Advice, Weak Young Hen, Sluggish

Hotpocket52

Songster
5 Years
Jan 27, 2020
33
40
101
I noticed my about 4 month old girl is acting sluggish with low energy for about 2 days now. Her wings are drooping down and she is only roosting on the ground of the hen house at night. She is eating when I feed but I have not personally seen her drink water. No injuries are present and she does not appear to be in pain when I pick her up but she weighs almost nothing now. The other hens have not been picking on her at all, but will walk over her because she doesn't get out of the way very fast.
Her face does seem very pale. Not sure if she got too hot maybe?
I let the chickens free range yesterday and she went out with her sister to eat grass but was definitely falling behind.
Is there anything I can give her? Over the counter medicine, different foods or some sort of booster?
I can't afford a vet bill as the only one is for exotic birds and they charge a fortune.
I've also thought about separating her into a cage but I don't want to limit her mobility, as in I want her moving around to stay alive. Plus she might get overheated if confined to a cage even under a shade tree in the backyard from how hot it's been getting.
None of the other young or older chickens are showing signs of sickness.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks. See attached photo of her roosting tonight.
 

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I noticed my about 4 month old girl is acting sluggish with low energy for about 2 days now. Her wings are drooping down and she is only roosting on the ground of the hen house at night. She is eating when I feed but I have not personally seen her drink water. No injuries are present and she does not appear to be in pain when I pick her up but she weighs almost nothing now. The other hens have not been picking on her at all, but will walk over her because she doesn't get out of the way very fast.
Her face does seem very pale. Not sure if she got too hot maybe?
I let the chickens free range yesterday and she went out with her sister to eat grass but was definitely falling behind.
Is there anything I can give her? Over the counter medicine, different foods or some sort of booster?
I can't afford a vet bill as the only one is for exotic birds and they charge a fortune.
I've also thought about separating her into a cage but I don't want to limit her mobility, as in I want her moving around to stay alive. Plus she might get overheated if confined to a cage even under a shade tree in the backyard from how hot it's been getting.
None of the other young or older chickens are showing signs of sickness.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks. See attached photo of her roosting tonight.
Can you get photos of her poop?

With her hunched appearance, I'd be inclined to treat her for Coccidiosis.

See that she's eating and drinking well.

Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.
 
Can you get photos of her poop?

With her hunched appearance, I'd be inclined to treat her for Coccidiosis.

See that she's eating and drinking well.

Liquid Corid dose is 2tsp or Powdered Corid Dose is 1 1/2tsp per gallon of water given for 5-7 days as the only source of drinking water.
Do not add any extra vitamins/electrolytes that contain B1(Thiamine) to food or water during the course of treatment.
Sadly she didn't make it through the night. I'm worried about her sister though, their poops were very runny and I've noticed my older hens look fine but also have runny poops. Should I try to treat the whole flock then?
 
Sadly she didn't make it through the night. I'm worried about her sister though, their poops were very runny and I've noticed my older hens look fine but also have runny poops. Should I try to treat the whole flock then?
I'm sorry you lost her.

It wouldn't hurt to treat all with Corid, the medication is mild and won't hurt them if Coccidiosis isn't what's causing the problems.

If you wish, you can post photos of the sister chick, poop, etc. and we'll take a look to see if there's any other suggestions that can be made.
 
@Wyorp Rock although it sounds like the cause of death was most likely coccidiosis would the hen still be able to be sent in for a necropsy even though she was treated with Corid?
Yes, I think the pathologist would be able to determine Coccidiosis even if treatment had been administered. They would examine the intestines looking for signs/symptoms like in the photos of the article below as well as do some testing.

They would want the body to be as fresh/intact as possible and held refrigerated, so with this being days later, the success of determining the cause of decline is greatly reduced.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...ultry/coccidiosis-in-poultry#Control_v3340194
 
Yes, I think the pathologist would be able to determine Coccidiosis even if treatment had been administered. They would examine the intestines looking for signs/symptoms like in the photos of the article below as well as do some testing.

They would want the body to be as fresh/intact as possible and held refrigerated, so with this being days later, the success of determining the cause of decline is greatly reduced.

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...ultry/coccidiosis-in-poultry#Control_v3340194
I'm so thankful y'all have helped me out, I picked up some liquid corid and added it to the water as directed for the whole flock. I also separated the younger hens so they do not get trampled by the adults. I'm going to attach photos of the sisters and a poop from one of my adult hens that is very liquidly and has almost no solids in it. Obviously one hen looks normal with her tail up and has lots of energy, the other has her tail down, wings hanging and a hunched appearance.
 

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I'm so thankful y'all have helped me out, I picked up some liquid corid and added it to the water as directed for the whole flock. I also separated the younger hens so they do not get trampled by the adults. I'm going to attach photos of the sisters and a poop from one of my adult hens that is very liquidly and has almost no solids in it. Obviously one hen looks normal with her tail up and has lots of energy, the other has her tail down, wings hanging and a hunched appearance.
What are you feeding?

If it's a loose type feed that has different components instead of a crumble chick starter, then you may want to offer it wet so the chicks eat all the feed instead of picking out pieces they like best.

Provide grit (crushed granite) too.
 

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