I have a hen who is less than a year old but mature (was laying) who has been lethargic and weak. At first she was sitting down a lot and had her head tilting to the side a bit. I gave her vitamin E oil and she didn't get any worse. She has been sleeping on the floor of the hen house though instead of getting up on the perch with the other girls. This has been going on for about 2 weeks or so. Now in the past two days she has been rolling over on her side a bit and then getting stuck. She can't get her feet back under her if she rolls to the side. Her right leg seems to be the weaker of the two.
Unfortunately I just had foot surgery, so I haven't been able to be out with the girls much. My daughter reported that her poop was "runny", but whether that is bad runny or ok runny, I have no idea. My husband said she was eating stuff from the ground (scratch probably) when he went out to look at her. I have been making a liquidy chicken food porridge for her and have been force feeding her some to make sure she is still getting food in her. She will eat some on her own (maybe about the equivalent of 1/2 tsp of pellets), but then I force her to eat a bit more just to keep her strength up.
Oh, she also stopped laying, but I don't feel eggs in there that I can tell.
Does anyone have any ideas about what might be wrong with her and/or things I might try to help her? I lost my first 4 birds in just over a year (different ways, so it's not like I have a single disease wiping them out), and she is the first of the new batch to now be ill. If I start losing these girls, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to continue to replace them. I get too attached. :'(
Unfortunately I just had foot surgery, so I haven't been able to be out with the girls much. My daughter reported that her poop was "runny", but whether that is bad runny or ok runny, I have no idea. My husband said she was eating stuff from the ground (scratch probably) when he went out to look at her. I have been making a liquidy chicken food porridge for her and have been force feeding her some to make sure she is still getting food in her. She will eat some on her own (maybe about the equivalent of 1/2 tsp of pellets), but then I force her to eat a bit more just to keep her strength up.
Oh, she also stopped laying, but I don't feel eggs in there that I can tell.
Does anyone have any ideas about what might be wrong with her and/or things I might try to help her? I lost my first 4 birds in just over a year (different ways, so it's not like I have a single disease wiping them out), and she is the first of the new batch to now be ill. If I start losing these girls, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to continue to replace them. I get too attached. :'(
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