I have 2 8.5 week old easter eggers- one roo and one hen. We ordered 3 but one died in transit. Until recently, they seemed perfectly happy together. Our hen would follow our rooster everywhere. She is obviously much quieter and much more "lady like" than he is. Our roo has been crowing for about 2 weeks now (lucky us) and we are going to have to rehome him. My question is about our hen though. She really loves to be held and sleep while you're holding her. She obviously runs from us when we try to pick her up but doesn't put up much of a fight. She loves crackers, rice, and strawberries...and my violas. Well, within the last 2-3 days I've noticed that she seems almost depressed. She doesn't really run around (she used to run circles around the dining room to get away)...if I go to pick her up she doesn't run away just scurries over to a corner. She won't eat any treats at all. Her poop is very small and somewhat dry. While the roo is out exploring the yard, she stays up on the porch...like I said...almost depressed. These are my first chickens so I can't tell if she is lonely and needs another hen (we are looking for one this weekend around her age), if she's sick, or if she's just "growing up" and is going to be this calm. She really doesn't peep much either. The most worrisome part is that she won't eat any treats- she pecks at her food and I see her drink water but last week she would have LOVED a little rice...wouldn't touch it today. And her poop obviously...it's tiny. Is there something I should be looking for to tell if she's not feeling well? She's the sweetest little girl and I'm really worried about her.
I'd give her some Corid. I use 9.5 ml of the 9.6% solution per gallon of water for 5-7 days (available in the cattle section of the feed store). Mix new solution daily. The change to new soil probably has her suffering with a bout of coccidiosis. It is most common at 8 weeks and under. Of course it could be something else, but after 24 hours you should see improvement if it WAS coccidiosis. They don't have to have bloody poo for it to be coccidosis. You will want to treat the hen and roo. No need to separate them. Sulmet will also treat it but only a couple of strains of it.
Give her some electrolytes And plain yogurt ASAP! I had/have a pair of marans the same age as yours and the rooster was acting the same way and he wasn't peeping like usual or anything. Sadly, he died last night.
