Young chicken seems ill or depressed??

[Lindsay Jane]

I have three eight-month-old chickens: Pepper (black barred rocks), Pheonix (Rhode Island red), and Rosie (New Hampshire red). Pepper and Pheonix are each laying (we get 2-3 eggs a day). They are very vocal, alert, and social. I'm beginning to really worry about Rosie.

Rosie has yet to lay. She had a slight limp for a couple weeks, it came and went. The limp is gone, but spends most of her time "resting," i.e., sitting down. She isn't social with the other birds, and sleeps by herself on a lower roosting bar. She seems to be a bit smaller that the other two, although she eats, drinks, and poops normally. But she seems confused. When I am hand-feeding them treats (apples, strawberries, and leafy greens are their favorites), Rosie misses the food by a mile when she's trying to peck it, while the other two girls have laser-beam precision. She can most often be found sitting by herself, sometimes facing a wall or fence post. This behavior has gone on for awhile now.

Her comb and waddles are very pale, and very small (almost non existent), while both other chickens have large, fleshy, bright red combs. She also often has her tail feather sort of... droopy.

I have checked her for mites, foot and skin issues, being egg-bound... nothing. She doesn't seem to have any respiratory issues, rashes, or abrasions, and lacks symptoms of most diseases that I've read about. She eats, drinks, and poops normally.

Is she just depressed? Is it possible she's a bit delayed? Or are these signs of a disease that I haven't read about? Any insight and suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

@Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

As long as a chicken has access to her flock, she likely won't be troubled by depression. However, Rosie appears to have definite health issues, and I would guess they could be genetic. The pale comb indicates a pituitary gland that may not be functioning, so she hasn't sexually matured, thus no eggs. The tail held low and her antisocial behavior indicates a chicken that isn't feeling well.

The cause? It could be she's got genetic defects, but she likely won't outgrow them. It is also possible she has an avian virus that is causing tumors on her organs. If so, she will continue to decline.

What was the source of these chicks? Hatchery or private breeder? Do you have any close neighbors with chickens or friends with chickens that frequently visit your chickens?

 

[Eggcessive]

How do her eyes look? Are they both the same color, clear, and are the pupils the same size? Sometimes limps may be associated with Mareks disease, and in some cases they can get better. With her various problems, I would guess that she is a weak or sickly chick. She may have some underlying problem with immunity. I have had the occasional loner who acts peculiar, never laid, and separated herself from the flock. Sometimes when we do a necropsy after death, and take pictures of the organs, we can learn some details about what might have been wrong.

 

[Lindsay Jane]

How do her eyes look? Are they both the same color, clear, and are the pupils the same size? Sometimes limps may be associated with Mareks disease, and in some cases they can get better. With her various problems, I would guess that she is a weak or sickly chick. She may have some underlying problem with immunity. I have had the occasional loner who acts peculiar, never laid, and separated herself from the flock. Sometimes when we do a necropsy after death, and take pictures of the organs, we can learn some details about what might have been wrong.

Eyes are both the same color and are clear. It does seems like she doesn't focus on things- or like she is confused.

 

[Lindsay Jane]

As long as a chicken has access to her flock, she likely won't be troubled by depression. However, Rosie appears to have definite health issues, and I would guess they could be genetic. The pale comb indicates a pituitary gland that may not be functioning, so she hasn't sexually matured, thus no eggs. The tail held low and her antisocial behavior indicates a chicken that isn't feeling well.

The cause? It could be she's got genetic defects, but she likely won't outgrow them. It is also possible she has an avian virus that is causing tumors on her organs. If so, she will continue to decline.

What was the source of these chicks? Hatchery or private breeder? Do you have any close neighbors with chickens or friends with chickens that frequently visit your chickens?

Is there anything that a veterinarian would do to diagnose and treat? We got her from a family-owned chicken farm that specializes in backyard chickens. We also got our other two girls there at the same time. There are chickens in a neighboring yard (a few houses away) but our chickens have never been in contact with other chickens. We do have two dogs, but they have not had direct contact as the chickens stay within their coop and run area and the dogs are not allowed in.

 

[ChickNanny13]

She maybe a "special needs" girl Perhaps an injury early on (pecked in the head) or just genetic or developmental ... Could we get a picture?

 

[azygous]

It would be expensive, but a vet could take a blood sample and send it to a lab requesting it be examined for avian virus DNA markers. The cheaper route would be to be prepared to send her off to a lab for a necropsy in the event that she dies.

I suspect an avian virus such as leucosis. could be the cause of Rosie's woes. Since she came from a private breeder, she could have gotten it from her egg donor since the virus passes from carrier to chick via the egg. I have experience with this virus in my flock, and about half the chicks hatched within the flock have gone symptomatic within the first year.

On the other hand, most popular hatchery chick breeds have been bred to be resistant to this virus, and almost all the chicks hatched outside my flock have survived, some to the ripe ages of nine and ten.

Some poultry experts say that the leucosis virus is one of the most wide spread, now present in many flocks, often its presence unknown to the people keeping them. It's entirely possible the source for your chicks unknowingly has this virus in their flocks since deaths from it seem rare and easy to rationalize as "death from natural causes".

The chickens that have died from leucosis in my flock have had symptoms similar to Rosie's. There is no vaccination and no cure.

 

[Lindsay Jane]

She maybe a "special needs" girl Perhaps an injury early on (pecked in the head) or just genetic or developmental ... Could we get a picture?

Here are two picture of Rosie: The photo of her on top of the food bin is at 5 months, the other at 7. Her comb is paler now than it was at 7 months.

 

[Lindsay Jane]

It would be expensive, but a vet could take a blood sample and send it to a lab requesting it be examined for avian virus DNA markers. The cheaper route would be to be prepared to send her off to a lab for a necropsy in the event that she dies.

I suspect an avian virus such as leucosis. could be the cause of Rosie's woes. Since she came from a private breeder, she could have gotten it from her egg donor since the virus passes from carrier to chick via the egg. I have experience with this virus in my flock, and about half the chicks hatched within the flock have gone symptomatic within the first year.

On the other hand, most popular hatchery chick breeds have been bred to be resistant to this virus, and almost all the chicks hatched outside my flock have survived, some to the ripe ages of nine and ten.

Some poultry experts say that the leucosis virus is one of the most wide spread, now present in many flocks, often its presence unknown to the people keeping them. It's entirely possible the source for your chicks unknowingly has this virus in their flocks since deaths from it seem rare and easy to rationalize as "death from natural causes".

The chickens that have died from leucosis in my flock have had symptoms similar to Rosie's. There is no vaccination and no cure.

I don't think that we will be taking her in for testing at the vet unless I see some definite outward symptoms or injury. We have reached out to the farm where we got her, and hopefully can get some feedback, or, a the very least, alert them to a possible issue. Thank you!