Thin chicken falling over

[Amanda.Bouvier]

Hello,

I have a 3 yr old Buff orpington hen, I had noticed for about a week that she was always by herself ( I have 5 chickens total). Then 4 days ago I went out to the coop and found her laying on her side, when I picked her up she was skin and bones. I brought her inside and have been keeping her in a tote with heat on her. She was drinking ravenously at first, and she continues to eat and drinking fairly well, but when I put her outside she walks around for a bit and then Ill find her laying and her side and unable to get up on her own. If I pick her up and place her she will stand and walk. I have no new chickens, she was in contact with another bird probably 6 months ago. None of my other bird show any signs of sickness. Any thoughts / expert advice?? Thank you

 

[Bridger Davis]

Keep her with heat and consider giving her some ACV in her water. I'm not a pro so I'll tag some people. Oh ya, and keep her separated!! @chickens really @drumstick diva @Miss Lydia @Sara Ranch @rjohns39

 

[Michael Propst]

I am really new to raising chicken but I had a Buff with similar symptoms a couple months ago. I caught it on day one and got her isolated so she never really got skinny but she was very lethargic and wanted to just lay or stand in one area for hours. Her dropping where not normal so I did get a sample and take them to the vet for testing, everything came back normal on that. Are her dropping normal? Have you checked her crop? Is she breathing fine?

I isolated my buff. I have a small 2 hen coop I got off Amazon that I bought specifically be being able to isolate a sick hen or a transition coop if I ever get any new girls. I got very aggressive with treatment and added Nutri-Drench Poultry Solution and Sav-A-Chick Electrolyte and Vitamin Supplements to her water. She wasn't eating much so she got spoiled for a few days and got a scrambled egg twice a day along with her regular feed and some warm oatmeal. I added a little Sav-A-Chick Probiotic powder to the eggs and oatmeal along with adding Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth to all her feed to help combat any possible internal parasites. I also applied some VetRx Poultry Aid to her beak twice a day just for added treatment. After about 3-4 days her poop cleared up and she became very active and very impatient in the isolation coop I have. I kept her isolated for 2 more days and was able to reunite her with the rest of the flock.

I would recommend you get her isolated and get some food, vitamins, electrolytes and water into her. Also do you have a vet that will see birds locally?

 

[chickens really]

Have the other Birds been keeping her from the feed?
Set up two feed and water stations...Keep her in a crate inside the Coop so they other Birds can still see her..Provide her with feed and water...

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so happy you've decided to join us I wish it were under better circumstances. BD has already called the cavalry, Ill just ask some questions. How does her poop look? Can you post some pictures? Have you checked for mites and lice? What type of feed is she eating, how about treats?

 

[Sara Ranch]

There's been some good advice.

As a general rule, I add apple cider vinegar to the water or to the fermented feed. Or vitamins.

I check poop often and watch the eating and the drinking of the animals.

If this was my chicken, I would pull her from the group.

* I would check to see if she has gleeb vent (I think that's right - adult pasty butt).

* How much she is eating on her own.

* How much she is drinking on her own.

* Observe her breathing - is it labored? Shallow?

* Look at her poop. What's it look like? Solid? Loose? Green? Red? Brown? What's the shape?

* I give a warm epsom or baking soda bath. That usually relaxes them and lets stuff come out of their back end that needs to come out of their back end.

* I check for mites/lice. They usually show up if I hold the chicken close to me for a few minutes and then pull the chicken away. No worries - they aren't into human flesh. They prefer chickens. OR might show up on a white towel used to dry the chicken. (I don't use a hair dryer.)

* If it's a girl chicken, I gently feel her tummy to see if there feels like an egg inside. I also look at her vent to see how much talking it's doing. I'm not talking about farting, per se, but talking. Moving.

I offer onion greens, chopped garlic, rosemary, basil, and some other herbs. I let the chicken decide what to eat. Sometimes they ignore everything. Sometimes they pick out one thing and eat it. This is in addition to the fermented feed.

*hugs* I hope your girl makes it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Give her water plus electrolytes (Poultry NutriDrench, SaveAChick or similar are good.) Offer some chopped egg, and moistened chicken feed are good to offer. It can be hard to know exactly why she is so thin and always lying on her side, but look at bullying, crop problems, internal laying, or Mareks disease as possibilities. Try to get her droppings checked for worms or coccidiosis if possible.

 

[micstrachan]

Call me crazy, but I would consider her laying on her side an emergency. She sounds quite weak. If you want to keep her isolated with the flock so she has her own food and drink, but remains socialized, it might be good to offer her a heat source in her crate, if she wants (but can also get away from).
I would not bathe her, even in epsom salts, unless she is egg bound or has a wound. She may be too thin to regulate her own body heat. Calling in more troops.
@Wyorp Rock @azygous @rebrascora

 

[micstrachan]

I’ve been thinking more about this. I think you need to keep her in so you can closely monitor her and she can rest. She needs care until she is stronger. Fluids are critical. IMO, you need to determine right away that there is not a laying or crop problem. She may end up needing to be treated for internal and/or external parasites. Difficult to tell what’s going on right now, but she could deteriorate more quite quickly. Since she already showed some improvement, I think there is still time to save her. Not trying to freak you out. Just want your girl to have the best chance you can provide. Please keep us posted.

 

[azygous]

I also suspect this skinny hen has been bullied away from her food and water. This isn't uncommon. When you have a chicken of timid temperament and others who bully her, the timid chicken becomes convinced she doesn't have permission from the flock to eat or drink. This can be the result.

First, follow the advice already offered. Isolate and provide warmth and nourishment. Meanwhile, you need to address the bullying problem. When this happened recently in my flock, I put the victim in a special safe enclosure within the run in full sight of the flock with her own food and water. She goes back to roost with the others at night.

The purpose of the isolation is to build the victim back up both physically and psychologically, restoring health, strength, and self confidence. I will be reintegrating my hen back into the flock soon, but very gradually so as not to destroy her fragile, new self assurance.

Thankfully you caught this in time before this hen died. Of course, there's a chance she has a disease, but I feel it's far more likely to be a case of bullying and being prevented from eating and drinking.