Sick, we think??

[INtheHENHOUSE]

We just recently started with chickens. We have 3 Bufforpington hens. One has always been a little slower, won't perch, seems somewhat bloated, feathers missing around "bottom", purplish color to her belly. She still appears to eat well......any help will be wonderful. Thanks you......

 

[dlhunicorn]

So this is an adult laying bird? Perhaps she is going broody?

 

[silkiechicken]

Do you have a picture?

More info on diet? Housing? how long you've had them and so on?

 

[INtheHENHOUSE]

We have had them about 2 months, when we got them, they said that one was laying, but we haven't seen any eggs yet. They are approx 6-7 months old. They roam for a few hrs a day in the yard, and have a large coop they spend most of their time in. They have fresh water daily and eat crumble for laying hens that we buy at Tractor supply. They also get some cracked corn mixed with the feed. My husband said she feels like a "water bottle" when he held her.

 

[silkiechicken]

I'd cut out the cracked corn myself and keep that as a treat for balanced diet reasons.

As for the water filled bird... perhaps she is an internal layer which is not really something you can fix. This is just a guess though.