What is wrong with this chicken?

[chicken-owner-31]

I am posting this for a very good friend of mine who does not have a lot of internet access.

She has a hen (don't know what breed....some popular layer) that is exhibiting odd behavior. She says the hen is seperating itself from the other birds and doens't show any interest in food (although she must be eating because she's not dead yet.) She will kinda stand with her wings droopy(?) My friend has literally shaken food in the hen's face and she ignores it. These symptoms have been going on for about a month. She says the hen just basically looks depressed.

Any ideas? This is my friend's favorite hen and she's getting worried! Thank you in advance!

 

[miss_thenorth]

I have absolutely no idea, she is not broody? Is she being picked on by the others? Is she egg bound? What colour is her comb? Could she have lice or mites, --that could be making her anemic--also indicative of comb colour).

 

[arlee453]

I was thinking prehaps some egg problem - either bound up or internal layer?

Do you know if she has produced any eggs lately?

The lethargy and drooping wings makes me think egg problem... but more info would be most helpful!

 

[chicken-owner-31]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will pass them along! What would she look for to see if she's eggbound? How does one fix something like that? I don't know anymore of the details right now, but I will ask about the eggs!

 

[aladatrot]

I am interested in this thread because I have a hen acting the same way. She had been hunkered down in the corner of the coop each time I fed, watered, checked on, or gathered eggs. Being such a young hen, I figured she was wanting to sit some eggs. I did not disturb her. Well, this week, I moved her, and there were no eggs. She exhibits the same behavior, and is pretty thin. I separated her from the main population by caging her next to the coop so as not to fully remove her from the others. I have for her corn chops, laying pellets, and horse feed, but nothing makes her eat. I was going to put her down yesterday, but my "give her a fighting chance" instinct kicked in and I couldn't do it.

Could someone please post up what to look for in egg problems?

Thanks!
M (713)550 2625 emergency

 

[miss_thenorth]

It could be the chickens vversion of 'failure to thrive'. If they are the lowest hen on the pecking order, they stay in a corner, away from the others. My sil had one of these hens. She was isolated, started on electrolytes, and mixed the electrolytes with chick starter, or layer pellets. She needed to be fed with an eye dropper until she would take the food and water on her own. She was kept isolated until she got her strength back and re-inroduced to the flock.

i don't know about egg-bound. If she is really thin,lethargic, this would be my first guess now.

 

[jjthink]

tuper, you are very good to help your friend but is there any way she could go to a library and spend some quality time reading up on chickens at BYC? A month is a long time to let a hen feel under the weather without investigating what ails her and taking action to help her. She could provide a lot of helpful info so folks here could be of better assist.

aladatrot, your hen sounds quite ill since she's not eating. you might start your own thread, if you haven't already and include everything you can think of about her - when did she last have a good appetite, what's her poop like, what is her normal diet, how is her comb color, when is the last time she was known to lay an egg, how old is she, has she been wormed and if so when and with what etc. See if she'll take some scrambled egg and/or plain yogurt and/or sunflower seeds. Cool fruit if you're in hot weather. V&E in her water (if you have Avia Charge 2000 you can use that). anyway, i would start a thread. Sounds very serious but not necessarily hopeless.

JJ