Sick Hen - just seems "off" (tired, lethargic)

[SandyNest]

I bought a group of 10 mixed chicks in mid-April (so about 5 months old). All have been healthy but about 3 or 4 weeks ago one of the females just seemed sort of "off". She has been tired, lethargic, and has dropped weight. She looks basically normal. I don't see any physical sign of illness. They just were weened over to layer ration as they have started laying eggs....same brand of feed as their chick feed. They are on sawdust with 3 laying boxes and a roosting pole. Housed at night and released into a fenced in yard during the day. She has recently seemed to have more energy, but is still a little less active than the other chickens. She looks like a "mixed breed" chicken...a bit like a golden wyandotte and white breed cross; basically brown with white feathers around her head and neck area. I don't really have a separate area I could put her in at the moment, but if really necessary, I could probably think of something. Any suggestions or basic aid I could try? If she doesn't pick up some weight, I'm afraid I may have to cull her rather than see her suffer through a cold, northern winter.

Thank you for any help.

 

[ptowne]

I don't know what to say except I am dealing with the same thing. My 2 year old Black Minorca hen has been slowly declining since the spring. She is just thin, tired and lethargic. No other symptoms.
Pam

 

[SandyNest]

Thanks for your reply. I've read your thread and my daughter and I went out and fed our hen some yogurt with a little fruit in it. She loved it! I was quite surprised. I separated her out for the night and she picked at the tub with feed in it. It's not ideally where I would put her.....but spare area is back to being a dog run because the dog run is growing fresh grass at the moment. It's all messed up! lol I may put her out into the dog yard tomorrow as 1 hen cannot do much damage in such a large area. I am hoping to get into the feed store tomorrow to get some better medication and make a basic med kit. I got rid of my chickens 5 years ago when we moved households for a while, but I never had to treat my chickens for anything for those 3 or 4 years. I guess I was very lucky. Anyway, still appreciate any new info and maybe an update on how your sick hen is doing. Thanks.

 

[SandyNest]

Update: Separated hen last night and she had normal looking droppings. I still can't think of anything in particular that could be wrong other than maybe there's just something not developmentally right with her. She does only have longer tail feathers on one side and has one leg with 2 crooked toes. Her balance does seem to be weak as well....which I would attribute to her thinness??

Would still appreciate any suggestions