Vitamin Deficiency?

[Junipere]

Does she only flick her head when you talk to her or if there's noise?

I would put her back with the flock and monitor her.

If possible, take a poop sample to your vet to check for worms/coccidiosis. The droppings I see look pretty normal to me.

Watch/observe flock behavior to see if she's getting picked at.

No, I first noticed her head twitch through my kitchen window (I can see the run from my kitchen window and I often watch them from inside the house). It was very noticeable from inside because she was doing it much more frequently yesterday.

I’m going to let her go back with her girls and I’ll keep an eye on her. Thanks for your advice!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

No, I first noticed her head twitch through my kitchen window (I can see the run from my kitchen window and I often watch them from inside the house). It was very noticeable from inside because she was doing it much more frequently yesterday.

I’m going to let her go back with her girls and I’ll keep an eye on her. Thanks for your advice!

When you put her back - see if she does the head flicking when the others start squawking/talking to her.
I didn't mean just you talking to her, I mean noises in general See if there's a connection there. Just a hunch. If there's not a connection, then let us know.

Giving the vitamins won't hurt her. Go with your instincts - you are seeing something that is concerning you - she may have something going on, so just keep watching.

 

[Junipere]

I also feed them meal worms regularly. We don’t often feed them table scraps… it’s been a least a few weeks since I gave them anything other than flock feed and meal worms.

6 of 9 are laying and I’m sure the others are following soon. I’ve already topped off their feed holder with layer pellets (for that transition to layer feed).

 

[Kiki]

I also feed them meal worms regularly. We don’t often feed them table scraps… it’s been a least a few weeks since I gave them anything other than flock feed and meal worms.

6 of 9 are laying and I’m sure the others are following soon. I’ve already topped off their feed holder with layer pellets (for that transition to layer feed).

Good...treats of any kind take away from the bird getting a balanced diet.
A balanced diet is best for preventing any type of illness or disease.

I highly recommend only offering a small amount of mealworms once a week and not daily.

 

[Junipere]

When you put her back - see if she does the head flicking when the others start squawking/talking to her.
I didn't mean just you talking to her, I mean noises in general See if there's a connection there. Just a hunch. If there's not a connection, then let us know.

Giving the vitamins won't hurt her. Go with your instincts - you are seeing something that is concerning you - she may have something going on, so just keep watching.

Oh, ok. I put her back and she definitely seems abnormal.

The others were pecking at her a bit when I first brought her back, which is probably to be expected since she was separated for almost 24 hrs. It’s raining out and she came to hid under me (I was squatting down by the covered part of their run and watching how thing were going) she just layed down on the wet dirt underneath me. I moved her under the covered run area.

I took this video showing how all the other hens are active around her and she just stands I one place looking weak. One of the other girls comes to eat some grit and she doesn’t even move her body out of the way, she just lowers her head.

The other hens have seemed to stop pecking at her but she hasn’t moved much from the spot in the video. Sometimes she goes from laying to standing in the same spot, while the other girls are all actively moving around the larger run area around her.

 

[Kiki]

Oh, ok. I put her back and she definitely seems abnormal.

The others were pecking at her a bit when I first brought her back, which is probably to be expected since she was separated for almost 24 hrs. It’s raining out and she came to hid under me (I was squatting down by the covered part of their run and watching how thing were going) she just layed down on the wet dirt underneath me. I moved her under the covered run area.

I took this video showing how all the other hens are active around her and she just stands I one place looking weak. One of the other girls comes to eat some grit and she doesn’t even move her body out of the way, she just lowers her head.

The other hens have seemed to stop pecking at her but she hasn’t moved much from the spot in the video. Sometimes she goes from laying to standing in the same spot, while the other girls are all actively moving around the larger run area around her.

This is what happens when you remove a bird from a flock. It doesn't look to me like they're beating her up so I would leave her alone.

 

[Kiki]

Can you take a few pictures of your entire coop and run?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

OK I don't think she's feeling well. Was her crop empty this morning?

Watch to see that she's drinking and eating. Not sure what's going on there. The poop looked ok, but I would see what it looks like throughout the day if possible.

Even lowest in pecking order birds, I've never head them just stay like that, they will move.

The puffing up - she may have Coccidiosis. Possible she's coming into lay and feeling "off" but I would keep watch on her. If you feel she needs to be pulled back out for a while so you get some vitamins/electrolytes into her - some specialized attention - then do it.

 

[Junipere]

OK I don't think she's feeling well. Was her crop empty this morning?

Watch to see that she's drinking and eating. Not sure what's going on there. The poop looked ok, but I would see what it looks like throughout the day if possible.

Even lowest in pecking order birds, I've never head them just stay like that, they will move.

The puffing up - she may have Coccidiosis. Possible she's coming into lay and feeling "off" but I would keep watch on her. If you feel she needs to be pulled back out for a while so you get some vitamins/electrolytes into her - some specialized attention - then do it.

Yes, this is definitely not normal behavior for her. I didn’t check her crop this morning. Should I check it now and what am I hoping it feels like?

I was able to giver her some more vitamins (mixed in with a very small amount of yogurt and feed). She ate it all. But now that she back with the other girls I don’t see her moving to get any food or water so I may need to remover her again to get that into her. I’ll keep watch.

Should I treat her (and the rest for coccidiosis) or would that be unnecessary at this point?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can check the crop now if you wish, but the best gauge of crop function is very first thing in the morning before the bird has had anything to eat/drink.
If you feel it now and she's been eating/drinking, then it should feel firmish - like she's been eating. If the crop is really puffy/bloated or has a lot of fluid and she's not been drinking/eating a great deal, then that would be a good sign that there's an issue that needs to be addressed.

The way I do it is feel the crop at night when they go to roost, then first thing before I let them out. They have no food/water in the coop - so crops should be empty/flat.

Treating for Coccidiosis shouldn't be harmful to any of them, you would just cut out "extra" vitamins that contain B1 Thiamine during the course of treatment.