sick chicken ??? need some adivce please

[arnr1530]

i have a 10 month old buff orpington i got her about a month ago now and when i did she had been severely over bred to the point she was missing all her back feathers and she was covered in lice..... she was a very feisty little thing but over the past month she has not gotten back to egg laying and she just now lays around and doesn't do much of anything she has a hard time jumping into the coop when she does she lays there after she has eaten or drank ..... she doesn't come out to free range if she does she does this weird scream and flies up and down and does walk around with the rest just stays alone.... I'm afraid she hasn't recovered well from the mess she was a month ago i thought she was egg bound but tried everything she still isn't paying and like i said doesn't want to do anything i fear she may have to well "go" I'm unsure what else to do as i watch her she just breaks my heart when i see her lay down she just looks so worn and tired please if anyone has any advice that would be greatly appreciated i dont know what else to do for her thank you !

 

[BantamLover21]

It might take a while before she recovers from being so stressed out. Or, she could have some sort of internal problem with her egg laying system, and might never lay. If it is because of stress, she will probably only start laying after going through a molt, or having several months of rest.

The first thing that I would do would be to worm her, as worms can make chickens lethargic. Some choices of wormers include Valbazen, SafeGuard, Ivermectin, Wazine (however, this only works on roundworms) or the Worminator, which contains Flubenvet. I use the Worminator to worm my birds, and have never had any problems. You can get the Worminator from here: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=584, and the other wormers can generally be found at livestock supply stores.

Also, make sure that she has no more lice/mites. Severe infestations can make chickens anemic, and even kill them. If she has any external parasites, treat them by dusting with poultry dust, Sevin dust, or (though it has never worked for me) diatamaceous earth. If necessary, give her a bath in water that has a bit of vinegar in it to remove all of the parasites.

Encourage her to eat plenty of food by giving her scrambled eggs, mealworms, or moistened layer feed. It might be a good idea to put some vitamins/electrolytes and perhaps some probiotics in her water, too.

Good luck with your hen! Please keep us updated.