Sick Silkie - help appreciated

[Zedlister]

Hi there.

I have 5 Silkie chickens. One of them is off form. She is a little confused and has taken herself to her nesting box for some quiet convalescence. Very sweetly at coop close tonight I noticed that my girls - who have a set sleeping order - were not in their usual pattern. With the ill one on the nesting coop still, three on their usual perch and the obvious best mate, 'HayHay', sitting next to her sick friend 'Radish' (And they say animals don't have feelings!)

What do you advise? I only yesterday for the first time gave them free run of the full garden. It's an enclosed space of about a third of an acre and is a usual English country garden. So potentially some not so fun things to nibble on - I noticed 2 daffodil flowers nibbled for starters.

Is there anything you'd suggest for possible food poisoning? Hopefully mild? All advice appreciated.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, hope you are enjoying BYC!

Sorry your gal might be unwell.

How old is she? Is it possible she is just broody?

Lots of bad things here to eat, plant wise but never had an issue as long as they are locked in with it. Any oil or other chemical type stuff she could have gotten into? DO you when was the last egg she laid? What do you feed regularly?

 

[Eggcessive]

Silkies do go broody often, so I would just check her out well, and make sure that her crop is emptying overnight. Check her droppings and make sure that she will eat and drink. Broody hens will scoot an egg under them when one is set in front of them. Here is a link about broody behavior:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/broody-breaker-when-hens-mood-to-hatch/

 

[Zedlister]

Hello. Thanks for your time.

She is 11 months old. She hasn't gone broody before. Good point though - hope it's that!

No oil/chemicals that I know off. Usual family garden - not one I over manicure, so no weed killer etc.
Good question ref last egg. I've not seen her definitely on nest for last 5 days at least. But I don't watch constantly and had 4 eggs from 5 non prolific layers yesterday.

Hmmm?

I thank you for raising broody as it's easy to go straight to worried. Hope that it's 'just' that.

 

[Zedlister]

I am now googling how to check "her crop is emptying overnight".

So new to chicken world - but loving it!

 

[Eggcessive]

The crop normally fills up throughout the day with food and water, so by evening it will be full. By morning after they have not eaten, the crop should be empty if it is working, and the rest of the digestive tract is also working. So feel some other chickens’s crops to get familiar with where it is ( in the upper right chest) and then feel of the silkie’s crop. If you cannot locat the crop, it is probably empty and flat.

 

[Eggcessive]