My sole provider of eggs (Yappy) stopped laying about two weeks ago, and I'm noticing more and more often that she is now having pure liquid diarrhea. I'm not sure what's wrong, as her diarrhea has never been this bad before (she had it for a bit when I first got her, likely from stress). There is a colour to the liquid - green. Since about two months ago she has lost some of her body mass.
My other hen (Quiet Hen) (who stopped laying eggs after three months of owning her; age is same as as the other hen, nearing two years) is missing a lot of feathers due to a lack of restraint from my head cockerel/rooster (who will be going to a new home tomorrow or next weekend, where twenty lady-hens will be waiting for him). She looks a lot smaller than she used to be, not even counting the lack of feathers.
I've got my chickens on a layer feed, with a little bit of scratch every day or two. I have offered for them to go outside, but they don't want to go out in the two-foot-deep snow and well-below-freezing-point temperatures. Their coop is not crowded, and is sitting in a range of 5 to 10ºC. Their droppings are regularly cleaned out, and the straw bedding is new.
The third girl (Cochina) - a pullet hatched in July, according to the man I bought her from in October - is doing fine, albeit becoming quite feisty with the boys (today I caught her charging up and pecking the head rooster in the face! he did nothing, thank goodness).
In regards to Yappy, should I take her to the vet? Isolate her? Change the feed?
For Quiet Hen... I want to get her a chicken sweater! (Apparently I have a relative interested in attempting to sew one!) Is there anything I can realistically do for her, or should I just let time heal her?
Thanks for reading!
(And Merry Christmas!)
My other hen (Quiet Hen) (who stopped laying eggs after three months of owning her; age is same as as the other hen, nearing two years) is missing a lot of feathers due to a lack of restraint from my head cockerel/rooster (who will be going to a new home tomorrow or next weekend, where twenty lady-hens will be waiting for him). She looks a lot smaller than she used to be, not even counting the lack of feathers.
I've got my chickens on a layer feed, with a little bit of scratch every day or two. I have offered for them to go outside, but they don't want to go out in the two-foot-deep snow and well-below-freezing-point temperatures. Their coop is not crowded, and is sitting in a range of 5 to 10ºC. Their droppings are regularly cleaned out, and the straw bedding is new.
The third girl (Cochina) - a pullet hatched in July, according to the man I bought her from in October - is doing fine, albeit becoming quite feisty with the boys (today I caught her charging up and pecking the head rooster in the face! he did nothing, thank goodness).
In regards to Yappy, should I take her to the vet? Isolate her? Change the feed?
For Quiet Hen... I want to get her a chicken sweater! (Apparently I have a relative interested in attempting to sew one!) Is there anything I can realistically do for her, or should I just let time heal her?
Thanks for reading!
(And Merry Christmas!)