sick hen, lethargic and not eating

[Alyssabham]

Hello -
We have a 1 year old speckled sussex that has not been herself the past couple days. Sunday (5/30) she was her normal self, ranging about the yard, eating, and was her talkative self. Yesterday she left the coop, but stayed close and seemed to spend most of the day in the brush nearby. Today, she did not leave the coop/run even though the door was open for her to leave and would not eat. I tried some meal worm treats and a hard boiled egg (yolk only) and nothing. She's also pretty lethargic.
I've looked her over and checked everything I can think of: her vent is clean and clear, no bugs or mites on her that I could see, her crop is empty (makes sense with the not eating), eyes and nostrils look clear, and she appears to be breathing normally. Coop is clean and dry, has fresh food and water available, no bugs that I can see. Our other hen (an Ameracauna, her same age) is acting completely normal, free ranged today and had a full crop this evening. I've read about looking at her droppings, but that's hard for us to know whos is whos -- although I didn't see anything abnormal in there today.
The only changes I can think of: we moved in 3 new chicks on Saturday (5/29). They had been in a brooder for weeks, all healthy, have been eating chick feed with antibiotics, and are in the run separated where she can see them but not touch them. So maybe that's stressful for her and that's why she's acting off? We've also had some cooler weather lately (cool for us -- lows of 40s overnight) but that's never mattered before.
Any and all advice welcome! Clearly worried about her and want to do whatever I can to help! Thanks!

 

[demonic]

Hello -
We have a 1 year old speckled sussex that has not been herself the past couple days. Sunday (5/30) she was her normal self, ranging about the yard, eating, and was her talkative self. Yesterday she left the coop, but stayed close and seemed to spend most of the day in the brush nearby. Today, she did not leave the coop/run even though the door was open for her to leave and would not eat. I tried some meal worm treats and a hard boiled egg (yolk only) and nothing. She's also pretty lethargic.
I've looked her over and checked everything I can think of: her vent is clean and clear, no bugs or mites on her that I could see, her crop is empty (makes sense with the not eating), eyes and nostrils look clear, and she appears to be breathing normally. Coop is clean and dry, has fresh food and water available, no bugs that I can see. Our other hen (an Ameracauna, her same age) is acting completely normal, free ranged today and had a full crop this evening. I've read about looking at her droppings, but that's hard for us to know whos is whos -- although I didn't see anything abnormal in there today.
The only changes I can think of: we moved in 3 new chicks on Saturday (5/29). They had been in a brooder for weeks, all healthy, have been eating chick feed with antibiotics, and are in the run separated where she can see them but not touch them. So maybe that's stressful for her and that's why she's acting off? We've also had some cooler weather lately (cool for us -- lows of 40s overnight) but that's never mattered before.
Any and all advice welcome! Clearly worried about her and want to do whatever I can to help! Thanks!

Lethargic chickens are very common, especially if free ranging because they can pick up things that disagree with them. Whenever I have a sick chicken I put them in a cage with shavings, food, and water so I can monitor her behavior and droppings 24/7. I recommend you do the same, and based off further updates we can help you more. I doubt the chicks caused whatever she has, and it’s good you already checked for bugs and have good ventilation. Pictures of her droppings would be nice so we can further see if it looks like worms, Cocci, etc.

 

[Alyssabham]

Lethargic chickens are very common, especially if free ranging because they can pick up things that disagree with them. Whenever I have a sick chicken I put them in a cage with shavings, food, and water so I can monitor her behavior and droppings 24/7. I recommend you do the same, and based off further updates we can help you more. I doubt the chicks caused whatever she has, and it’s good you already checked for bugs and have good ventilation. Pictures of her droppings would be nice so we can further see if it looks like worms, Cocci, etc.

Thanks for the tip, I got her quarantined so we will see!

 

[Alyssabham]

Lethargic chickens are very common, especially if free ranging because they can pick up things that disagree with them. Whenever I have a sick chicken I put them in a cage with shavings, food, and water so I can monitor her behavior and droppings 24/7. I recommend you do the same, and based off further updates we can help you more. I doubt the chicks caused whatever she has, and it’s good you already checked for bugs and have good ventilation. Pictures of her droppings would be nice so we can further see if it looks like worms, Cocci, etc.

Here are some pictures of her droppings, it doesn’t look like she ate overnight

 

[Alyssabham]

Anyone have any advice for us?

 

[demonic]

Here are some pictures of her droppings, it doesn’t look like she ate overnight

Does she pant often? Have you seen her sitting down more Than usual? When was the last she laid an egg? We had a hen who we thought had an egg broken in her and we gave her 2 epsom salt baths and she dropped discharge of the white part of the egg, it looked like we literally cracked an egg in her cage, and after 2 more epsom baths the next day she did the same and her egg problem seemed to somehow solve, but she had small little black looking droppings that look like yours with the egg she had discharged, and it turns out she also had worms, and it looks like yours also discharged yellow liquidy poop. Though she had worms, she was very active However yours is lethargic. Yellow droppings can also be a sign of respiratory issues, but you said she was breathing normally and the dropping is very small So I don’t think it’d that. Though Not really too much evidence of worms yet so if I were you I’d give her an epsom salt bath for around 20 minutes and then put her in a dark room to see if she can pass the egg. If she doesn’t, I’d wait an hour or two and give her another. Mines didn’t eat or drink so I had to syringe feed her water and electrolytes with probiotics. The only food she would eat was oregano leaves. If she can’t pass the egg the main thing we need is for her to flush out the egg membrane. I’d also put oil or vaseline around her vent to act as a lubricant. However I’m not even sure if she does have an egg broken inside her because the only sign is the very small yellow liquidy dropping, but it’s probably better to be safe than sorry Because this is a curious case she was fine just 3 days ago. I’m not too much of a chicken expert but I’ve dealt with lots of sick chickens before! Hoping your hen gets better!

 

[ljkraemer]

Alyssabham, any update on your bird? We're experiencing the same thing. Thanks!