Sickly Chicken Advice

[Folara]

I have a 3 year old Olive Egger hen that became hunched, low tail, closed eyes, and not moving much last evening into this morning. I went out to buy some supplies for her today and when I got home she perked up a lot - I saw her eat and drink a little and now she's out in the sun showing a little interest in pecking the ground. No longer hunched and her tail is upright, eyes are much brighter.

I'm wondering if she has an underlying sickness that caused her to decline in the cold hours of the evening/morning (low 30s F) and once it got warmer (60s F) she felt better. I plan on separating her this evening so she can stay warmer and I can monitor her food/water/poop situation.

Any thoughts on what could be affecting her? I will be giving her nutri-drench and I also have calcium citrate, fish amoxicillin, and corid power - should I try out any of these to help her feel better? This is my first sick chicken after 3 years of owning so I appreciate any advice or thoughts you guys have!

 

[ChicNmom]

So it just started yesterday evening?
Did she by any chance lay an egg this morning?


She should not be affected by the cooler temps. Chickens do better in cooler weather than very warm weather.

 

[Folara]

Yes, she was her normal self until yesterday evening when I found her hunched and not moving. She did not lay today, all of my chickens have pretty much stopped laying now due to less daylight.

I agree they do very well in the cold which is why I think she has an underlying problem - unhealthy animals would have trouble maintaining their own temperature to stay warm.

This evening she stayed a little more active and walking around until near dark, I found her outside the coop huddled in a corner. I put her in the separation cage and she immediately started eating the wet mash with nutri-drench I made for her. Eating is a great sign!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 3 year old Olive Egger hen that became hunched, low tail, closed eyes, and not moving much last evening into this morning. I went out to buy some supplies for her today and when I got home she perked up a lot - I saw her eat and drink a little and now she's out in the sun showing a little interest in pecking the ground. No longer hunched and her tail is upright, eyes are much brighter.

I will be giving her nutri-drench and I also have calcium citrate, fish amoxicillin, and corid power - should I try out any of these to help her feel better?

Yes, she was her normal self until yesterday evening when I found her hunched and not moving. She did not lay today, all of my chickens have pretty much stopped laying now due to less daylight.

You sure she didn't lay an egg or expel a membrane while you were out?

Photos of her and her poop?
Is she molting?

Anytime I have a mature hen that is hunching up and not feeling well, then back to her "normal" self within a day, she's laid an egg or has expelled a membrane.

I'd work on getting the Extra Calcium into her once daily for a week to see if she continues to improve.

 

[Folara]

I'm very sure there is no egg or membrane that I could find, but I wouldn't be surprised if my other chickens ate a membrane (they've never eaten complete eggs). I'm keeping her separated today to watch her.

Below is a picture of the only poop she had overnight last night, I think it's slightly watery but otherwise not unusual. I also included a video of her this morning - she's back to being hunched and still, but I noticed she was adjusting her crop and gurgling a little bit while doing it. She didn't eat any food after I watched her take a couple bites last night and didn't drink any water.

I'll start on the calcium now. Anything I can do for her crop?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm very sure there is no egg or membrane that I could find, but I wouldn't be surprised if my other chickens ate a membrane (they've never eaten complete eggs). I'm keeping her separated today to watch her.

Below is a picture of the only poop she had overnight last night, I think it's slightly watery but otherwise not unusual. I also included a video of her this morning - she's back to being hunched and still, but I noticed she was adjusting her crop and gurgling a little bit while doing it. She didn't eat any food after I watched her take a couple bites last night and didn't drink any water.

View attachment 3977434

I'll start on the calcium now. Anything I can do for her crop?

I'd start the calcium.
She is adjusting her crop, but is she's having issues expelling an egg or material, this can cause the crop to slow. You can give her some chunks of coconut oil to see if that helps the crop to move a bit.

What's in her poop? What do you feed, I see some bits of something in there. Just curious. You provide grit (crushed granite) correct?

 

[Folara]

She just got her calcium and some coconut oil chunks too. Fingers crossed! She has some undigested seeds in that poop - my husband gives them a small handful of bird seed most mornings as a treat (split with 10 hens). Regular diet is free access Nutrena All Flock with free access oyster shell and grit.

 

[Folara]

An interesting update - the past couple days she's been more active and wanting to join the flock. Yesterday morning I opened her cage and she ran out then tried jumping off the coop ramp, fell and couldn't get herself up. I stood her back up and she stayed standing, a little hunched over with her tail down. After a little bit she started walking around again, eating and mingling with the flock.

Yesterday evening I went out and when the flock ran to the door to see me she got knocked down and couldn't get up. I picked her up and put her in the separation cage, where she stayed standing and ate some wet mash.

This morning she was very eager to get out of her cage, so I picked her up and set her on the ground and she practically ran out to join the other chickens. I watched her for a while and she was very lively, I thought she was back to normal! Then she tried stepping up on a small ramp and tripped, fell down, and couldn't get herself up. I helped her up and she stayed standing but slightly hunched with her tail down. After a few minutes she started walking around again - the rest of the morning she went up and down the ramp several more times without falling but had a small stumble here and there.

She seems to have some weakness where she can't lift herself back up if she falls. I've seen her walk around quite a bit and she will lay down in the sun for a little bit then get back up, so it seems to affect her if she suddenly goes down.

She's very light, I haven't been able to weigh her but she's definitely skinny - I've been trying to get her to eat different things but she only eats a little bit. Could she be weak from weight loss or could this be Mareks or another disease?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hard to know what's happening with her.
Marek's could be a possibility, without testing, there's no way to be certain.

I'd try vitamin therapy to see if that helps with leg strength and balance.
Give her 400IU Vitamin E and 1/4 tablet B-Complex daily along with a little egg for the uptake of E.
Vitamin E helps with neurological and balance issues and of course B-Complex has a variety of essential B Vitamins including B1(Thiamine) and B2(Riboflavin) which help support legs.

 

[Folara]

Thank you so much for your help and advice! I've started her vitamin therapy and she's been much more lively the past couple days, although she still drops down if she tries to jump off something. I'll keep at it and hopefully she'll continue to improve!