Sick chicken - anyone experienced this?

[jp123]

Hello! I appreciate any insight you all might have about what appears to me to be a sick chicken. Here's the situation:
Total of 8 chickens which are very friendly with one another, free range on our wooded property all day, and live together in a clean coop with plenty of water and food.
For the past several days, one of our Barnevelders (roughly 2 years old) has been puffed up and standing still in a coop corner, under the coop, or under a nearby pine tree. She has no visible injury, is clean, isn't egg bound, and doesn't have bugs. I've given her water with enzymes, oatmeal, apple chunks, and berries over the past few days and so confirm that she's eating and drinking. None of the other chickens are ill.
We've never dealt with what appears to be an ill chicken before. Any suggestions or insight you can offer is greatly appreciated!

 

[LaFleche]

Poor girl really looks not feeling well.

When was her last egg and how did the shell look?

When did you last deworm?

What exactly are you feeding and do they have access to crushed oyster shells and granite grit all the time?

How does her lower belly between and behind her legs feel? Swollen, bloated, hard or squishy?

Is her crop empying properly overnight?

She looks very pale in your picture. Did you check the coop for poultry mites?
It is done best at night, some hours after the chickens went in to roost as poultry mites hide in the crevices of the coop during the day and will only come out at night to suck the chickens' blood.

 

[jp123]

Thanks for responding!
Near as I can tell, her last egg was probably 7-10 days ago. No shell abnormalities. The chickens have regular access to crushed egg shells.

I've never dewormed. We've never had worm issues ... that I'm aware of, at least. We're in MN so ground has been frozen plus the chickens aren't exposed to anywhere that would have worms ... again, that I'm aware of. How would I know if there was a worm issue?

Food is Nutrena layer feed + free range and cracked corn. They can access grit all the time.

Lower belly feels 'fine' ... more details to follow.

I agree that she looks very pale. Also, her comb has shrunk.

I haven't checked the coop for poultry mites. (I assume mights are small red spiders ... right?) I did completely clean out the coop yesterday and saw no evidence of any pests or bugs. What should I look for to ID whether mites are present--meaning, what does a mite look like?

As you can likely tell, I'm a complete city girl with no clue about any of this ....

 

[jp123]

Thanks for responding!
Near as I can tell, her last egg was probably 7-10 days ago. No shell abnormalities. The chickens have regular access to crushed egg shells.

I've never dewormed. We've never had worm issues ... that I'm aware of, at least. We're in MN so ground has been frozen plus the chickens aren't exposed to anywhere that would have worms ... again, that I'm aware of. How would I know if there was a worm issue?

Food is Nutrena layer feed + free range and cracked corn. They can access grit all the time.

Lower belly feels 'fine' ... more details to follow.

I agree that she looks very pale. Also, her comb has shrunk.

I haven't checked the coop for poultry mites. (I assume mights are small red spiders ... right?) I did completely clean out the coop yesterday and saw no evidence of any pests or bugs. What should I look for to ID whether mites are present--meaning, what does a mite look like?

As you can likely tell, I'm a complete city girl with no clue about any of this ....

Oh, and my husband said about her belly: "of those options, squishy".

 

[jp123]

Oh, and my husband said about her belly: "of those options, squishy".

Also, her crop doesn't feel full. Seems normal?

 

[LaFleche]

I've never dewormed. We've never had worm issues ... that I'm aware of, at least. We're in MN so ground has been frozen plus the chickens aren't exposed to anywhere that would have worms ... again, that I'm aware of. How would I know if there was a worm issue?

You can collect a three days sample and have your vet check it for parasite eggs, or you can go ahead and just deworm them all.

Food is Nutrena layer feed + free range and cracked corn. T

I would stop the corn as there is more than enough of it already in the layer feed and it can easily lead to fatty liver syndrome with older dual purpose breeds.

What should I look for to ID whether mites are present--meaning, what does a mite look like?

To check for mites you can use double-sided sticky tape underneath the roosting bars and around the ends where they meet the wall.
Check each morning to see if there are mites stuck to the tape. Renew as necessary.

 

[jp123]

Re: You can collect a three days sample and have your vet check it for parasite eggs, or you can go ahead and just deworm them all.
I don't have a vet. How do I deworm them? Are there any down sides to deworming all of them?

 

[jp123]

Corn and tape--thanks, will do!

 

[LaFleche]

Re: You can collect a three days sample and have your vet check it for parasite eggs, or you can go ahead and just deworm them all.
I don't have a vet. How do I deworm them? Are there any down sides to deworming all of them?

There are different kinds of dewormers available, some treat the usual round and gape worms, others also treat tape worms. The treatment schedule depends on the kind of wormer you choose.

Take a look at the respective articles in our learning centre:

Article 'Internal Parasites - Parasitic Worms in Chickens'
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/internal-parasites-parasitic-worms-in-chickens.66969/

 

[jp123]

There are different kinds of dewormers available, some treat the usual round and gape worms, others also treat tape worms. The treatment schedule depends on the kind of wormer you choose.

Take a look at the respective articles in our learning centre:

Article 'Internal Parasites - Parasitic Worms in Chickens'
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/internal-parasites-parasitic-worms-in-chickens.66969/

Thank you!