New to backyard chickens.

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us
Sure hope the ER folks can help you out.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
We are glad you joined our flock.
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

CURRENT COOP CONTEST click here >>#1

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[MrsMistyReal]

 

[Vanschelt]

This is probably a dumb suggestion, but do you think she could be molting? That would explain the thinning feathers and maybe the comb/wattle change (also fits with the 'several weeks' piece and the time of year). The lethargy piece is bothering me, though- is she still eating and drinking normally? I'm guessing she's stopped laying, but please correct me if that's wrong. Are any of the other members of your flock showing signs of being affected? How's her crop and droppings? You might have a little more luck posting about her in the "Emergencies/Diseases/Injuries + Cures" section of the forum.

Welcome to BYC, and I hope your hen recovers soon

Thanks for you comments and questions for me to ponder. I thought she was molting but her loss of feathers isn't consistant with what I've researched. It has been minimal on her even though her neck feathers have thinned out. Early on when I noticed her isolating behavior, I kept her in the garage at night to keep her warmer. After 2 weeks with our weather being so mild, I put her back out with the flock. I didn't want her being rejected by the rest of the flock being gone too long. Non of the other hens bother her at all. She eat and drinks but not like the others. Everything she does is at a snails pace, eating, drinking, walking. She is always in a huddle up position. She is not laying and her droppings look normal. Non of the othe birds are show any problems. I do let them out in the day time to free range so they do have some distance from each other. You asked about her crop. What should I being looking for? Thankyou!

 

[Vanschelt]

G’Day from down under Vanschelt Welcome!

I too wondered if she could be moulting but it is difficult to see in that picture. One of my girls becomes very miserable, lethargic and keeps her distance from the flock etc when she is going through a hard moult. Can you see pin feathers at all? [new feathers coming through on the bare patch]

View attachment 1257704

If she is not moulting, my next thought would be lice or mites.
Topic of the Week - Lice and Mites - Prevention and Treatments

Anyways, as Cap mentioned, you may want to post on this forum:
Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

BYC has Topic of the Week articles which I have found to be a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group.

Best wishes to you and your flock!

Thank you very much, I will go to Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures and see what comes of that. I am excited to be a part of the discussion. I love my hens.

 

[Hufflefluff]

Thanks for you comments and questions for me to ponder. I thought she was molting but her loss of feathers isn't consistant with what I've researched. It has been minimal on her even though her neck feathers have thinned out. Early on when I noticed her isolating behavior, I kept her in the garage at night to keep her warmer. After 2 weeks with our weather being so mild, I put her back out with the flock. I didn't want her being rejected by the rest of the flock being gone too long. Non of the other hens bother her at all. She eat and drinks but not like the others. Everything she does is at a snails pace, eating, drinking, walking. She is always in a huddle up position. She is not laying and her droppings look normal. Non of the othe birds are show any problems. I do let them out in the day time to free range so they do have some distance from each other. You asked about her crop. What should I being looking for? Thankyou!

Weird. With the crop, I don't have anything I specifically think it is, but it's always something I check with my girls. A quick inspection at night and then the next morning should give you a pretty good picture- if it's watery and feels kind of like a deflated balloon, that's a problem; if it's rock- hard that's a problem, and if it doesn't change in size overnight then that's a problem. I doubt any of those are the case, though, because you said she had normal droppings.

(The rest of this is edited- I just read through your other topic in Emergencies/ Diseases, and they have much better ideas. I'll follow both- I'm interested in seeing what it ends up being/ treatment. Best of luck with her recovery!)

 

[Vanschelt]

Thanks so much