Silkie hen very lethargic not eating well

[Jennylynn530]

Hi my 10 month old silkie who I got in March is not acting well, she is sleeping all day, not eating unless we arouse her and put the food right to her beak, she is not a consistent layer which I believe may be due to constant change for her (we recently moved her outdoors, but she was picked on by the others, so we have her in the coop but in an enclosed chicken run) she was laying eggs but hasn’t for the last 2 weeks. We have 3 other hens outside with her. She has her own food and water. Currently she’s in my laundry room, she’s just so sleepy and doesn’t walk around digging or foraging. She wakes up then her eyes just close. I called an online vet service and they video chatted with me and saw her poop. They said it didn’t look like coccidosis. They had me feel her abdomen for sour crop and egg bound and those were ruled out. I do have a dose of amoxicillin from a previous vet visit that didn’t get used so I have been giving her that with nutridrench for 3 doses so far. (1 yesterday and 2 today) no change- her poop is sometimes watery and sometimes formed- greenish- I showed the Telehealth vet and she said it didn’t look concerning. Any suggestions? I’m giving yogurt, and scrambled eggs, she only takes a few bites before falling back asleep. Just a few sips of water here and there. Thanks for your help! And none of the rest of the flock are acting different. Her water has a little nutridrench also that’s why it’s off colored and below is also a picture of her poop formed after eating yogurt

 

[ChickNanny13]

Silkies are not consistent layers and do NOT like change.
Why was she moved into the laundry room?
When she was out with the others, being bullied she was then separated yet kept within the coop, that's what I gather from your post. When you introduce a new chicken to the flock, it's been recommended "See but no touch": Newbie within sight of the others but safe from being bullied.
What are the other breeds in your flock? I know others have a mixed flock with Silkies however what size is your coop/run? Silkies have a vaulted skull so you need to be aware of them pecking at her head.

https://poultrykeeper.com/digestive-system-problems/sour-crop/
https://poultrydvm.com/condition/egg-binding

Personally I wouldn't give any antibiotic unless I knew it was needed. NutriDrench is fine but I'd get some Rooster Booster Poultry Cell for her. Keep up with the scrambled eggs & yogurt. What kind of feed are you feeding? IF it's a crumble or pellet form, try wetting it and/or mixing with the scrambled egg. Try some boiled egg yolk too, just to get her eating. From what I've read the "greenish" in the poop is she not getting enough nutrition.

My thought is she maybe "depressed" from the bullying and changes but that's me. I'll tag some others and the may have more insight.

@Eggcessive @Kiki @Wyorp Rock @casportpony @azygous
Thanks everyone in advance

 

[Jennylynn530]

Thank you! She was moved inside again because I noticed she wasn’t eating or even moving from her little roost whatsoever. We have her in a 10 sq foot enclosed run- she was never pecked on without us being there. She did have a silkie friend who was much younger and she was like his mommy hen but he ended up being a rooster and the two silkies were fighting non stop so we did have to seperate them so she no longer as her silkie friend with her. Do you think that may be the cause? Hmm now I’m thinking that would be making sense. I did try and reintroduce those two but again they both attacked each other again- this hen attacked him and he attacked her- very sad. The other hens with her are Cochins and Easter eggers. We only let them be together when we let them free range and only when we are with them. The vet didn’t seem to think anything was wrong- but she’s just always sleeping and not acting like her usual active self. Depression does sound plausible since she lost the silkie rooster who was her “baby” not biological but those two were inseparable until he became a roster

 

[2ndTink]

I'm very new to silkies so this is likely not it, but I've read that sometimes their head poofs cover too much of their eyes so they can't see well. Do you think she might be having issues and need her feathers trimmed? I'm sure if you search silkie trimming you'll find some good info on BYC. On the Silkies are spectacular thread there was recently a member who had a pullet that was no longer active and I think they said she kept her head low, they gave her a trim and apparently she became much more active. But it would be something super simple to rule out.

 

[azygous]

She may have low blood glucose from starvation, even though she may be eating small amounts from time to time. It just may not be enough to keep her active.

Start by giving her a cup of water with one teaspoon sugar in it. Also squirt a dose of Nutri-drench in it. Encourage her to drink it. If she refuses to drink, you will need to syringe it into her. Like this:

This should give her a boost in just a couple of hours. After that, give her cooked egg to eat and maybe some cooked rice for carbs. If the lethargy is from starvation from being bullied away from food, this will cause improvement in 24 hours. After that feed her normally.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

(we recently moved her outdoors, but she was picked on by the others, so we have her in the coop but in an enclosed chicken run)

Recently moved outside, had she been outside in this particular run with the other chickens before?
If possible, I'd get a fecal float to rule out Coccidiosis. If that's not possible and she doesn't perk up with the sugar water and getting some food into, I'd consider treating her with Corid.
Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

 

[Jennylynn530]

Thank you! She was moved inside again because I noticed she wasn’t eating or even moving from her little roost whatsoever. We have her in a 10 sq foot enclosed run- she was never pecked on without us being there. She did have a silkie friend who was much younger and she was like his mommy hen but he ended up being a rooster and the two silkies were fighting non stop so we did have to seperate them so she no longer as her silkie friend with her. Do you think that may be the cause? Hmm now I’m thinking that would be making sense. I did try and reintroduce those two but again they both attacked each other again- this hen attacked him and he attacked her- very sad. The other hens with her are Cochins and Easter eggers. We only let them be together when we let them free range and only when we are with them. The vet didn’t seem to think anything was wrong- but she’s just always sleeping and not acting like her usual active self. Depression does sound plausible since she lost the silkie rooster who was her “baby” not biological but those two were

Recently moved outside, had she been outside in this particular run with the other chickens before?
If possible, I'd get a fecal float to rule out Coccidiosis. If that's not possible and she doesn't perk up with the sugar water and getting some food into, I'd consider treating her with Corid.
Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

Yes she’s been in this run before- I had her inside with us because

Recently moved outside, had she been outside in this particular run with the other chickens before?
If possible, I'd get a fecal float to rule out Coccidiosis. If that's not possible and she doesn't perk up with the sugar water and getting some food into, I'd consider treating her with Corid.
Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.

thanks- yes she’s been in that run before- the other chickens can’t get her tho- it’s a run within a run- we have a big run and then a smaller 10 sq inch run for her and for her silkie friend until he began to fight with her.

 

[Jennylynn530]

She may have low blood glucose from starvation, even though she may be eating small amounts from time to time. It just may not be enough to keep her active.

Start by giving her a cup of water with one teaspoon sugar in it. Also squirt a dose of Nutri-drench in it. Encourage her to drink it. If she refuses to drink, you will need to syringe it into her. Like this:
View attachment 3560707This should give her a boost in just a couple of hours. After that, give her cooked egg to eat and maybe some cooked rice for carbs. If the lethargy is from starvation from being bullied away from food, this will cause improvement in 24 hours. After that feed her normally.

Thanks I was able to get some in to her- she is enclosed in her own space with her own seperate food and water so I don’t think she’s bullied away from the food, but she may be depressed without her friend and being surrounded by the bullies? She is walking around in the grass, her eyes are half shut, she will occasionally groom herself, but she hasn’t tried to peck any grass or food. She will run when another chicken comes near her, but again her eyes are very sleepy only half open

 

[azygous]

Her eyes are closed because she's weak. Starvation reaches a stage where the hen is too weak to eat. They will not eat on their own.

Starvation may not be what's wrong with this hen. By trying to treat starvation with sugar water and special foods, we can rule it out as a cause if there is no improvement. Then we look at other possible causes and try treating those.

 

[Jennylynn530]

I'm very new to silkies so this is likely not it, but I've read that sometimes their head poofs cover too much of their eyes so they can't see well. Do you think she might be having issues and need her feathers trimmed? I'm sure if you search silkie trimming you'll find some good info on BYC. On the Silkies are spectacular thread there was recently a member who had a pullet that was no longer active and I think they said she kept her head low, they gave her a trim and apparently she became much more active. But it would be something super simple to rule out.

Thanks! I can see her eyes so I think she’s ok- her eyes are half closed tho she’s so sleepy