Meaghan Hamilton
In the Brooder
- Jul 3, 2017
- 8
- 2
- 12
Hi there, my little 15 month old ex battery hen is very lethargic. She is sleeping all the time and had to be encouraged to leave the coop. She didn't eat this morning but did drink some water. This behaviour I've noticed started about a month ago when I noticed that she had stopped laying eggs. Slowly each day she has shown less interest in scratching around and being social with the other hens. She always has runny poo all over her back feathers. I have washed her every month, but within minutes her backside is covered with a runny brown substance. I've checked for mites, nothing. She has no discharge from her beak/nostrils. Her face isn't swollen and her comb is a very healthy red. She doesn't feel bloated or seem to have lost any weight. But as she is resting she appears to always be trying to push out a poo with every breath but not straining or holding the push, just a rhythmic small push as she breathes.
I have four altogether. None of my other birds have the same symptoms. I have checked to see if she is egg bound with no eggs to be found. I gave her a 15 minute warm bath with a blow dry treatment and this appeared to make her better. She went straight back into the chicken run and gobbled down some food. But within half an hour she was asleep again in the run.
They only get a once a week small treat. The water is changed daily and the coop cleaned daily with a coop cleanout once every week. I worm them every month and use mite powder. The four hens share a 6 hen coop. Has anyone had the same problem?
I have four altogether. None of my other birds have the same symptoms. I have checked to see if she is egg bound with no eggs to be found. I gave her a 15 minute warm bath with a blow dry treatment and this appeared to make her better. She went straight back into the chicken run and gobbled down some food. But within half an hour she was asleep again in the run.
They only get a once a week small treat. The water is changed daily and the coop cleaned daily with a coop cleanout once every week. I worm them every month and use mite powder. The four hens share a 6 hen coop. Has anyone had the same problem?