Sick lethargic chicken

[Coastalchickenlady]

I have a hen who is roughly 4 months old who I received from a friend whose hen hatched eggs. She has not started laying yet, does not feel like there’s an egg inside. But yesterday she was a little lethargic and today she was lying in the corner of the coop when I went out to feed them.

She has made it out of the coop and I just found her near my door. She was lying on the ground and is breathing very heavy, like she’s struggling to catch her breath. I’ve given her some electrolytes and brought her inside, she’s currently in the tub on a towel where it’s cool. She was eating fine yesterday morning, did not come to eat this morning. Her face is very red, but she may have been pecked at since she’s missing some feathers on her head?

All my birds have been dewormed and the others are all doing fine, however, this hen had a sister who this happened to last week and she died within a day of becoming lethargic before I could help her.

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[Eggcessive]

What does her poop look like? Since the sister chicken died previously, I would,supect either coccidiosis, or bullying where they are being kept from eating or drinking, which can be deadly in summer. New flock additions may feel too meek to eat and drink, so putting several small feed and water stations around their area so that everyone gets a chance is best. Try getting her to take as much water and electrolytes as she will, and offer water chicken feed perhaps a little scrambled egg or tuna. What do you normally feed? If she has runny poop, and no appetite, I would probably go ahead and get some Corid to start her on.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I have a hen who is roughly 4 months old who I received from a friend whose hen hatched eggs.

Welcome to BYC!

Sorry your girl is unwell and also for your previous loss.

How long has she been at your place? Coccidiosis is ONE possibly cause of lethargy and being off food/water. Only one or two of the 9-11 strains known to effect poultry may show up as blood in droppings and can be deadly fast.

What is your standard feed routine including ration, treats and supplements? How hot is it on your coast right now? Or how is your weather pattern? How many other birds have ya got?

Get a check of her crop condition.. is it flat and empty, have something hard inside like impacted, or squishy like a water balloon? Does her breath gave any sour smell to it?

What did you worm with and how long ago was that?

If this gal passes.. consider getting a necropsy done to see if it is something that might effect the rest of your flock.. free or affordable to backyard keepers depending on which state if in the US.. Most state labs contact info can be found in the following link..

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Most often Marek's doesn't cause going off feed.. otherwise that would also be in question.

Over an electrolyte mix.. which may be appropriate short term.. I would still suggest Poultry Nutri Drench in emergency situations.. it has amino acids and is rapid absorbed without requiring digestion.

I hope she recovers quickly!

 

[Coastalchickenlady]

What does her poop look like? Since the sister chicken died previously, I would,supect either coccidiosis, or bullying where they are being kept from eating or drinking, which can be deadly in summer. New flock additions may feel too meek to eat and drink, so putting several small feed and water stations around their area so that everyone gets a chance is best. Try getting her to take as much water and electrolytes as she will, and offer water chicken feed perhaps a little scrambled egg or tuna. What do you normally feed? If she has runny poop, and no appetite, I would probably go ahead and get some Corid to start her on.

To be honest, I have no idea what it looks like. She hasn’t pooped since I brought her in.
She’s not a new addition, I’ve had her since she hatched and there hasn’t been any issues with bullying that I’ve seen.
Since I brought her in I was able to get her to eat a little scrambled egg, but only a few bites. I’ve left it in with her, along with more electrolyte water.

 

[Coastalchickenlady]

Welcome to BYC!

Sorry your girl is unwell and also for your previous loss.

How long has she been at your place? Coccidiosis is ONE possibly cause of lethargy and being off food/water. Only one or two of the 9-11 strains known to effect poultry may show up as blood in droppings and can be deadly fast.

What is your standard feed routine including ration, treats and supplements? How hot is it on your coast right now? Or how is your weather pattern? How many other birds have ya got?

Get a check of her crop condition.. is it flat and empty, have something hard inside like impacted, or squishy like a water balloon? Does her breath gave any sour smell to it?

What did you worm with and how long ago was that?

If this gal passes.. consider getting a necropsy done to see if it is something that might effect the rest of your flock.. free or affordable to backyard keepers depending on which state if in the US.. Most state labs contact info can be found in the following link..

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Most often Marek's doesn't cause going off feed.. otherwise that would also be in question.

Over an electrolyte mix.. which may be appropriate short term.. I would still suggest Poultry Nutri Drench in emergency situations.. it has amino acids and is rapid absorbed without requiring digestion.

I hope she recovers quickly!

Hello!
I’ve had her since she was a chick, so the full 4 months. She hasn’t started laying yet which I thought she would have.. they hatched on Valentine’s Day. If she is….. then I have no idea where!
She gets layer feed since I have other layers and they get a bit of scratch as well, but not a lot. I know scratch can raise their body temp and it’s hot here, consistent 90’s (coastal MS). They spend most of the day under the back deck where the dirt is cool and have water nearby. I throw some frozen peas or fruit in their water when it gets REALLY hot for a treat and to make sure they’re drinking.
They were dewormed with fenbendazole and like I said before, everyone else is doing fine. I have 8 others, 2 black sex-links, 2 other Ameraucaunas, 3 silkies and a

Welcome to BYC!

Sorry your girl is unwell and also for your previous loss.

How long has she been at your place? Coccidiosis is ONE possibly cause of lethargy and being off food/water. Only one or two of the 9-11 strains known to effect poultry may show up as blood in droppings and can be deadly fast.

What is your standard feed routine including ration, treats and supplements? How hot is it on your coast right now? Or how is your weather pattern? How many other birds have ya got?

Get a check of her crop condition.. is it flat and empty, have something hard inside like impacted, or squishy like a water balloon? Does her breath gave any sour smell to it?

What did you worm with and how long ago was that?

If this gal passes.. consider getting a necropsy done to see if it is something that might effect the rest of your flock.. free or affordable to backyard keepers depending on which state if in the US.. Most state labs contact info can be found in the following link..

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Most often Marek's doesn't cause going off feed.. otherwise that would also be in question.

Over an electrolyte mix.. which may be appropriate short term.. I would still suggest Poultry Nutri Drench in emergency situations.. it has amino acids and is rapid absorbed without requiring digestion.

I hope she recovers quickly!

Welcome to BYC!

Sorry your girl is unwell and also for your previous loss.

How long has she been at your place? Coccidiosis is ONE possibly cause of lethargy and being off food/water. Only one or two of the 9-11 strains known to effect poultry may show up as blood in droppings and can be deadly fast.

What is your standard feed routine including ration, treats and supplements? How hot is it on your coast right now? Or how is your weather pattern? How many other birds have ya got?

Get a check of her crop condition.. is it flat and empty, have something hard inside like impacted, or squishy like a water balloon? Does her breath gave any sour smell to it?

What did you worm with and how long ago was that?

If this gal passes.. consider getting a necropsy done to see if it is something that might effect the rest of your flock.. free or affordable to backyard keepers depending on which state if in the US.. Most state labs contact info can be found in the following link..

https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Most often Marek's doesn't cause going off feed.. otherwise that would also be in question.

Over an electrolyte mix.. which may be appropriate short term.. I would still suggest Poultry Nutri Drench in emergency situations.. it has amino acids and is rapid absorbed without requiring digestion.

I hope she recovers quickly!

She was dewormed with fenbendazole and all my others are fine. I have 8 more, 2 black sex-links, 2 more ameraucaunas, a Dominique and 3 silkies. She hatched in February so I’ve had her since then and there hasn’t been any bullying that I’ve seen. **this is where I’m wondering why she isn’t laying yet- she’s almost 5 months old.

They’re on layer feed since I have laying hens, but also get a bit of scratch in the morning in the yard. They spend most of the day under the deck since it’s consistently in the 90’s (coastal MS) but have plenty of water. I put frozen peas in their water when it gets REALLY hot to make sure they’re drinking and to cool the water down.

I was able to get her to eat a few bites of scrambled egg, but that was it. I’ve left them in with her along with the electrolyte water.

Her crop doesn’t feel empty, but maybe slightly firm? She’s currently all fluffed up in the tub, which IS an improvement from how I found her, but she’s still breathing heavy with her eyes closed.

 

[Coastalchickenlady]

What does her poop look like? Since the sister chicken died previously, I would,supect either coccidiosis, or bullying where they are being kept from eating or drinking, which can be deadly in summer. New flock additions may feel too meek to eat and drink, so putting several small feed and water stations around their area so that everyone gets a chance is best. Try getting her to take as much water and electrolytes as she will, and offer water chicken feed perhaps a little scrambled egg or tuna. What do you normally feed? If she has runny poop, and no appetite, I would probably go ahead and get some Corid to start her on.

Update on the poop-situation… she’s since pooed and it looks almost normal. It is quite a bit and is slightly watery, but it’s your usual black/white mix. It’s not firm, as I said, but no abnormal colors, the white is the watery part.