Sick Chick and Not Sure Why

[johnhallford]

I have a Buff Orpington about 1 1/2 years old and a bit on the small side relative to the others chickens of the same breed. For nearly a week she has been relatively idle, wings drooping, and she just sits and does nothing. As of yesterday, though idle, she still ate and drank. Her waddle looks pale and unhealthy. Because she is so small, I could easily palpate her abdomen and felt nothing even close to resembling what might be a stuck egg. I understand those can kill a chicken in 24-48 hours, but since this has been going on for about a week, I cannot imagine that being the problem.

A couple of weeks ago, I found her bloodied and sitting idle. Checking her over did not reveal any obvious injuries; however, she was missing a fair amount of feathers from her back. The Astralorp rooster is quite active and can be rough. Several of my hens have had lots of feathers torn from their backs to the point I've isolated a few to give them some recovery time. Was this little girl injured during a mating session? I just don't know. I just checked on her a few minutes ago, and she is just sitting idle against the side of the run, and she has been in the same spot for a long time today.

Any thoughts on the matter and possible treatment options will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MarlaMac]

Please post pictures. How hot is it where you are at? Is she eating/drinking enough? Is she walking properly? What does her poop look like? Is she bullied by others in the flock?

What is her diet, including treats?

Where did the blood come from? Usually mating loss of feathers does not result in a "bloodied" hen. Did his spurs get her somewhere?

I would do a thorough check of her body and make sure something wasn't missed in your initial check of her. I would also get some electrolyte/sugar water in her and see if the picks her up a bit. I would monitor the amount she is eating/drinking so you know if she actually is getting enough food.

 

[johnhallford]

As of today, she is still with me. Still inactive but alert. I opened the cage today, and she left it, but I found her later parked against an inside wired fencing seen in the photos. I picked her up, held her, and she responded a bit. She's such a sweetheart. It is painful to know she is sick and I don't know why or what to do.

I took photos as requested. Her poo in the cage appears fairly normal. She appears to be eating and drinking. Her comb looks pathetic. She is a small girl relative to other hens from the same brood. Maybe somthing genetic??

I am still relatively new at all this even though I've now had a little over a year with chickens. Any thoughts you may have on the matter will be greatly appreciated.

 

[johnhallford]

Please post pictures. How hot is it where you are at? Is she eating/drinking enough? Is she walking properly? What does her poop look like? Is she bullied by others in the flock?

What is her diet, including treats?

Where did the blood come from? Usually mating loss of feathers does not result in a "bloodied" hen. Did his spurs get her somewhere?

I would do a thorough check of her body and make sure something wasn't missed in your initial check of her. I would also get some electrolyte/sugar water in her and see if the picks her up a bit. I would monitor the amount she is eating/drinking so you know if she actually is getting enough food.

Answers to other questions.
It is summertime in East Texas, so it has been mid to upper 90's. As far as I can tell, she is eating and drinking water. I have not observed her walking, as she is idle. Poop appears normal. I have not seen her bullied by other chickens. I've kept her isolated in a cage part of the time and opened the door to let her out if she do desired which she did. During her outside time, I have not seen any bullying. In fact, before getting sick, and even the smallest of the flock, she was pretty much in control.

I checked her body, and I found nothing obvious as a point of injury. I have no idea where the blood came from originally.