Year-old hen not eating much or acting normal :(

[Htownhens12]

My largest and most dominant hen has suddenly lost a lot of weight and barely eats now, but my other two hens seem to be acting normal and have even started to peck on the sick one (she's never been one to put up with pecking). She'll eat a little from my hand and she did drink, but now she's sitting around sleeping. She used to start fights with my dogs and be very aggressive and entertaining...I really hope she isn't dying

It looks like this may sound like worms, but I live in the city and have never treated for them before. She did have runny yellowish poop, but I didn't see any worms in it... (I'll post a pic). What should I do to treat for them now, and what should I do to help the sick one get healthy again?

Also, I had been gone for a few days until yesterday while a neighbor was caring for the chickens, and I noticed the weird behavior when I got home. Everything went fine while I was gone, except I had gotten a new metal water dish for their run area, and I didn't make sure it was galvanized so it rusted while I was gone. Could the rust have caused this? The other two hens have showed no signs of illness, and they had the same water.... I have taken out the rusty dish. Thanks for any help!

 

[Htownhens12]

 

[Htownhens12]

She pooped again, and now I can tell it definitely is worms. Does this mean it's already too late for her, or can the treatment help her too?

 

[BantamLover21]

She pooped again, and now I can tell it definitely is worms. Does this mean it's already too late for her, or can the treatment help her too?

Treatment will kill any worms in her body, which will help. It might take her a few weeks to regain her lost strength/weight, but just because she clearly has worms doesn't mean that she is beyond saving. What you need to do is deworm her. Some choices of wormers include Ivemectin (not licensed for poultry, but often used), SafeGuard, and Valbazen. I myself use a wormer known as the Worminator. I don't know the active ingredient in it, but you can get it from here: http://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=584 It kills all worms, except tapeworms (which aren't all that common), has an egg withdrawal period of only 24-48 hours, and is safe for use on poultry. The dosage is one drop for bantams, two drops for large fowl, administered orally. You can repeat the dose in 18 days.

Until you can worm her, isolate her and try to get her to eat a lot of nutritious foods, such as dampened layer feed, fruit, mealworms, scrambled eggs, and applesauce. Give her probiotics and vitamins in her water. The idea is to help give her as much nutrition as possible, because worms basically steal feed from a chicken by absorbing all of the nutrients in their gut.

 

[dawg53]

The active ingredient in Worminator is flubenvet. It's a good wormer.

 

[BantamLover21]

The active ingredient in Worminator is flubenvet. It's a good wormer.

Thanks for letting me know.