- Apr 20, 2014
- 5
- 1
- 52
Hello all!
I have two backyard chickens, one of whom is acting strangely. Sweet Pea is 3 years old and a Rhode Island Red. Normally, both chickens (who have been together since chicks) will roam the yard together all day, but I noticed about two days ago she was staying close to her coop, standing in a corner and isolating herself. Our other chicken has carried on as normal. In the two days I've noticed that she is pretty lethargic, when I walk up to her she barely stirs or moves. She has been drinking a ton of water and not eating much food. She has also been waving her neck around (not sure how else to describe this, moving her neck from side to side in a way that is definitely not normal). Her poop is very runny/liquidy.
After doing some research, I thought that it might be sour crop. I picked her up to massage her crop, and a lot of foul smelling water/bits of food came out. When I put her back down she couldn't walk, flapped her wings wildly, and fell over. Honestly, I thought I had killed her. I went inside, upset, trying to contemplate what to do next, and when I went back outside 10 minutes later she was standing and had walked up to the patio to drink water.
The sun is setting and she has gone into her coop for the night. I'm not sure where I should go from here, if I've managed to fix the problem, or if I've made it worse. I live in the city and there are no vets around that know anything about chickens. Any answers and advice will be greatly appreciated!
I have two backyard chickens, one of whom is acting strangely. Sweet Pea is 3 years old and a Rhode Island Red. Normally, both chickens (who have been together since chicks) will roam the yard together all day, but I noticed about two days ago she was staying close to her coop, standing in a corner and isolating herself. Our other chicken has carried on as normal. In the two days I've noticed that she is pretty lethargic, when I walk up to her she barely stirs or moves. She has been drinking a ton of water and not eating much food. She has also been waving her neck around (not sure how else to describe this, moving her neck from side to side in a way that is definitely not normal). Her poop is very runny/liquidy.
After doing some research, I thought that it might be sour crop. I picked her up to massage her crop, and a lot of foul smelling water/bits of food came out. When I put her back down she couldn't walk, flapped her wings wildly, and fell over. Honestly, I thought I had killed her. I went inside, upset, trying to contemplate what to do next, and when I went back outside 10 minutes later she was standing and had walked up to the patio to drink water.
The sun is setting and she has gone into her coop for the night. I'm not sure where I should go from here, if I've managed to fix the problem, or if I've made it worse. I live in the city and there are no vets around that know anything about chickens. Any answers and advice will be greatly appreciated!
