odd behavoir or heath issue... not sure?

[jpelton]

This is my fist time on BYC blog and my fist time blogging. I have 4 Sex Links that are 3 1/3 years old and from what I can see are happy and healthy. But Speckles has been behaving strangely. This will be the 3rd or 4th time since spring I've seen her acting unlike her normal social self. She walks slowly, like she's at half the speed of the other girls, she is not interested in being touched or fed treats but she does eat some food and drink water. It is hard to describe it's like she is uncomfortable or in some sort of chicken trance then after a few days it's like a switch is thrown and she is back to normal. I read about egg bound birds and I felt her belly area and did not feel any eggs at all, in fact the first time she did this she laid a soft egg out in the yard right in front of me. She is not a brooder and this behavior does not coincide with molting. I'm just not sure whats wrong with her. I've checked the poop and there was one pile that was greener then the others, not sure who's it was. and we use food grade Diatomaceous Earth to prevent worms and mites. Any suggestions?

 

[Darklingstorm]

Could it be something growing in your yard that she is eating, something mildly toxic that could have her feeling yucky? There is a list on the forum some where that list the plants & foods a chicken shouldn't be eating. I tried to teach my chickens the don't eat list but as of yet they aren't listening, so I do a walk around the yard once a day to see if anything foreign has been added (we live in town and trash always seems to find it's way in).

 

[jpelton]

We have lots of clover and dandelions in the yard but she eats what everyone else eats and is the only chicken behaving weird. We do how ever get some pretty ugly eggs from one of the girls and I'm wondering if it is from her. The shells are hard but crinkly and uneven in the thickness of the shell. I'm wondering if she has an issue with egg production that the other girls don't have. It's only a guess, these are my fist chickens ever, I grew up in Suburbia never understanding the joy of raising anything but cats & dogs. I have learned a lot about chickens but I'm a very inexperienced chicken keeper. My knowledge of furry animals is pretty extensive , I worked as a Veterinary assistant for several years but we only ever had one chicken in the office.

 

[JodyJo]

Sorry I can't help...I would think she ate something also, and has a sore tummy...but if you are getting weird eggs...could be what you suspect...
re-post this under the illness thread, and see if you get any more hits...

good luck!

 

[Judy]

The soft shelled eggs and only one chicken sick would certainly make one suspicious that it is an egg laying issue. Can you separate her long enough to see if she is laying the problem egg? You may only have to separate her for an hour or two if you do it at about the time the odd egg was laid yesterday, and she is the culprit. Or you could try dabbing her vent with food color and see if the egg has the coloring on it.

DE does not prevent worms. It doesn't actually prevent mites, either, though it no doubt cuts down on their number. If they have not had any true worming medicine, I would recommend some Valbazen for the flock. If they have lice or mites, 5% Sevin dust or any poultry dust from the farm store are the way to go.

http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8162.pdf

http://healthybirds.umd.edu/Disease/Deworming Birds.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=576036&p=1

 

[jpelton]

Thank you for all the input, I read all the links and have definitely decided that I need to deworm my chickens, I'm not 100% sure that is what is wrong with Speckles, her feathers look great, her comb is red, her eyes are bright but she closes them a lot more and she is drinking and eating even thought it is less then normal. But it seems to be the first thing I should try. I can't get the dewormer until tomorrow afternoon and I've tried to find a decent Chicken Vet and they all ask me why I want to Vet a chicken, they are only 3$ to replace. Today I gave her a scrambled egg with buttermilk and a dash of sugar to give her some nutrients she ate well but is still walking around at half speed and drinking a lot of water. She pooped straight water this afternoon and I was able to pick up some Vita Nutrient for poultry and I got .5ml in her mouth. Anything I can do for her until I can deworm her? and what do I look for to know if this is working? What if it's not worms? I'd hate to loose a bird to my own stupidity

 

[OregonChickenGal]

Quote:
Also check the crop for impaction/sour. I just had this with one of my hens the last 2 days. Today she's almost back to normal.

 

[seminolewind]

I don't know if this is the same, but, I had a Buff Orpington that was 3 years old, and always an egg laying machine. She did this sleepiness, slow movement, walking slow for treats, etc. And closed her eyes when eating. Constantly resting. She would do this off and on over a period of months. Then her comb started getting dusky after eating, or and activity.

She died and I'm thinking Cardiac failure. I then realized that they breed most chickens for how many eggs they can lay, not for how long they will live. And maybe her body was just done.

Maybe this will help or maybe not. I hope your hen is okay.

 

[jpelton]

This morning and yesterday a gave the chickens broccoli, sunflower seeds and some raisins with buttermilk and oatmeal. I figure if they have a bad case of worms they need all the nutrients they can absorb seeing as most of it is going to the worms. Speckles was a little peppier today but you will never guess what I found in the coop this afternoon.... another over sized slightly crinkly egg. I can't be sure it was here but she was not as slow and lack luster today. I dewormed them all. Oh, So how exactly do you get the .5 cc of Valbazen in the birds mouth without wearing it? My question still is If it's not the worms and it is an egg production issue, then how can I fix it, or is she doomed? p.s. she is pooping normal but she is still drinking a lot of water.