Skinny chicken

[ChickChickHorray]

Hi all. I have a pet chicken (Buff Orpington) who’s been sick on and off. She’s been having a hard time keeping her balance and has little to no appetite. She’s been vaccinated for marek's and been checked for parasites but doesn’t have any. This last vet visit the vet popped her sacrum and said it’s been out of joint! Thankfully she’s now been walking much better but her appetite hasn’t improved much. We’ve tried high protein foods like tuna and even chicken, but she doesn’t have much of an appetite and is still very thin. Any suggestions on what I can give her to boost her calories and nutrition? She’s very much a loved pet, so we want to do whatever we can to help her and get her back out to the flock.

 

[nchls school]

Does she stand hunched over and have a pale, slightly sunken face? If so, she has coccidiosis-treat with Corid.

 

[ChickChickHorray]

Does she stand hunched over and have a pale, slightly sunken face? If so, she has coccidiosis-treat with Corid.

She was tested for coccodios and it came back negative.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This last vet visit the vet popped her sacrum and said it’s been out of joint! Thankfully she’s now been walking much better but her appetite hasn’t improved

How old is she?
Does she lay eggs?
Did an xray show the sacrum out of joint?

 

[nchls school]

Have you checked her crop? Are her droppings normal? Diarrhea?

Foods my birds love as a treat and daily are moistened dry dog food, hard boiled eggs, dry meal worms; any treat she ike and will eat.

May be put vitamins in her water. The below might be helpful from farmfowl.com.

Here are some of the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for chickens
Chickens have one of the most efficient digestive systems in the animal kingdom. One part of this is called the crop and this is the first place the food goes after the chicken has eaten it. The food is broken down here and gradually passes to the main stomach. ACV helps to reduce the pH level in the crop which helps to combat any ingested microbe and bad bacteria.

Apple Cider Vinegar can help reduce internal worms in chickens. It helps to make the chickens gut not a nice place for worms to live. It makes the chickens gut a less hospital place for worms to live. It won’t completely eradicate them, so regular worming is still very important.

Apple cider vinegar can act like a mild antibiotic. Antibiotics kill infectious bacteria that can cause disease in chickens. We have used it ourselves if a chicken appeared to look a little low and I have recommend it to others.

In addition to these benefits, Apple Cider Vinegar is full of vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are beneficial to your chickens.

Dilution rate for Apple cider vinegar for chickens

I dilute ACV at a rate of 5ml or a tea spoon per litre of water and give it to the chickens for 3 to 5 days each month. I found that giving it more often that this can reduce the usefulness of the chickens. This is just my experience and what has worked well for me over the years.

Never use ACV in a metal drinker as the acid reacts with the metal. It should only be used in a plastic drinker.

 

[nchls school]

Have you checked her crop? Are her droppings normal? Diarrhea?

Foods my birds love as a treat and daily are moistened dry dog food, hard boiled eggs, dry meal worms; any treat she ike and will eat.

May be put vitamins in her water. The below might be helpful from farmfowl.com.

Here are some of the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for chickens
Chickens have one of the most efficient digestive systems in the animal kingdom. One part of this is called the crop and this is the first place the food goes after the chicken has eaten it. The food is broken down here and gradually passes to the main stomach. ACV helps to reduce the pH level in the crop which helps to combat any ingested microbe and bad bacteria.

Apple Cider Vinegar can help reduce internal worms in chickens. It helps to make the chickens gut not a nice place for worms to live. It makes the chickens gut a less hospital place for worms to live. It won’t completely eradicate them, so regular worming is still very important.

Apple cider vinegar can act like a mild antibiotic. Antibiotics kill infectious bacteria that can cause disease in chickens. We have used it ourselves if a chicken appeared to look a little low and I have recommend it to others.

In addition to these benefits, Apple Cider Vinegar is full of vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are beneficial to your chickens.

Dilution rate for Apple cider vinegar for chickens

I dilute ACV at a rate of 5ml or a tea spoon per litre of water and give it to the chickens for 3 to 5 days each month. I found that giving it more often that this can reduce the usefulness of the chickens. This is just my experience and what has worked well for me over the years.

Never use ACV in a metal drinker as the acid reacts with the metal. It should only be used in a plastic drinker.

 

[ChickChickHorray]

How old is she?
Does she lay eggs?
Did an xray show the sacrum out of joint?

She’s about two years old and hasn’t layed in months. The vet didn’t take an x ray but was feeling around and that’s when he popped it and said it was out of joint and felt it pop back in. Since then she’s been walking so much better. He said it was possible another hen may have jumped on her and disjointed it.

 

[ChickChickHorray]

Have you checked her crop? Are her droppings normal? Diarrhea?

Foods my birds love as a treat and daily are moistened dry dog food, hard boiled eggs, dry meal worms; any treat she ike and will eat.

May be put vitamins in her water. The below might be helpful from farmfowl.com.

Here are some of the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar for chickens
Chickens have one of the most efficient digestive systems in the animal kingdom. One part of this is called the crop and this is the first place the food goes after the chicken has eaten it. The food is broken down here and gradually passes to the main stomach. ACV helps to reduce the pH level in the crop which helps to combat any ingested microbe and bad bacteria.

Apple Cider Vinegar can help reduce internal worms in chickens. It helps to make the chickens gut not a nice place for worms to live. It makes the chickens gut a less hospital place for worms to live. It won’t completely eradicate them, so regular worming is still very important.

Apple cider vinegar can act like a mild antibiotic. Antibiotics kill infectious bacteria that can cause disease in chickens. We have used it ourselves if a chicken appeared to look a little low and I have recommend it to others.


Dilution rate for Apple cider vinegar for chickens

I dilute ACV at a rate of 5ml or a tea spoon per litre of water and give it to the chickens for 3 to 5 days each month. I found that giving it more often that this can reduce the usefulness of the chickens. This is just my experience and what has worked well for me over the years.

Never use ACV in a metal drinker as the acid reacts with the metal. It should only be used in a plastic drinker.

Her droppings and her crop are normal. She’s so picky, we’ve tried tuna, chicken, eggs, but we haven’t tried dog food. She’s not eating a lot of her regular food and the only thing she’s really going for is sunflower seeds and mixed treat grains.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can try giving her chick starter to see if she likes that.
If she's not been laying eggs for a good while, she may have a reproductive issue that is taking it's tole on her.