Hi All -- just joined BYC today as we just brought home our ladies on Wednesday of last week -- 6 layers and 7 one-month-old chicks. At first they all seemed to be adjusting fine. All of the birds came from the same breeder and are familiar with each other. Recently, one of the chickens, a Colombian Rock named "Kevin" (yes, she's a girl) doesn't appear to be doing so well. She was fine for the first couple of days, but since Saturday, she seems to be just sad.
I've checked her over, and physically she appears to be okay -- her comb is good, eyes are clear (but not having any experience with chickens, to be honest I'm not even sure what to look for!) ... but that's the other side of it -- she is perfectly okay with me picking her up and petting her without any fuss.
She's not eating very much -- we put them all outside yesterday in the run for the first time after keeping them in the coop for a few days and the other girls (and the chicks!) had a great time digging in the dirt, pulling up weeds, dust bathing, scratching for bugs, etc., basically just being chickens, but Kevin didn't seem too interested. She did come outside, but sat in the corner of the run for most of the time out.
This morning, she was sleeping in the corner on the floor of the coop and when I approached her, she simply looked up at me and didn't move. I offered her food and water, but she wasn't interested. I tried a treat (lettuce and a strawberry), but no go. She did go outside for a minute or two, but then returned back to the coop and sat in the corner facing the wall. If she feels motivated to move, she does so without any issues -- she doesn't appear to be in pain and has energy when she wants to. She just doesn't seem to want to.
All of the necessities are there -- the coop is large (12 x 20 with 9' roof), plenty of nesting boxes (x 10), enough roosting bar space (about 30 linear feet), sand and wood shavings on floor, straw and wood shavings in boxes, fresh food and water daily, cabbage hanging from ceiling, outdoor run is 20 x 12, etc., etc., so I can't see any environmental factors that may be contributing. The chickens do share the space with 5 pekin ducks, but it's only for sleeping and they are separated by a 4' wall so don't bother each other. The ducks spend their days down by our pond. And all the other chickens are okay with it and getting used to the ducks.
I feel so helpless because I don't know how to make her better -- so my question is ... do you think this might be an adjustment period for Kevin? Maybe homesick? Missing friends? New food? A combination of all these? ... Do chickens often behave like this when they are adjusting to new surroundings, or should I be concerned? What should I be watching for? Or should I prepare myself for the worst?
Thanks for any advice!!!
I've checked her over, and physically she appears to be okay -- her comb is good, eyes are clear (but not having any experience with chickens, to be honest I'm not even sure what to look for!) ... but that's the other side of it -- she is perfectly okay with me picking her up and petting her without any fuss.
She's not eating very much -- we put them all outside yesterday in the run for the first time after keeping them in the coop for a few days and the other girls (and the chicks!) had a great time digging in the dirt, pulling up weeds, dust bathing, scratching for bugs, etc., basically just being chickens, but Kevin didn't seem too interested. She did come outside, but sat in the corner of the run for most of the time out.
This morning, she was sleeping in the corner on the floor of the coop and when I approached her, she simply looked up at me and didn't move. I offered her food and water, but she wasn't interested. I tried a treat (lettuce and a strawberry), but no go. She did go outside for a minute or two, but then returned back to the coop and sat in the corner facing the wall. If she feels motivated to move, she does so without any issues -- she doesn't appear to be in pain and has energy when she wants to. She just doesn't seem to want to.
All of the necessities are there -- the coop is large (12 x 20 with 9' roof), plenty of nesting boxes (x 10), enough roosting bar space (about 30 linear feet), sand and wood shavings on floor, straw and wood shavings in boxes, fresh food and water daily, cabbage hanging from ceiling, outdoor run is 20 x 12, etc., etc., so I can't see any environmental factors that may be contributing. The chickens do share the space with 5 pekin ducks, but it's only for sleeping and they are separated by a 4' wall so don't bother each other. The ducks spend their days down by our pond. And all the other chickens are okay with it and getting used to the ducks.
I feel so helpless because I don't know how to make her better -- so my question is ... do you think this might be an adjustment period for Kevin? Maybe homesick? Missing friends? New food? A combination of all these? ... Do chickens often behave like this when they are adjusting to new surroundings, or should I be concerned? What should I be watching for? Or should I prepare myself for the worst?
Thanks for any advice!!!
