So worried about my hen. HELP ?

[New Chick In The Backyard]

I bought a supposedly 9 to 11 month old ISA Brown hen (for my roo) from the flea market 7.5 days ago. (**See if you can tell by looking at the photos if you think she's that age??) She has been eating and drinking all she wants, as do all my chick-a-dees (food and water always available). She's also been enjoying the big run full of grass and bugs with some mealworm treats. In another coop my other very young hens are still on starter with antibiotic, chicken scratch, chick grit, treats, along with what they find outside so that is what I have been feeding the ISA hen also. When I first picked her out I couldn't believe how docile she was which I thought made her perfect for my friendly roo, along with the fact that the guy told me she was laying. I believe he was fibbing because she hasn't layed yet and someone told me that is the worst place to buy chickens because they do the bare minimum to take care of them til they can be sold. He also told me that the hen's spirit has been broken and she might never be right. He said she probably was given bare minimum food and water and kept with a lot of other chickens with no room in poor conditions. I don't know if this is true but the hen's feces smells like poison (the only way i can think to describe it) and the smell is diminishing very slowly as time go by and it has turned from black to more of a green brown and either looks broken up in rough pieces or is runny. I have given her a Diatomaceous Earth dust bath and have given her D.E. in her food for internal things. I really like this product and trust it because of my friend's testimonials. She has been with my roo for 4.5 days. Their relationship is weird - that's another post. lol. Anyways, so what are your thoughts on this so far? The terrible smelling feces, not laying, the food, and being extremely docile? For the first day she would let me pick her up at any time, hold, and pet her. On the 2nd day she'd let me even tho she acted like she didn't like it. On the 3rd day she started walking away quickly letting me know she didn't want to be picked up so I mostly stopped it and just tried to pet her. I check on her all thru the day and talk to her very sweetly and say her name. She slowly walks away when I try to touch her. Not different than my other hens except they're a little more spirited and vocal about it than her. I can't tell if she's the perfect little hen or if she has issues? Is there any way to know?? Should I feed her laying mash, egg shells, or a different kind of food? When people talk about laying mash I get real confused because I don't want to burn my hens out laying too much. They are my pets mainly... so I don't know if I should EVER buy it in the future for them or now for this hen? Any advice would be helpful. Sorry so many details. This is all new to me. Chickens are so fun!!! What a peaceful hobby.
Click here to see my other post about her and the roo if you want.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-match-made-in-heaven-or-the-other-place-lol.1459520/

 

[KaseySnow]

Did you quarantine her before putting her with your other chickens? Was she vaccinated against Mareks and coccidiosis? If she does have something serious, you are taking a risk exposing your other birds to it if you didn't quarantine her for at least 10 days. It's too late now if you didn't, but keep that in mind next time you introduce a new bird.

A video of the behavior that's bugging you might be helpful, she looks alright in the photos, but who knows.

Encouraging egg production with a feed change won't burn her out, it will just make her body do what it is supposed to be doing naturally, but at a more optimal level. No food is going to be able to force her body to do something unnatural. Layer feed will just provide the nutrients her body needs to not only be able to make an egg healthily, but to just be a healthy bird in general.

Are you still mostly feeding her chick feed? Check the age recommendations on that stuff, I've never had chicks so I'm not sure. She should be getting layer feed if she's already laying and should have access to oyster shells. Too much scratch and treats is like feeding your kids too much junk food, not a good idea long term. 95% of what your birds eat should be nutritional to keep them healthy. I would say give them no more than a small handful of anything outside of layer feed once a week.

 

[tripletfeb]

From the pictures, I think she looks ok. I would feed her an all flock feed personally. It has more protein in it than a layer feed and you can (and should) provide oyster shell on the side. As was already mentioned, no food will make a hen lay more, it will just give them the nutrients they need to lay healthy eggs. As for her behavior and not laying, give her time. She could be stressed right now and just needs time to adjust

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

Thank you for your responses. Sorry I am late getting back. Yes she was quarantined. I didn't know you were supposed to vaccinate chickens. I fed her D.E. and the smell has gone away. I'm so happy! She has gotten bigger from eating non stop poor gal. She was so hungry. I have changed her feed and am feeding her baked crushed egg shell. Is this as good as oyster shell? If not I will get some soon at the co op. She's a sweetie.

 

[Cecisflock]

D.E. in her food for internal things.

that would help. only use de on external parisites.

being extremely docile

poor gal: (

I get real confused because I don't want to burn my hens out laying too much

no such thing...

No food is going to be able to force her body to do something unnatural. Layer feed will just provide the nutrients her body needs to not only be able to make an egg healthily, but to just be a healthy bird in general.

x2

Is this as good as oyster shell? If not I will get some soon at the co op. She's a sweetie.

No, it doesn't have enough calcium but it will work in the short term...

 

[KaseySnow]

My understanding is that DE's usefulness is mostly against bugs and that is limited to dry conditions. Once it becomes wet, it is no longer helpful. Having her eat it won't hurt anything, but it won't help her either as far as internal parasites goes. I have not seen any studies done on whether or not DE helps with digestion, perhaps someone else could speak to that.

If she is getting bigger over time, she is probably just a younger bird that perhaps hasn't started laying yet. If you want her to be friendly, spend lots of time with her and get her used to being touched, then once she's good with touch, get her used to being held. The more time you spend with her, the more she will come to trust you and be more friendly.

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

Thank you for all your info and advice. I'm super sweet to all my chicks and my hen and roo. I talk to them a lot and do a lot for them. None of them seem to like to be picked up or touched much. Do I just keep being persistant without overdoing it?

 

[New Chick In The Backyard]

Also, If the D.E. doesn't get rid of worms, is there a natural way to do that? Apple Cidar Vinegar? If yes, how to administer?

 

[KaseySnow]

I have been looking into worming options lately myself since I may have an issue with them in my flock.

What I've found is that there is some evidence that pumpkin seeds can help reduce worm load somewhat if you feed them a lot of seeds over a long period of time, but the seeds will not eliminate the worms from their system. There is no natural remedy that is proven to actually cure worm infestations, unfortunately.

Most of the time people who claim that homeopathic remedies worked for worms are just basing it on anecdotal observation. In other words, they have not actually tested the poop before and after the natural treatment--they just assume it is working because their chickens seem healthy to them. To conclusively show that any product has effectively treated worms, you must get a fecal test done before treatment to establish how bad the infestation is and then get one done after treatment to see if it has eliminated the problem.

If you suspect worms, I recommend getting a fecal test done. You can do this for relatively cheap (usually $20 or less) at most veterinary offices. Call ahead to make sure they accept specimens for lab work.

They may recommend a certain way to collect the fecal matter, but from what I've read it seems that the best way to get a good picture of how many worms you are dealing with is to gather up as much fresh poop as you can over a period of three days (try in the mornings when they are all waking up) into a ziplock baggie, mix it up well, and then send it to the lab.

If you get an all clear, test again a few weeks later to be sure. I grabbed this from LaFleche on my own thread regarding this matter: "Worms will release their eggs in intervals (mostly 1-3 weeks) depending on the species. This means you can have an "all clear" result from the vet, but the chickens are still infested and discard worms the followings days."

I'm super sweet to all my chicks and my hen and roo. I talk to them a lot and do a lot for them. None of them seem to like to be picked up or touched much. Do I just keep being persistant without overdoing it?

Funny you should ask, I literally found this adorable and funny video yesterday about how to do just that. She cracks some jokes, but it is actually super informative and a very good method to basically train your chickens to accept cuddles.