My 37 week old hybrid mrs brown isn't eating for 24 hrs now hardly drinking , tail down very lethargic looking just standing on one leg or eyes closed laid yesterday but not today poop fine and looks ok everywhere else but feathers not shiny no mites crop empty and feels very light really worried put cider vinegar in water late today she is asleep in coop now with her two chick mates they are not bullying her but do seem to be avoiding her today please can anyone help we are new to chicken keeping but are very attached to our three ladies who e have had for 12 weeks
Hello there and welcome to BYC! Sorry about your hen. Sounds like she probably is not egg bound since she laid yesterday. You say she is very light? Is her comb pale too? Have you ever wormed your birds before? Being thin can be caused by her either not eating caused by some ailment or worms eating her food inside her intestines. Have you seen her eat a lot of food and still she is thin? Or have you not seen her eat in a while over the past weeks? If she has been eating like she is starving to death and still losing weight, I would suspect worms as they will eat all the food she eats. If she has not been eating or drinking much over this past week, I might suspect Coccidiosis. This will cause the bird to go off her food and water. She might look all fluffed up and very lethargic. So if you have never wormed your birds, you might try this first. If that doesn't do it, you might head to the Corid for curing the Coccidiosis. Give her a really good over all exam. Feel her abdomen for a water belly. Check her legs and feet for any heat or swelling. Pads too. Any respiratory issues. Anything that might be ailing her. You might also post this in our emergency section for more input on this....https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures I hope you can get her back on her feet to good health soon.
Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help. X2 she is not egg bound. She could have a number of things. Cocci, respiratory infection, weight lose, crop impaction, etc. Two Crows gave you good advice. Defiantly stop by the emergency area. Hope she heals!
Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. I'm sorry about your hen. TwoCrows has given you some good advice and a good link to our Emergency section. Please feel free to ask any more questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. I hope your hen recovers. Good luck.
I hope the people on the emergency thread will be able to diagnose her and tell you how to treat her.
