Hi all, I recently decided to add to my flock, so I purchased 2 chickens, a silkie and an easter egger, from a guy on Craigslist. In retrospect, that was a bad idea from the beginning. Since they've come home, I've noticed that the silkie bites me, bullies the EE, and dominates the food, eating more than her share. The EE has also had her wings clipped by her previous owner, and her back is completely bald and is flaking off dandruff, I suspect from over-zealous breeding. All of these issues were unknown to me until I brought them home, otherwise I probably would not have bought them. They've been getting to know my backyard for about 3 days now, and I noticed that the EE has barely eaten any food this entire time. Her crop feels totally empty, and she has only pooped 1 time today. She has ignored all the food we have given her, including organic layer pellets, brown rice, fresh veggies, and even scrambled eggs. Instead, she will peck at seemingly nothing on the ground, and she tries to eat large rocks, dried dead leaves, and sticks. I don't think she is eating these for grit; it actually seems like she does not know what to eat or has some sort of eating disorder, like Pica. Not sure if chickens can even get Pica but that is the closet description of her eating habits. Today I kept her in isolation to observe her, and handfed her a TINY bit of hardboiled egg white, grapes, and tofu. It was an effort that was spread out over several hours, and she only took in less than half an ounce of food in total. Another thing she does is close her eyes all the time. They are always closed. She has also been lethargic and not moving around, but I think this may be from the lack of food. I am very worried about her- she can't go on not eating! Any advice?
