Ill and lethargic blue copper marans hen

[danlan]

Not sure what to make of my blue copper Marans. She's acting lethargic, appears to have lost weight. When she stands, her head is down and back, like her neck has disappeared. Her head often is tilted to her right side. Her left eye is often closed. The way she holds her head makes crop appear very prominent, although it feels empty/ very little in it. She's only laid 1-2 eggs in the last 2 weeks. All my other birds appear healthy. Someone in the flock has bright green poop (I'm guessing it's the marans). She's in a flock of 6 other chickens...all different breeds. All of them are 1 year old.

Any ideas what to do for her?

Photos:
1, crop appears to stick out because head is back and neck is not extended

2, left eye closed

3, left eye closed, head down and to her right

4, same as 3 but zoomed in

5, head oddly to her right

 

[coach723]

First off, I would crate her, in a wire crate preferably, in the coop/run with the others (less stressful). That way you can get a good look at her droppings, monitor her eating and drinking. Green droppings can sometimes be from not eating (bile). Pictures of the droppings are welcome. See if she lays. Offer her some cooked or scrambled egg, or some canned tuna, see if she will eat. A mash made from mixing her pellets or crumbles with some water may tempt her.
Give her a good going over, look for anything, injuries hiding in feathers, lice/mites, feet, etc. I would open that eye and take a look, any injury, inflammation, pus, discharge etc? Any wheezing, coughing, discharge from nares or beak, look inside beak for any plaques or lesions.
How old is she? Have you ever wormed your birds or had a fecal test to check for internal parasites?

 

[danlan]

Hi @coach723 thanks for your input. Here's an update and answers to your questions:

• Yesterday, I isolated her in a tiny coop with a mini run in the main run area and since then, she's been mostly sleeping.
• Before I separated her from the rest of the flock, she was up and about more than she was on Saturday.
• Given that she was more active before I isolated her, I'm not sure if the extra sleeping means she is doing worse, or if the separation from the rest of the flock is giving her space to rest without being bothered by the other birds.
• As for the eye, doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it. She opens it on her own. Perhaps she's just been sleeping with one eye open because she was in among the other birds before and needed to be vigilant
• I tried tempting her with canned tuna, but she didn't want to eat much at all
• Not laying eggs at all
• I can't see anything wrong with her, no obvious injuries, no wheezing, etc.
• She is 14 months old
• I have not wormed any of my birds or had fecal tests
• Poop is green:
  

 

[coach723]

If you have poultry nutridrench, give that once a day for up to three days, it can give them a boost and may help with appetite. The green droppings is probably from not eating well. I do see some undigested seeds/grains in there. Is she drinking on her own? In my flock, I would worm, to see if it helps. Cooked or scrambled egg is what works best in my flock, if someone isn't eating. Stopping laying can be a symptom, or it can just be because she's not feeling well for another reason. Sometimes when there are no specific symptoms beyond basic lethargy, it can be hard to narrow it down. Any signs of molt?