What is wrong with my chicken?

[sharon_newsom]

I have 5 ISA Brown chickens that are ~19 months old. A couple of weeks ago, one of them (we call her Racing Stripe!) started acting slower than the rest of them. She was still eating and drinking normally, just kind of slower and sleeping throughout the day. I also noticed some diarrhea (pictured). We typically get five eggs a day from my five chickens, and we only started getting four, I assumed she was the one who was not laying. Since she was still eating and drinking, I gave it a little bit of time. Now, a couple weeks later, she is eating and drinking still totally normal, and she is now acting normal too, but she is still not laying any eggs. I live in Michigan and it is middle/end of fall and it’s getting colder outside. At first I assumed she could be molting, but there are very few feathers around the coop, and none of my other chickens are acting the way she did. There are no worms in her poop, and now there are no other symptoms. Please help a new chicken momma out!

 

[StinkyAcres]

The small runny poops with bits of green suggest she is not eating enough or the food she is consuming is not being digested. Have you checked her crop to make sure it is filling during the day and emptying in the morning?

 

[sharon_newsom]

The small runny poops with bits of green suggest she is not eating enough or the food she is consuming is not being digested. Have you checked her crop to make sure it is filling during the day and emptying in the morning?

The runny green poops have stopped now! Those pics were when she wasn’t feeling good. She is now having normal poops.

 

[StinkyAcres]

The runny green poops have stopped now! Those pics were when she wasn’t feeling good. She is now having normal poops.

Okay, that's good. Sometimes a stressful situation such as an illness can stop them from laying. It is time for her to take a break for the fall anyway, so as long as she is not showing any other symptoms I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[sharon_newsom]

Okay, that's good. Sometimes a stressful situation such as an illness can stop them from laying. It is time for her to take a break for the fall anyway, so as long as she is not showing any other symptoms I wouldn't worry too much about it.

My chickens laid all through last fall/winter, so a break isn’t normal for them, and she’s the only one not laying. I’m glad she’s feeling better but i’m curious as to why she still isn’t laying eggs.

 

[StinkyAcres]

My chickens laid all through last fall/winter, so a break isn’t normal for them, and she’s the only one not laying. I’m glad she’s feeling better but i’m curious as to why she still isn’t laying eggs.

Chickens will normally lay through their first winter. Every fall/winter after that they will molt and usually stop laying for a few months.

 

[StinkyAcres]

But if she starts having that kind of diarrhea again it could mean she's having reproductive issues, which is sadly common in production hybrids like ISA Browns.

 

[sharon_newsom]

Chickens will normally lay through their first winter. Every fall/winter after that they will molt and usually stop laying for a few months.

Will they molt & stop laying even with artificial lighting? They have ~14 hours of light per day. It’s been about 2 weeks since she got sick and I haven’t seen any change in feather loss or the other girls losing any feathers or getting sick.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Will they molt & stop laying even with artificial lighting? They have ~14 hours of light per day. It’s been about 2 weeks since she got sick and I haven’t seen any change in feather loss or the other girls losing any feathers or getting sick.

They will still molt with artificial lighting, but maybe not at the normal times. Since you do light your coop I would be a little more concerned there is something going on with her reproductive system. A break might help her "reset." I'd monitor her closely for things like water belly, poor egg quality, and any more diarrhea.

 

[BDutch]

Will they molt & stop laying even with artificial lighting? They have ~14 hours of light per day. It’s been about 2 weeks since she got sick and I haven’t seen any change in feather loss or the other girls losing any feathers or getting sick.

Its good for the chickens health to take a break in egg production every year. Autumn is a natural time hens stop laying and start to moult. Chickens that start to moult are not fit. Diarrhoea is not a strange reaction. It takes a lot of energy to grow their feathers back.

Best not give any artificial light until their moult has finished. Or none at all if you go for your hens longevity.