MD
Chirping
My boss hen, Shirley, has suddenly become really lethargic! If you know what this might be or how I could help her I would really appreciate your help!
Barred Plymouth Rock, 18 weeks, feels a little heavier than the other 18 wk girls - all different breeds. I came home today and let the girls out in the backyard (its been raining so they have stayed inside), but Shirley stayed in the coop on the roost. Shirley is the boss hen and always is in the front when I open the gate, but she was sitting in her own poop and very belatedly got up and slowly crept to the door. She popped her head out, watched for a while and then slowly walked back inside to sit down. I carried her out and put her down next to the food and water and she drank a lot and then slowly walked over to everyone else. Everyone else was feeling really cooped up so they were frantically flying around, but Shirley just crawled into the bushes and sat down again. I just noticed this today, it has certainly been less than two days and all the other girls are very lively. No sign of any trauma and nothing that I know would have caused this situation. There has been a big rainstorm for the past 2-3 days though and the girls haven't been out and about as much. The girls all eat chick starter with oyster shell free choice right now, and there appears to be a few watery poops in the coop so they might be from Shirley. I don't know of an avian vet in the area, so I suppose I would like to treat her myself. The coop has pine shavings on the floor which I change weekly and there is an attached run the birds have daily access to that has hay which I change around every 2 weeks or whenever it needs to be cleaned. I let the girls out into the backyard for the day unless its has been raining or will rain.
She is a favorite so please help!
Thanks!
Madeline
Barred Plymouth Rock, 18 weeks, feels a little heavier than the other 18 wk girls - all different breeds. I came home today and let the girls out in the backyard (its been raining so they have stayed inside), but Shirley stayed in the coop on the roost. Shirley is the boss hen and always is in the front when I open the gate, but she was sitting in her own poop and very belatedly got up and slowly crept to the door. She popped her head out, watched for a while and then slowly walked back inside to sit down. I carried her out and put her down next to the food and water and she drank a lot and then slowly walked over to everyone else. Everyone else was feeling really cooped up so they were frantically flying around, but Shirley just crawled into the bushes and sat down again. I just noticed this today, it has certainly been less than two days and all the other girls are very lively. No sign of any trauma and nothing that I know would have caused this situation. There has been a big rainstorm for the past 2-3 days though and the girls haven't been out and about as much. The girls all eat chick starter with oyster shell free choice right now, and there appears to be a few watery poops in the coop so they might be from Shirley. I don't know of an avian vet in the area, so I suppose I would like to treat her myself. The coop has pine shavings on the floor which I change weekly and there is an attached run the birds have daily access to that has hay which I change around every 2 weeks or whenever it needs to be cleaned. I let the girls out into the backyard for the day unless its has been raining or will rain.
She is a favorite so please help!
Thanks!
Madeline
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