So my Sapphire Gem pullet still isn’t feeling well. She is approx 20 weeks old and, until 3 or 4 weeks ago, was spry and healthy.
So here’s the info:
My flock of 28 free range on my 1 acre, and I feed them layer pellets from Rural King. About 4 weeks ago, I noticed that my Sapphire Gem was hanging around in the coop a lot and hopping back and forth from nesting box to nesting box. Her comb had really reddened, so I just knew she was getting g ready to lay. Fast forward a week and her behaviors stayed the same, but still no egg. That weekend my family took a long weekend trip so I asked my aunt to take care of my chickens. I checked in with her each day and things were fine. On the 3rd day of our trip, she texted me and said I think you have a hen going broody because she hasn’t been wanting to come out of the coop. I asked her which one and she said the little blue one (she seems more silver to me
). I told her she had never laid an egg, so I was worried something was wrong. She said her comb was pale and she just wanted to lay in the corner of the coop. Later that evening when I got home, I went in the coop and there she laid back in the corner of the coop. Her eyes were closed, and her comb was very pale. I picked her up and the feathers around her vent were wet and dirty and she had clearly lost weight. So I brought her in and made her some scrambled eggs, which she picked around at, but didn’t actually eat much of. While she was inside, she pooped and it was nothing but water. I checked her for any signs of egg binding, but didn’t find anything. No signs of worms, no bloody poop, and crop felt normal. Now here it is 4 weeks later and still the same issues. She is lethargic and weak, she pecks around at food, but only actually eats very little, and just lays down all day long. She does get up and graze a little in the evening, but never scratches around. She is very, very thin- her breast bone is clearly visible. I have checked for everything I can think of that might be wrong with her. Still no signs of worms, poop is still watery, but does have some green color and thickness to it, no bloody poop, crop still feels normal, and the rest of my flock is completely healthy. I don’t have a chicken vet near me, and only one of my local vets is even willing to treat chickens, but an appt is 3-4 weeks out. Does anyone have any ideas? The poor girl is going to starve to death. I am still feeding her eggs, wet layer food, and corn, but she just doesn’t eat enough of it. I know I’m going to lose her if I can’t figure something out:-(
So here’s the info:
My flock of 28 free range on my 1 acre, and I feed them layer pellets from Rural King. About 4 weeks ago, I noticed that my Sapphire Gem was hanging around in the coop a lot and hopping back and forth from nesting box to nesting box. Her comb had really reddened, so I just knew she was getting g ready to lay. Fast forward a week and her behaviors stayed the same, but still no egg. That weekend my family took a long weekend trip so I asked my aunt to take care of my chickens. I checked in with her each day and things were fine. On the 3rd day of our trip, she texted me and said I think you have a hen going broody because she hasn’t been wanting to come out of the coop. I asked her which one and she said the little blue one (she seems more silver to me
). I told her she had never laid an egg, so I was worried something was wrong. She said her comb was pale and she just wanted to lay in the corner of the coop. Later that evening when I got home, I went in the coop and there she laid back in the corner of the coop. Her eyes were closed, and her comb was very pale. I picked her up and the feathers around her vent were wet and dirty and she had clearly lost weight. So I brought her in and made her some scrambled eggs, which she picked around at, but didn’t actually eat much of. While she was inside, she pooped and it was nothing but water. I checked her for any signs of egg binding, but didn’t find anything. No signs of worms, no bloody poop, and crop felt normal. Now here it is 4 weeks later and still the same issues. She is lethargic and weak, she pecks around at food, but only actually eats very little, and just lays down all day long. She does get up and graze a little in the evening, but never scratches around. She is very, very thin- her breast bone is clearly visible. I have checked for everything I can think of that might be wrong with her. Still no signs of worms, poop is still watery, but does have some green color and thickness to it, no bloody poop, crop still feels normal, and the rest of my flock is completely healthy. I don’t have a chicken vet near me, and only one of my local vets is even willing to treat chickens, but an appt is 3-4 weeks out. Does anyone have any ideas? The poor girl is going to starve to death. I am still feeding her eggs, wet layer food, and corn, but she just doesn’t eat enough of it. I know I’m going to lose her if I can’t figure something out:-(
