet and calm. You can try adding a little apple cider vinegar to her water to see if it helps with her poop.

 

[angie_02]

to add to my earlier comment, if you're thinking it is stress, try these tablets they're called "life-lytes". Good for times of stress and excessive heat. Helps my chickens a lot. We had a fox attack and used this to help with the shock as some were Injured. This could give her the boost she needs you never know!

 

[Eggcessive]

Keeping new chickens in quarantine for at least 30 days from your other chickens is pretty standard, just to look for symptoms of possible disease, to worm them, and treat for lice or mites. Probiotics if not included in your chicken feed, or a small amount of plain cultured yogurt 2-3 days a week may help her droppings firm up. Offer some chopped egg, and a balanced layer feed, grit, and some crushed oyster shell for calcium if she wants it. Getting chickens from an unknown breeder can be risky. If she acts sick after her initial time, I would be reluctant to expose her to the rest of the flock. Give her water with some poultry vitamins and electrolytes. She may just be weak from little food or water at the market, and hopefully will perk up. Look for any signs of respiratory symptoms such as watery or foamy eyes, nasal drainage, coughing, or wheezing. Watery poop can sometimes be a sign of drinking a lot of water.