Sleepy unwell chicken - please help!

[ChookieChicken]

MIDNA is a 22 week old silver laced barnevelder
She hasn't started laying eggs yet

The last two days she's been a little extra sleepy, is gravitating to corners and darker spaces, and is refusing to eat her favourite foods. Her poop is normal, and her crop is emptying normally. I'm very worried for her. The soonest appointment I could get with a vet is monday, but until then, I'll be worrying myself sick

 

[azygous]

The diaper is a clue that she may be a house chicken. She is awfully pretty. Does she have access to grit, either alongside her food or perhaps during daily outings outside?

That can be one reason why she's acting sluggish.

Is there any chance a small toddler or visitor could have slipped her something to eat that she shouldn't have? One time, on this forum someone recalled a boyfriend insisting on feeding corn to an indoor chicken without grit.

If your chicken has been outside, could there have been anything that she could have eaten such as decaying food in compost or toxic plants? There are a number of things that can make chickens sick that we humans consume with no problems, so try to think of what she may have eaten that isn't her regular feed.

 

[ChookieChicken]

The diaper is a clue that she may be a house chicken. She is awfully pretty. Does she have access to grit, either alongside her food or perhaps during daily outings outside?

That can be one reason why she's acting sluggish.

Is there any chance a small toddler or visitor could have slipped her something to eat that she shouldn't have? One time, on this forum someone recalled a boyfriend insisting on feeding corn to an indoor chicken without grit.

If your chicken has been outside, could there have been anything that she could have eaten such as decaying food in compost or toxic plants? There are a number of things that can make chickens sick that we humans consume with no problems, so try to think of what she may have eaten that isn't her regular feed.

She's a partially indoor chicken, she chooses where she wants to be for the day. Thankyou, she is very beautiful. She does have access to grit, and her usual food & water. No one has fed her anything out of the norm, but she has lactose free plain yoghurt with grain once a week. We don't have any toxic plants around, and she usually just sticks near the house. No sign of worms or respiratory problems. I might examine her to see if she's egg bound but she doesn't seem it

 

[ackie]

Could she be looking for a place to nest? Maybe sluggish because her body is adjusting to making an egg? I'm just speculating.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

Could she be looking for a place to nest? Maybe sluggish because her body is adjusting to making an egg? I'm just speculating.

I suppose that's a possibilty but her comb and waddle don't look red enough. She's getting to POL but I don't think she's quite there yet.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

Could you try giving her some B vitamin? I had a bantam girl who was acting sluggish around that age, I was recommended to give her B vitamin daily. I wasn't sure how much to give so I gave her 1/2 a pill a day. It did the trick, within about a week to week and a half, she was back to her normal self.

 

[ChookieChicken]

Could you try giving her some B vitamin? I had a bantam girl who was acting sluggish around that age, I was recommended to give her B vitamin daily. I wasn't sure how much to give so I gave her 1/2 a pill a day. It did the trick, within about a week to week and a half, she was back to her normal self.

Does it have to be specifically for chickens, or is human vitamin B okay too?

 

[azygous]

Vitamins are vitamins. They may just be formulated into different combinations for different applications. Get the B-complex from the people vitamin aisle in the pharmacy section.

Measure her pelvic bones on either side of her vent. If you can fit two fingers between them, she's getting ready to lay. Usually, when a hen feels an egg is ready to come out, she gets agitated, very vocal, paces back and forth, looking for a nest. She may try out several locations before she finds one she's comfortable with.

If she spends every night in the house, she may choose her sleeping spot. Or fix up a nest with a fake egg or even a hardboiled egg placed in it as a signal.

I didn't know they made lactose free yogurt! Please tell me the brand name and where you got it! I'm violently lactose intolerant, but I adore dairy!

 

[ChookieChicken]

Vitamins are vitamins. They may just be formulated into different combinations for different applications. Get the B-complex from the people vitamin aisle in the pharmacy section.

Measure her pelvic bones on either side of her vent. If you can fit two fingers between them, she's getting ready to lay. Usually, when a hen feels an egg is ready to come out, she gets agitated, very vocal, paces back and forth, looking for a nest. She may try out several locations before she finds one she's comfortable with.

If she spends every night in the house, she may choose her sleeping spot. Or fix up a nest with a fake egg or even a hardboiled egg placed in it as a signal.

I didn't know they made lactose free yogurt! Please tell me the brand name and where you got it! I'm violently lactose intolerant, but I adore dairy!

Thankyou so much, I'll grab her some today. I'm in Australia and we have the jalna brand lactose free yoghurt! We also have liddels