Chicken - Lethargic and diarrhea

[farmland5]

Our one year-old hen is acting a little abnormal this morning. She’s not as interested in food or foraging this morning as normal. She keeps closing her eyes, lowering her head and lowering her tail feathers. When we put her on a fresh patch of grass she’ll perk up and eat a little, then return to the flock and close her eyes again.

The rest of the flock is acting normal. I did give the flock dried eggshells the other day. I did not cook or boil them ahead of time. Could that have made her sick?

I gave her rescue 911 in her water. She did drink some of it. I also boiled an egg and crushed up some egg shells. She ate a little and then walked away. I tried feeding her a dewormer pill, but she doesn’t want to eat it. I’m not sure of what to do. Any suggestions?

See photo of her poop

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi,

When is the last time she laid an egg if you know? The huddled up stance could be she's got an impacted egg.

I doubt the eggshells would be causing a problem, especially since they were ground up. If you suspect she's not laid in a while, she'll need a Calcium +D, a whole human one. If you don't have any, you could crush up a Tums for her, and mix it in a little yogurt or scrambled eggs. You can give her this for a few days. If she's got anything stuck, this will cause contractions.

I'd hold off on the dewormer until she's feeling better. I hope that's soon!