Problem with a chicken

[TaxiDriver]

One of my 6 hens is struggling a bit over last couple of days,

She seems to want to sit down alot and just lets her wings droop, She can stand but is reluctant to do so,

she will walk about but very tentatively and not very far before sitting down again and just lets her wings hang loose/drop on the floor

 

Any ideas from fellow poultry keepers Please?

[Essex Keeper]

How old

[GingerCat]

Worms?

[kennett]

Egg bound? Or if she doesn't like walking maybe bad scaly leg

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Roast chicken on Sunday?

[southern]

Check her vent, check her legs, check her crop...it's unusual for a chicken to show it's poorly, that generally means it's really poorly :(

[Imperfection]

Have a feel of her crop first thing in the morning to see if it feels squishy when it should be empty. Chooks get whats known as sour crop which is vegetation stuck in the crop and cant be broken down so it turns poisonous. Biggest cause is long grass and they will be very lethargic.

 

If it is this squirt some olive oil down its throat then give the crop a gentle massage for a little while. You then need to turn the bird upside down to empty the crop,but only for a few seconds at a time otherwise it wont be able to breathe and will die.

[Sprackles]

Have you picked her up and felt her keel, see if she's lost any weight ?

Are her droppings very messy compared to normal?

I had similar last year with one of mine, she died after 3 days...didn't want to eat or drink.

Form of enteritis I believe.

[aga man]

one of mine went like this checked all the usual and even bathed her in warm water [which i was advised] incase she was egg bound sadly it just got worse, and i never found what the problem was.

i dispatched it after a couple of days.

[Paul T]

Worms or red mite would be my guess. Had chooks quite a few years now and never had one egg bound.

 

Have you checked for red mite? My coop got hit really bad this year - see my thread for info.

 

I didn't worm my chooks for the first couple of years, but after losing a lot at around the same age I was advised to worm with flubenvet and it's been great since.

 

Sadly, once they get to this stage of dropping and sitting they rarely recover - but there are exceptions. I've lost some fabulous chooks over the years and all to things that are preventable

[JustJon]

Sounds like Morbid chickens - morbidity is listed in almost every chicken ailment going ?

[Piebob]

Morbid just means unwell / unhealthy.

[JustJon]

Yep - and the above describes classic unwell chickens - hence 5 potential issues above

[spinach]

Separate from the rest. Clean water , dry food.

Dispatch or vet, then dispatch.

Three days should see it over next thing is they go over on one side.

I've had them come back but very rarely.

Perhaps I should take to the vet.

John.

[aga man]

unfortunately the vet will probably want the price of a good hen just to take a look.

Edited September 24, 2013 by aga man

[jasper3]

if it was mine, i think i would see if any of the others get ill before getting the vet involved, unless they are rear breeds,

as many have said..check for red mite, scaly leg or she may well be egg bound, .. if three days go by and she is no better, i think dispatching is the only right thing to do

 

good luck and fingers are crossed for you

 

jasp

[TaxiDriver]

Next question.

What's the quickest and most humane way to dispatch ?

 

There's no meat on them as they're hybrid egg laying chooks, approx 30 months old

Vet consult is circa £26 plus any meds or injections - chooks are £6

[amateur]

Twist & pull

[aga man]

or .22 pellet back of the head.

[redtailhawk1]

As said could be mites. Try honey to give it some energy, clean water/ food, parasite powder, and possibly tonic in water and fingers crossed.

[TaxiDriver]

If one had mites and was this sickly, Wouldn't they all be similar ?

Had a look around the coop and chooks this afternoon and no sign of mites, No apparent redness or sore patches on body or legs.

[Kes]

Sometimes they just get sick - a tonic after separating from the main flock and castor oil for egg bound condition - as said dry food, antibiotic in the water - try you local farm vet shop - Tamulin is a strong one. Always check for raised scales on the legs - scale mite painful which causes them to lose condition so automatically treat with vaseline. Dont think its red mite as no other showing signs but check coop.

Two days and no improvement it goes. My son favours an axe, I prefer the windmill method as you can feel the neck rupture.

[Paul T]

Mites will attack birds MORE that are easier to get so those ones get sick first. You say there's no sign of mites so next thing....

Limping, falling over on one side, reluctance to walk and it could be worms. Been there, got the tee shirt for both!

After those it could b digestive & they don't respond to treatment well when this ill...

[e2000e2000e]

A Bit of marmite in water is a good general tonic and will pick-up a bird that is in a bit of a bad way, however it won't fix infections etc.

[TaxiDriver]

Chicken, like this topic, now deceased (despatched RIP)