Underweight chicken

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

i have an underweight hen, this is the second bird I’ve had with this issue this recently the first hen died.

I noticed that this bird is to skinny before i noticed with the now dead hen. she is drinking well, shes also eating though she did seem to be having a hard time with it. I ground up the feed a bit so it was esier for her to eat witch helped. I’ve also given her some cooked egg and oatmeal. She seems to have more energy than yesterday, and is eating without my encouragment. I've set her up in a box with a blanket over it in a dark room to help encourage her to rest.

she’s underweight, her crop felt like play dough last night, her eyes are dialated, her comb has a slight blackish tinge to it around the tips, and her body temperature is lower than normal. she also pooped last night and one of the poops had grass in it, another was an odd consistancy. She also just pooped and I’ll include an image of that, it’s very watery.

im observing her closely, she has access to clean water, food, and still has oatmeal and some egg left.

if anyone knows what may have caused this that would be helpful, our flock has been having a tough time recently and if what led to this birds condition could also involve Egg shell issues (mild deformities, thin shells, shelless eggs) it could be affecting everyone and I would like to fix it. this likely isnt A calcium deficiency as we have given our flock calcium supplements and it did not help. when I was reaserching about egg shell issues some other potential issues were stress from predators, and salt in our water supply. could they also still be stressed out from our roosters who we separated from the flock a few months ago?

any extra advice on how I can best support her recovery would also be appreciated!

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

I think what your doing is wonderful! I don't know much about the sickness or anything but that hen is very blessed to have u as her mama good luck!

 

[DobieLover]

Sorry about your hen and the one you've already lost.
Have you checked her belly for excess fluid build up?
Have you checked her crop first thing in the morning to see if it is completely emptying?
What breed was the hen that passed and the one currently exhibiting symptoms?

 

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

Sorry about your hen and the one you've already lost.
Have you checked her belly for excess fluid build up?
Have you checked her crop first thing in the morning to see if it is completely emptying?
What breed was the hen that passed and the one currently exhibiting symptoms?

I’ve felt around her breast and keel and bone and I didn’t feel any fluid, just the bone and some muscle, much less compared to our other hens and as far as I can tell she doesn’t have any fat.
I havnt checked her crop first thing in the morning, this was the first overnight she’s had inside I will do tomorrow and give an update. she does have access to food and water all day and night though.
mans they are both Cuckoo marans. We have one other cuckoo named peacock and as far as I can tell she doesn’t have any of the same symptoms but I’ll be able to check better tonight when she goes to bed. I also haven’t seen any of their eggs for a while now that I’m thinking about it (They are our only birds that lay dark brown eggs). I do plan to move their food to inside their to their coop help prevent anyone else from loosing weight incase this is happening because of stress.

and an update on her condition: her eyes are less dialated and she seems to have more energy (she wasn’t super lethargic but she did seem tired) and she’s still eating and drinking, though she isn’t drinking as much as she was earlier today (she was drinking more than would expect this morning).

 

[DobieLover]

I’ve felt around her breast and keel and bone and I didn’t feel any fluid

That isn't where fluid would accumulate. You need to check her belly, between her legs/under her vent.

she does have access to food and water all day and night though.

Pull it at night. She won't eat or drink when it's dark and you don't want her eating and drinking before you get to her in the morning and have a chance to examine her crop.

 

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

That isn't where fluid would accumulate. You need to check her belly, between her legs/under her vent.

Pull it at night. She won't eat or drink when it's dark and you don't want her eating and drinking before you get to her in the morning and have a chance to examine her crop.

oh ok, I wasn’t sure what you meant by belly. Yes I’ve felt under her vent, and it is not squishy.

 

[Kiki]

Are you in the United States?
If so are you aware that you can send a bird to your state lab for necropsy to find out why it died?

The yellow stuff that this... Is most likely caused by a serious.
It is highly likely this bird is going to die... If you know exactly what's causing the deaths in your flock it is possible to prevent future deaths and or know how to go about helping the rest of your birds.

If you are in the US let me know which state and I'll send you a direct link to their lab.

 

[Eggcessive]

The yellow urates in one of the droppings can sometimes be from liver issues. That can be common in internal layers, cancer, salpingitis, and ascites.

 

[Pheonix_in_wonderland]

Are you in the United States?
If so are you aware that you can send a bird to your state lab for necropsy to find out why it died?

The yellow stuff that this... Is most likely caused by a serious.
It is highly likely this bird is going to die... If you know exactly what's causing the deaths in your flock it is possible to prevent future deaths and or know how to go about helping the rest of your birds.

If you are in the US let me know which state and I'll send you a direct link to their lab.

Ik she’s probably going to die. You don’t need to tell me that. I’m trying to be optimistic and help her as best I can. And we’ve already disposed of the dead birds body so that’s not helpful.

she hasn’t pooped anything with that yellow color again today, just more watery poo that smells not normal, and a small amount of grass but her last few poops have just been clear liquid. tomorrow morning I’ll see if her crop has emptied.

The yellow urates in one of the droppings can sometimes be from liver issues. That can be common in internal layers, cancer, salpingitis, and ascites.

And I will look into those, though she probably doesn’t have ascities.

 

[Kiki]

Ik she’s probably going to die. You don’t need to tell me that. I’m trying to be optimistic and help her as best I can. And we’ve already disposed of the dead birds body so that’s not helpful.

she hasn’t pooped anything with that yellow color again today, just more watery poo that smells not normal, and a small amount of grass but her last few poops have just been clear liquid. tomorrow morning I’ll see if her crop has emptied.

And I will look into those, though she probably doesn’t have ascities.

I'm sorry your bird is this sick.

I do not believe there's anything you can do at this point to save her life but if you want to try you can tube feed her fluids and get her hydrated first before tubing her food.

I mention necropsy at a state lab for this bird...not the buried ones.
I think you misunderstood.