Ex battery hen has diarrhoea and sleeps all day

[Caitlins_hens]

Hi everyone, I know this will have been covered in a thread already but I’m a bit desperate. Our favourite little ex battery hen is sick. She has always been the scrawniest since we adopted her three months ago and her feathers still haven’t grown back but she is usually very strong, fiesty and confident. She’s about one year old. For context, these hens are free range in our yard and garden and I wonder if they’ve eaten something bad….because around 4 days ago one of the others got very bad diarrhoea, basically pure water. So we separated her and she recovered quickly. But then the little one got sick too, and she has had diarrhoea for the past three days! We have separated her and she is drinking lots, eating little, and sleeping most of the day. She hasn’t laid the past 2 days (otherwise good layer). If anyone could give advice I would appreciate it. Can’t imagine her not being around x

 

[TheOddOneOut]

@aart @azygous @Eggcessive @casportpony

 

[Mvan42]

Are you treating for anything? Pics of poo will help. Sounds like possibly coccidisosis. If so or unsure treat the whole flock with corid. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/updated-corid-and-amprol-amprolium-dosing.818879/

 

[Mvan42]

Also if you think it's something they ate. What type of flower, foliage, etc. Is planted around the area the free range in.

 

[aart]

What all and how exactly are you feeding?

This is what I do when I have a bird acting 'off':
I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor:
-their intake of food and water,
-crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed),
-and their poops.
Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.
Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @Caitlins_hens
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[azygous]

@Mvan42 has mentioned what I would guess is the problem. Coccidiosis is very common this time of year, if you are in the northern hemisphere. And especially for these adopted hens who have never been on the ground on your property and haven't yet built a resistance to the local coccidia, this is the first thing that I would consider.

I would get the liquid Corid, or whatever amprolium your country sells, from your feed store. Make up the drinking water, and also treat the sickest hens with the drench formula of around .5ml undiluted Corid once a day for three days. But do the Corid drinking water for the full five days.

If you adopt any more battery hens, you can help them build resistance to the coccidia by using the preventative mix of Corid to help their bodies do this.