New Easter Egger doesn't know how to eat food, has closed eyes?

[so lucky]

Have you tried feeding her mealworms?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is she making any noises?

 

[Chickenchiquita]

Have you tried feeding her mealworms?

No I haven't, I don't have any on hand. I can buy some first thing tomorrow though.

Is she making any noises?

No, she barely makes any noise at all unless she's scared/stressed, then she'll do a normal bok bok sound. Very quiet hen in general, though.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I purchased 2 chickens, a silkie and an easter egger,

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.

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.

She has also been lethargic and not moving around, but I think this may be from the lack of food.

She didn't drink any by herself when I had her in isolation, but I just let her out with the silkie, and she drank some. She seems more alert when she's with the silkie but still closes her eyes a bunch so I don't know how much of the lethargy is from fear of her new surroundings without a familiar flockmate and how much is from sickness.

6 months old

Can you re-check the crop?
A photo of the feather loss she has would be good too.

I would look her over really well for lice/mites, while you are at it, check for any wounds or sores.
She looks sick to me instead of traumatized.
I would try to get her hydrated. Do you have any Poultry Nutri-Drench?
Was she supposed to already be laying eggs? Would be a good idea to check for a stuck egg too.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

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?

Sounds like she is sick.

 

[Chickenchiquita]

Can you re-check the crop?
A photo of the feather loss she has would be good too.

I would look her over really well for lice/mites, while you are at it, check for any wounds or sores.
She looks sick to me instead of traumatized.
I would try to get her hydrated. Do you have any Poultry Nutri-Drench?
Was she supposed to already be laying eggs? Would be a good idea to check for a stuck egg too.

Thank you for being so thorough. She was supposed to already be laying eggs, but the man I got her from didn't seem super scrupulous about being truthful so I have no clue. The silkie hasn't laid anything either but is completely fine and he also said she was supposed to be laying. She also has some new feathers coming in so I think she may be mid-molt and thus not laying?
I do not have nutridrench but I have rooster booster, is that similar? If not I can go get some. I did check her for mites and lice and apart from the dandruff earlier I didn't see anything. There are some white particles in the pictures below but they didn't move and I couldn't see nits so I think it's dandruff.

 

[Chickenchiquita]

@Wyorp Rock forgot to say that I did check her crop today and it still feels very empty and squishy. More stuff in it than yesterday though, maybe because I hand fed her a bit.

 

[Chickenchiquita]

Just tried to check her vent but it was impossible. Her vent was tiny and dry and my finger could only go in maybe 1-2 centimeters, instead of 1-2 inches so I couldn't feel if there was any egg. I'm totally at a loss about what to do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for being so thorough. She was supposed to already be laying eggs, but the man I got her from didn't seem super scrupulous about being truthful so I have no clue. The silkie hasn't laid anything either but is completely fine and he also said she was supposed to be laying. She also has some new feathers coming in so I think she may be mid-molt and thus not laying?
I do not have nutridrench but I have rooster booster, is that similar? If not I can go get some. I did check her for mites and lice and apart from the dandruff earlier I didn't see anything. There are some white particles in the pictures below but they didn't move and I couldn't see nits so I think it's dandruff. View attachment 1929659

@Wyorp Rock forgot to say that I did check her crop today and it still feels very empty and squishy. More stuff in it than yesterday though, maybe because I hand fed her a bit.

Just tried to check her vent but it was impossible. Her vent was tiny and dry and my finger could only go in maybe 1-2 centimeters, instead of 1-2 inches so I couldn't feel if there was any egg. I'm totally at a loss about what to do.

Thank you for the additional photo!
The bare bare is likely from mating or being picked on instead of molting. I see some new feathers coming in too which is good. The ones that are broken may not be replaced until she actually goes into molt next year, but probably those that are coming in with cover her back.

If you can get a poop picture that may be helpful.

OK So he crop was squishy this morning? Could be sour crop - I would start out by giving her 1 teaspoon coconut oil - refrigerate/freeze it, then break up into small chunks, she may eat that on her own so you don't have to try to syringe it into her. Do what you can to get her hydrated. Rooster booster vitamins are fine to use.
Here's a short and sweet article about crop problems
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Your description of checking for an egg - it sounds like she is not in lay yet, which is o.k. She needs to get better first anyway.

 

[so lucky]

I'm just throwing this out here, because I am definitely no expert, but it seems to me, regarding the bare patch, that a rooster wouldn't keep bothering a pullet that is not ready....well, maybe a very rowdy cockerel would, but perhaps the bare back is just caused by the picking and fighting caused by over-crowding. And this pullet does not seem ready to lay, as per the small dry vent, and barely red comb. She could have just been traumatized by over-crowding and mean chickens.
Personally, I would be pretty miffed at that seller.