Sick Hen? Moves slow, looks sleep, shaking

[rojororeo]

Hello! I am hoping someone can provide some information and advice as to what might be wrong with one of my hens.
I have 9 chickens- 8 hens, 1 rooster. All are the same age, came from the same person, who got them at a feed store at the same time.
The hens are just starting to lay- so 5-6 months old, right?

My sick one....
She is a Buff Orpington.
I noticed last night that she had had a good vigorous shake, and kinda moved forward at the same time. But I thought maybe she had just had a good dust bath, or the rooster had just mounted her, and she had shaken for those reasons.

This morning I let everyone out of the coop, they all rush around me for treats or scratch, except her.
She stood off to the side and looked, honestly, like she wasn't awake yet, if chickens can do that, lol.
Then she started to peck a tiny bit, missed the scratch bits, got straw. Walks away with no interest in the food, shook again, hard, and lost her balance and kinda squeaked. When I was chasing her to seperate her, she moved slowly and just stood there a bit.

Her face doesn't look quite right- she seems like her waddle and comb are darker than the others, her eyes don't seem as vibrant.

She is currently separated from everyone else, but her separation coop is in the vicinity of the others. Does she need to be moved much farther, does she have a cold? Egg bound?
These are my first chickens, so I only have a few months experience so far...
Any help is appreciated! And sorry in advance for the book, I was trying to be thorough!

 

[Eggcessive]

She does sound very much like she is getting sick, but the best thing would be to continue to watch her actions I think. If you separate her now, she might not show you more symptoms to help you tell what is wrong. Hopefully, it is not something like Mareks or botulism, but I would follow her around and see if she is having trouble seeing or having more balance problems. Look her over for the usual things like swelling around the face and eyes, eye bubbles, nasal discharge, lice and mites. She might just be acting odd because she is starting to lay, or may be getting egg bound.

 

[rojororeo]

Thanks for the help Eggcessive.
So you think even though there could be the possibility of something bad, she should stay with the flock?
We already grabbed her and put her in a very large dog crate, comfortably in the barn.

She did look more alert when I got her for the crate.
I tried to check her over- I don't quite know how to feel the crop, but I rubbed all over her neck, there wasn't a swelling that I could tell. And based off google pics I found, she doesn't look to have a swollen crop.
She actually seemed to enjoy being rubbed, or was being light sensitive, as she was closing her eyes when I rubbed her head.
Balance/seeing- She seems to move fine- was a tad slow compared to the rest. And then when she shook, she lost her footing it seemed like. Her movement seemed to be better by the time we got set up and got her for the dog crate.
Can they become eggbound this early on? I have 3 other BOs, and one of them is definitely laying, as I have watched her lay, but I can't tell them apart yet.
She has an egg nest in the dog crate (told you it was big! lol). So if she feels the need to lay, she has it there.
How long should she stay in there to watch? A day or 2?

Thank you for your help! Fingers crossed I am just being overly protective and alert!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would just watch her as i said. It's fine that you have already separated her if you feel she may be contagious, but if she were coming down with Mareks, it would already be everywhere in the chicken dust. If she doesn't show any more symptoms of disease or being contagious I would put her back in the flock after a day or two. They will take her back pretty easily, but if she is out longer, they will peck her. Yes, egg bound and internal laying can happen as soon as they are mature. Just put "eggbound/internal laying" into the search at the top of the page, and you will find tons of reading.

 

[rojororeo]

Thanks! If she is still seeming to be better by tomorrow sometime, I will put her back.
I did know that once you have Marek's in one, everyone has already been exposed, but didn't know what else to do!
I will do some research on eggbound and internal laying. Hoping that isn't a problem though!

Thank you so much for your help!