Hi everyone. Last night I found one of my 1-year-old Easter Eggers (Bernice) sitting in the nest box instead of sitting on the roost with the other hens, so I decided to pick her up and put her on the roost. That's when I noticed she looked ill. I brought her inside the house so I could get a better look at her and I noticed a few things:
1. She appears to be missing her primary feathers (stress?). Her wings are really short. She is also missing some of her "beard", but I think that is from being pecked by an older chicken (she is bullied).
2. She looks thin and has white watery droppings. Looks like she hasn't eaten in a while. I tried feeling her crop and abdomen. Her crop (I guess it was her crop) felt like it was only filled with liquid; it was soft and squishy. Her abdomen didn't feel hard.
3. Her pupils are dilated (both eyes). It seems she can't see very well and she keeps her head low.
4. She seems pretty weak and prefers to lie down. She isn't making any noises either.
Here are some photos of her. She has been separated from the other 8 chickens. She has food and water in the crate, but I haven't seen her eat or drink and she won't let me give her water (she's always been a very skittish hen).
After researching a bit, I found a few possibilities.
I should probably also mention that I got new chicks this May (and Bernice has been around them). Two of the chicks fell ill when they were really small. They were inactive, tucked their heads in, and made a clicking noise when they breathed. I treated them with Duramycin and they made it. Never had a problem like that before.
So, what do you think is wrong with Bernice? Thanks for your help!! Sorry for the long post!
1. She appears to be missing her primary feathers (stress?). Her wings are really short. She is also missing some of her "beard", but I think that is from being pecked by an older chicken (she is bullied).
2. She looks thin and has white watery droppings. Looks like she hasn't eaten in a while. I tried feeling her crop and abdomen. Her crop (I guess it was her crop) felt like it was only filled with liquid; it was soft and squishy. Her abdomen didn't feel hard.
3. Her pupils are dilated (both eyes). It seems she can't see very well and she keeps her head low.
4. She seems pretty weak and prefers to lie down. She isn't making any noises either.
Here are some photos of her. She has been separated from the other 8 chickens. She has food and water in the crate, but I haven't seen her eat or drink and she won't let me give her water (she's always been a very skittish hen).
After researching a bit, I found a few possibilities.
- Marek's - Pretty sure my chickens weren't vaccinated for that.
- Mold ingestion - Definitely possible she ate some mold in the wet hay.
- Poisonous plant ingestion - Not aware of any poisonous plants where she lives, but I guess it's possible.
- Head injury - She has been pecked by the older hen. She also tried to run away from me when I got her into the house and crashed into a few things.
- Stroke
I should probably also mention that I got new chicks this May (and Bernice has been around them). Two of the chicks fell ill when they were really small. They were inactive, tucked their heads in, and made a clicking noise when they breathed. I treated them with Duramycin and they made it. Never had a problem like that before.
So, what do you think is wrong with Bernice? Thanks for your help!! Sorry for the long post!
