New hen owner needs help with lethargic chicken

[Meganite]

Hi there,

This is my first experience with chickens so any advice you can give is greatly appreciated. I purchased 1 silver laced Wyandotte and 1 barred rock 8 days ago, and while the Wyandotte is fine, the barred rock is extremely lethargic. This is very contradictory to her usual demeanor which is loud, curious and very, very active.

The barred rock layed 1 egg about 2 days after bringing her home but hasn't laid since, and the Wyandotte hasn't laid at all. I know this has been a very traumatic week for them both with first being moved from their previous home and moved into a new coop, then dealing with the loud noises from the 4th of July celebrations, followed by unseasonably hot weather in the area.

Here's some more information on the barred rock:
1) What type of bird , age and weight: Barred rock hen, approximately 1 year old. Not sure on her weight.
2) What is the behavior, exactly. Extremely low activity, sleepiness, not as excited by treats (bread). Spent yesterday in the coop (unusual for her), most of the time in the nest box.
3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms? Since yesterday morning, so approximately 36 hours.
4) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma. No, no visible signs of trauma.
5) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation. Stress (see details above)
6) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all. Organic layer pellets, water.
7) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc. I'm not sure since I'm new to chickens, but I did notice some clear liquid in the sick bird's stool. This is a new sign that I haven't seen since bringing them home.
8) What has been the treatment you have administered so far? None. I've tried to promote food intake with bread.
9 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet? I'm open to ideas here. I'll gladly take her to a vet if that's the best solution. Although I could use help locating one in my area.

If there's any additional information that would be helpful here just let me know. And thanks in advance for any help received - I'm pretty concerned about this little girl...

 

[Meganite]

UPDATE: She's been sleeping all day. I just woke her up to give her some bread soaked in water and a little milk and she's slowly eating. However she's doing something new: she'll open her beak as if she's going to eat or make noise, but nothing happens. She just closes her beak.

I would really appreciate any advice here. Any ideas??

 

[dawg53]

There's many things that could be happening here. The stress from moving from one place to another, fireworks/excessive noise, heat, unfamiliar surroundings....all of this can and will contribute to her inactivity. There's more....You need to visually inspect her for lice/mites especially around her vent area. Also, you stated she was about 1 year old, do you know if the previous owner had wormed her at some point, also the Wyandotte? If not, I recommend you worm her with wazine right away. Welcome to BYC, sorry it's under these circumstances though.

 

[Meganite]

dawg53: Thank you so much for the reply, I really appreciate it. We contacted the breeder who tells us the girls were dewormed regularly, so I think we can mark that off the list. Thanks for the tip about inspecting for lice and/or mites. I'll be sure to do that straight away.

The breeder said it's highly unlikely that she's egg bound since she's laid regularly for the past year. He suspects a stomach bug from the new environment and recommended Sulmet. Have you used this treatment and do you have any opinions about using it in this case?

Thanks again, I can't tell you how much I appreciate the input.

 

[Meganite]

I thought I'd put out another request for help here. Dawg53 has been so wonderful and forthcoming with information. Jim; I can't thank you enough for your suggestions so far.

However this hen's issue is still ongoing. I gave her a warm bath last evening and have kept her warm in the garage to dry. My suspicion was that she was egg bound, but now I'm doubting this theory. She has been defecating and I though that (typically speaking) egg bound hens don't poo due to vent blockage. However most recent poop was bright green and rather runny, so I'm afraid she may have diarrhea. It was also recommended that I check closely for mites/lice and I didn't see any.

Any other ideas??