What's going on I wonder?

[newfoundland]

I have an ex battery hen that has been causing some concern lately. For about two weeks she has been standing with very ruffled feathers and her head shrunk into her chest. She was only showing any signs of life when I took food out, then she ran to it and ate hungrily. I thought she might be being affected by the cold weather, so I upped the food supply to include warm porridge as well as layers pellets and kale.

I did wonder if she was being bullied because I spent some time observing her and saw she was chased off the food sometimes. Three days ago I went to let the hens out in the morning and discovered she had been out all night, hiding out of sight, under the hen house. She may have been muscles out or too weak to flutter up into the hen house? As we had snow, I brought her in, and in doing so noticed how thin she had become.

To cut a long story short, she has been very ill. Nothing I gave her would tempt her to eat. I read many posts on BYC and yesterday in desperation, I syringed, first water with honey, then soft cheese and milk and later soft egg yolk into her beak. She swallowed this readily and later in the day she stood up.

Today, she is feeding, and drinking normally. I am thankful for her recovery, but I don't know what was wrong. I have checked her for mites and lice and she is clean. Her comb is however pale, so my next thought is worms.I am wondering how long to leave her before worming her as she will not improve much more if she has a worm burden. On the other hand I don't want to risk weakening her if it is too soon in her recovery. Any advice would be gratefully received.

As it was minus 17C here last night, I intend keeping her indoors until the weather is better.

 

[teach1rusl]

You've kind of got a catch 22 there. She could be weakened by an infestation of worms - but then she may be too weak to worm. I'd give her another day of indoor improvement and then try a wormer - you just don't have a lot of choice. Wazine is pretty mild, but only addresses roundworms I believe. Safeguard covers many types of worms, but I think is harsher on their systems. Do the droppings look normal???

Keep tempting her with treats - chopped up boiled egg or scrambled egg is good. You might also try electrolites in her water for an added boost. I hope she perks up for you...

 

[newfoundland]

I am happy to say my hen is pretty much back to normal now. She is drinking and eating everything I give her. I have been giving her egg yolk as well as layers pellets, porridge and kale. Even her comb, which was very pale has taken on some colour again. I want to try and get a bit more weight on her before I put her outside again, to buffer her against the cold. Thankfully, the temperatures are above freezing now. Her droppings do seem normal now and she is very lively. I am thinking about putting her outside in a day or two and worming them all together. By this time I hope she will be sufficiently strong to tolerate worming without any set backs. Thank you for your reply.

 

[newfoundland]

My hen is outside again in the run. She is looking quite well now. I checked carefully under the house to make sure she had gone inside before I closed up for the night, and she had. One more day of extra feeds I think then I will worm them. Crisis over for now!