Please help....My RIR is not eating as much, her crop no longer feels full, she is napping often and

[cls82]

As the title says, my sweet girl is not eating as much as she used to, her crop no longer feels full ever, she is napping often and she's 8 months old and hasn't laid an egg yet. I have had her since almost birth, her umbilical cord was still attached, and she is super people friendly. I treat her like a pet, bringing her inside everyday for a few hours...she sleeps on the couch cuddled up near me or on my lap, I give her oatmeal, scratch, organic wheat bread, seeds, and whatever left over dinner was (I also give my other girls that too, but she gets first pickings). She is the type of chicken who would rather be held 24/7 (I'm serious!) and be around me that the rest of the flock (I have 5 others and they are all fine). She is in pecking order # 5, almost last. When she was a few months old a gate blew over on her and smashed her and she almost died. She recovered and seemed fine. She also displays signs of jealousy when I pet or hold the other chickens-she will go over to them while I am holding them or after i have put them down and will peck at them and then demand to be held by jamming her head into my body or crying at my feet, or sometimes pecking me. I tell you all this because maybe it will help you help me. I noticed the past few weeks she has not been eating very much. She will have a little here and there, but before she used to be an endless trash can. Her crop never feels full anymore and seems empty at the end of the day. Have I done this to her by maybe "mothering" "spoiling" her too much, or is there something wrong with her? She was born late july and hasn't laid yet. When I bring her inside, she follows me all around, will eat a little bit, cruises the house and then will nap off and on. I'm very worried about her.

 

[sourland]

In addition to the treats that you are providing, do you feed her a balanced poultry ration?

 

[cls82]

Yes, she eats an organic omega 3 feed which I buy from the Poultry store and I also mix oyster shell pellets in with their chicken feed.

 

[cls82]

So really....no one has any advice or suggestions??

 

[Nambroth]

Hi,

It sounds like your poor girl has had a bit of a bumpy road so far in her life. Stress overall can weaken the immune system, and since she's had a few bad runs (with the gate, etc) and is low on the pecking order, she may have been stressed? Many diseases are opportunistic to stress/weakened immunity that stress brings on. I know that the hen that is lowest on the pecking order also has ailments frequently.
You may need to isolate her and keep her warm (if it is cold there) until she starts eating normally again. It will also allow you to monitor for any other symptoms, in case it is an illness. What breed is she?
Do you have a scale that measures small amounts, like a postal or a kitchen scale? They are worth their weight in gold, no pun intended, when you have a bird that is not eating well. Weighing her daily or even every other day will give you a good idea of how fast she is dropping weight, and if she starts to turn around.

Watch closely for any symptoms, and they might be subtle. How are her droppings?
Not eating and sleeping often does mean that something is wrong. Birds hide illness for as long as possible.

 

[cls82]

Hi! She is a Rhode Island red and is smaller than the others too and has always been, maybe a runt? Her droppings which I looked at today, are small and rough in texture-like there are pieces of grass in them. My girls free range daily as well. I looked thru her poop and did not see any worms or bugs. I live in Southern Cali so it doesn't really get cold here, so luckily I do not have to worry about that. I do not have a scale either. I tried massaging her empty crop today and it felt like there were hard pebbles in it? But it is very, very, very small......