Hello! I’d appreciate any suggestions you all might be able to provide.
Our hen, 2Bac, is 4 years old. I’m not 100% sure of her breed because she is a Tractor Supply chicken, but she looks like a barred rocks. She’s usually a “fuller” figured chicken, but is starting to lose weight as she isn’t feeling well.
We lost our 4 year old leghorn hen, Buttercup, on Feb. 22 to what we thought was natural causes. She had been slowing down for some time, then her comb shrank down and was pale for a few weeks. She was still eating and drinking and running up for treats - she just wasn’t as active. One day her comb started looking grayish and then the next day morning was gone.
This past Fr, 2Bac started acting sketchy. She started sitting off to the side of the yard. I picked her up and noticed she’d lost weight and her comb seemed to get a little purple as I was holding her. We immediately panicked and de-wormed her and our other 2 hens since it’s so close to the loss of Buttercup.
On Monday and yesterday, she had poops that are purely white. They’re thick and watery and stick to her feathers. She also is making a little rattling sound while she’s breathing and her breathing is heavier than usual.
Her eyes are clear, comb and wattles are bright red and healthy looking, and she runs up for treats although she seems less interested in her feed.
So far none of the other hens are acting this way, but I’m fearful that it’s only a matter of time.
This coming Monday will be 10 days since we did the first dose of de-wormer.
We don’t have any vets in town that deal with poultry, so we are doing our best but just don’t know what to try beyond the dewormer.
This photo is from yesterday:
UPDATE: Tonight, she avoided her food and water altogether.
Our hen, 2Bac, is 4 years old. I’m not 100% sure of her breed because she is a Tractor Supply chicken, but she looks like a barred rocks. She’s usually a “fuller” figured chicken, but is starting to lose weight as she isn’t feeling well.
We lost our 4 year old leghorn hen, Buttercup, on Feb. 22 to what we thought was natural causes. She had been slowing down for some time, then her comb shrank down and was pale for a few weeks. She was still eating and drinking and running up for treats - she just wasn’t as active. One day her comb started looking grayish and then the next day morning was gone.
This past Fr, 2Bac started acting sketchy. She started sitting off to the side of the yard. I picked her up and noticed she’d lost weight and her comb seemed to get a little purple as I was holding her. We immediately panicked and de-wormed her and our other 2 hens since it’s so close to the loss of Buttercup.
On Monday and yesterday, she had poops that are purely white. They’re thick and watery and stick to her feathers. She also is making a little rattling sound while she’s breathing and her breathing is heavier than usual.
Her eyes are clear, comb and wattles are bright red and healthy looking, and she runs up for treats although she seems less interested in her feed.
So far none of the other hens are acting this way, but I’m fearful that it’s only a matter of time.
This coming Monday will be 10 days since we did the first dose of de-wormer.
We don’t have any vets in town that deal with poultry, so we are doing our best but just don’t know what to try beyond the dewormer.
This photo is from yesterday:
UPDATE: Tonight, she avoided her food and water altogether.
Last edited:
