What to do??

[Eggcessive]

It is possible that she ate something bad or toxic, but it would be hard to know for sure. Could there be any mold in the feed? Having her neck drooping might be a sign of dehydration or a neurological symptom. If her neck was broken, she would not have been able to stand or walk.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Oh my! Then I hope the others her age don’t go thru a molt ever—I’m obviously not good at managing that.

funny you say that. Because my husband came out to look her over with me and said “it looked like her neck was broken”
I have no idea what a chicken with a broken neck would look like. She was STANDING when I approached her, but her head was so bowed down I could not even see it. I opened the door and she sort of moved to get away, I reached out to grab her and she just fell over. I lifted her up and she drew up her legs (which were dusky and very cold BTW) and her head just hung down. And that was it... I’ve never DEWORMED...I change their bedding weekly and spread First Saturday Lime once/month. They always have fresh water.

Yeah it’s a broken neck in my opinion. Any roosting bars?

 

[brickmom68]

Yeah it’s a broken neck in my opinion. Any roosting bars?

Yes. I do have a roosting bar in the particular coop where she was standing, and there is not a bedding area under the bar. I was also concerned about the feed, because I’m a huge worrywart. Tomorrow when the sun is up and I can see I’m going to dump their food and water, scoop the coop and scrub and inspect everything just to make me feel better.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Yes. I do have a roosting bar in the particular coop where she was standing, and there is not a bedding area under the bar. I was also concerned about the feed, because I’m a huge worrywart. Tomorrow when the sun is up and I can see I’m going to dump their food and water, scoop the coop and scrub and inspect everything just to make me feel better.

That’s a good idea. How high up is the roosting bar ? And platform or bar under it? A very similar thing happened to me with a broken neck. I’ll put my money down it’s a broken neck. So sorry for your loss. I recommend building another roosting bar to prevent crowding and pushing which causes falling and broken necks

 

[brickmom68]

It is possible that she ate something bad or toxic, but it would be hard to know for sure. Could there be any mold in the feed? Having her neck drooping might be a sign of dehydration or a neurological symptom. If her neck was broken, she would not have been able to stand or walk.

I put all my kitchen scraps (fruits & veggies, not animal products) in their run. I’ve asked questions about what was acceptable to put in their run and mostly gotten responses that they’ll pick thru what they want and leave what they don’t...but as you can see I’m a novice here. I’m hoping whatever her issue was is not contagious. Because I can’t handle 8 critically ill chickens.

 

[brickmom68]

That’s a good idea. How high up is the roosting bar ? And platform or bar under it? A very similar thing happened to me with a broken neck. I’ll put my money down it’s a broken neck. So sorry for your loss. I recommend building another roosting bar to prevent crowding and pushing which causes falling and broken necks

Ummmm. It might be 2 feet off the ground, just dirt underneath, no platform. Poor girl. She was a plucky (pardon the pun) little thing, soooo pretty.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Ummmm. It might be 2 feet off the ground, just dirt underneath, no platform. Poor girl. She was a plucky (pardon the pun) little thing, soooo pretty.

Oh ok. I would certainly build another. Poor baby

 

[Hopeful homesteader]

I put all my kitchen scraps (fruits & veggies, not animal products) in their run. I’ve asked questions about what was acceptable to put in their run and mostly gotten responses that they’ll pick thru what they want and leave what they don’t...but as you can see I’m a novice here. I’m hoping whatever her issue was is not contagious. Because I can’t handle 8 critically ill chickens.

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/chicken-treats/
This has a list of kitchen scraps they can eat. Not a full list but has a lot of the most common fruits/veggies most people eat. I'll add that this list says no to peanuts but yes to peanut butter, chickens can eat peanuts but they have to be boiled or roasted, they can't have raw peanuts. Also says yes to potatoes and tomatoes, I'll add never give them green potatoes and if you grow your own, never give leaves and stems from either tomato or potato plants. I do give my flock tomato but not often, I've read the seeds in large quantities can make them sick and the flesh is fine but because I can't find anything definitive, I just take extra caution and limit them more than other scraps. Hope the link helps but I don't think this hen passed from eating anything or you'd probably see others acting sick as well.

 

[Tonyroo]

You need to be careful when your dumping kitchen scraps in there run. If those scraps linger longer than a day or two they will have mold on them. Especially in a run that has chicken poop.

 

[brickmom68]

https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/chicken-treats/
This has a list of kitchen scraps they can eat. Not a full list but has a lot of the most common fruits/veggies most people eat. I'll add that this list says no to peanuts but yes to peanut butter, chickens can eat peanuts but they have to be boiled or roasted, they can't have raw peanuts. Also says yes to potatoes and tomatoes, I'll add never give them green potatoes and if you grow your own, never give leaves and stems from either tomato or potato plants. I do give my flock tomato but not often, I've read the seeds in large quantities can make them sick and the flesh is fine but because I can't find anything definitive, I just take extra caution and limit them more than other scraps. Hope the link helps but I don't think this hen passed from eating anything or you'd probably see others acting sick as well.

Thank you!