Not eating or drinking, strange behavior

[samanthaddm]

I've only had my girls since April, so I'm still learning a lot. A couple months back, one of my 4 year old girls got sick. She didn't want to eat, had a limp, and green poop. Took her to my vet, she's technically not a chicken vet but she has them and looked at her for me. No parasites or anything the vet found other than arthritis in her leg. So we never quite figured out what was wrong, but after a week or so of isolation from the others, feeding her by herself, she seemed to bounce back.

Well, yesterday I noticed she didn't come to get treats from me. She always wants treats from my hand or from the jar I have them in. She didn't want them from me but ate some off the ground. When I got home from work, she was in the coop by herself. I checked her over and did not see or feel anything that alarmed me. She did eat some freeze dried worms but acted similar to how she did when she was sick. Her poop looks normal. I cooked an egg for her, but she didn't want it. When she was sick, she would still eat a scrambled egg no problem.

This morning, she wasn't even out of the coop, just sitting by herself. She turned down the food I offered her and just is acting off. I'm not really sure what's going on. Three of the other girls are noticeably molting. She has lost some feathers, but she doesn't look like the others that are molting. I've read there can be behavior changes with molting. Could that be it, or does she sound sick again?

Thanks for any guidance. I absolutely love my girls, but I still have a lot to learn.

 

[azygous]

This chicken may be being bullied, and she may be being bullied when she approaches the feeder. Have you observed the behavior of the flock in regards to this hen? Is she timid and do the other chickens chase and peck her?

Sometimes,what appears to be illness is starvation. It's an element of the bullying syndrome. A chicken is timid by breed temperament. The others pick up on this weakness and bully her, keeping her from eating, she gets weak, and becomes more withdrawn and lethargic.

I suggest you observe the flock dynamic to discover if this hen is a bully victim. If you see the other chickens chase her and peck her, chances are this is what's behind her issues. It's treatable. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

 

[samanthaddm]

This chicken may be being bullied, and she may be being bullied when she approaches the feeder. Have you observed the behavior of the flock in regards to this hen? Is she timid and do the other chickens chase and peck her?

Sometimes,what appears to be illness is starvation. It's an element of the bullying syndrome. A chicken is timid by breed temperament. The others pick up on this weakness and bully her, keeping her from eating, she gets weak, and becomes more withdrawn and lethargic.

I suggest you observe the flock dynamic to discover if this hen is a bully victim. If you see the other chickens chase her and peck her, chances are this is what's behind her issues. It's treatable. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/

Thanks for the suggestion! I've noticed she seems to be on the top of the pecking order and is more of a bully herself. Ha! But I will definitely keep and eye on how the others are treating her. Especially since she seems to feel so bad.

 

[Sonya9]

Sounds sick to me. Molting doesn't cause this. She may have some organ failure or other issues. Did she lay between the last illness and the current one?

 

[samanthaddm]

Sounds sick to me. Molting doesn't cause this. She may have some organ failure or other issues. Did she lay between the last illness and the current one?

Thanks! Yes, I am leaning towards sick also.

She did lay between her last illness. The entire flock has backed off laying, so I'm not sure when I got the last egg from her. But I do know she has laid some.

 

[samanthaddm]

Just wanted to post an update on my girl. Yesterday, my husband checked on her throughout the day. She was up walking around with the other, pecking the ground. When I got home from work, I found her off by herself again. I separated her from the others.

This morning she seemed really off, like losing her balance and not interested in any food. I took her to the vet, and she seemed to think Marek's Disease, but wasn't positive. She did notice some neurological issues. This has all happened so fast.

Well, when I got her home and took her out of the carrier, I immediately saw a pale brown little bug crawl into her feathers. I have not seen that before. Is that lice or mites? I've read that they can cause problems also. I dusted her really good with some DE I had handy. I have some Sevin Dust I can get on her and in the coop also.

Any thoughts? I really hope it's not Marek's. She's my favorite gal.

 

[RainbowHen]

Just wanted to post an update on my girl. Yesterday, my husband checked on her throughout the day. She was up walking around with the other, pecking the ground. When I got home from work, I found her off by herself again. I separated her from the others.

This morning she seemed really off, like losing her balance and not interested in any food. I took her to the vet, and she seemed to think Marek's Disease, but wasn't positive. She did notice some neurological issues. This has all happened so fast.

Well, when I got her home and took her out of the carrier, I immediately saw a pale brown little bug crawl into her feathers. I have not seen that before. Is that lice or mites? I've read that they can cause problems also. I dusted her really good with some DE I had handy. I have some Sevin Dust I can get on her and in the coop also.

Any thoughts? I really hope it's not Marek's. She's my favorite gal.

Yikes. Check her over thoroughly for bugs. If was rice shaped it's lice. It it was round it was a mite. Both can kill a chicken if left unchecked.

 

[samanthaddm]

Yikes. Check her over thoroughly for bugs. If was rice shaped it's lice. It it was round it was a mite. Both can kill a chicken if left unchecked.

Thank you! It was round. I went ahead and dusted her with the Sevin Dust too where I saw the bug. Sounds like I'm deep cleaning and dusting a coop! I'll get the other girls' when they settle down tonight

 

[RainbowHen]

Thank you! It was round. I went ahead and dusted her with the Sevin Dust too where I saw the bug. Sounds like I'm deep cleaning and dusting a coop! I'll get the other girls' when they settle down tonight

Definitely clean the coop thoroughly and I would recommend spraying with permethrin concentrate that has been diluted appropriately. You can get this at your local farm store. I have also had success was the wood ashes underneath the bedding. Best of luck!

 

[samanthaddm]

Definitely clean the coop thoroughly and I would recommend spraying with permethrin concentrate that has been diluted appropriately. You can get this at your local farm store. I have also had success was the wood ashes underneath the bedding. Best of luck!

That's great info. I will pick some of that up this evening and do a good deep cleaning tomorrow.

Thankfully, my sick gal seems a little perkier this morning. As I was dusting her last night, I saw a lot of new feather growth. I definitely know now she was molting. She just didn't look as bad as the others do.

I sure hope between the mite I saw and her molting is what's causing her issues and not Marek's. For now, she's separated from the others and being spoiled.