The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: smallflockshearing on February 22, 2016, 08:05:44 pm
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I have a hen who is normally the most assertive amongst her little flock, but she is off-colour. She is lacklustre, keeps her tail down and her neck tucked in short. She does not roost on a perch but on the floor of the coop. Her comb is extremely small. Any ideas anyone? Thank you.
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So she doesn't have the energy to fly up to her perch or is there a ladder?
Is she in lay or should she be laying but isn't? Have you seen any shell-less or soft shelled eggs recently?
Is her comb still red or is it darker than normal?
Does her abdomen feel normal or large and squidgy?
Does she eat and pooh alright as far as you can tell? Is her crop full?
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Was she a slow grower compared to the rest? Has she had any seizures at all?
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Perch is only a few inches off the floor, with no ladder. She should be in lay, but I don't think she is - I've seen no soft shells or shell-less eggs recently. Comb is red, but small. Abdomen feels large and tender. She is eating, and I have seen no sign of dodgy poo. Crop seems ok. She grew well, and I have not noticed any seizures.
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Abdomen large and tender suggests egg peritonitis, it would be worth asking advice from vet or more experienced neighbour. In my experience, hens don't recover from egg peritonitis.
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Get some wormer down her, Flubanvet is used by most of us, tiniest bit on a bigger than a crumb size bit of wet brown bread, watch her eat it so you know she's had it. Good chance that's it so don't delay.
Sometimes sadly, when they get to the stage it's obvious that there's something wrong it's too late. Good luck wee hen.
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Hens which are egg bound or have egg peritonitis have a characteristic stance - often described as standing like a penguin
More info here
http://luckyhensrescuenorthwest.weebly.com/egg-bound-henegg-peritonitis-help-sheet.html (http://luckyhensrescuenorthwest.weebly.com/egg-bound-henegg-peritonitis-help-sheet.html)
and here
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx (http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx)
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Unsure but all I can say is check the quality of the food make sure its a good layer quality and have oyster shell available. My hens are very healthy they have all our scraps and raw milk. A few months ago my hens went down on their hocks - looked rubbish but for more reason. Put it down to mineral deficiencies caused by rubbish mash - went back to full quality organic layers with oyster shell always available no more issues.
I always isolate a poorly hen to avoid any pecking and stress - give them some extra bits and care. I also have some ABs here and give them a couple of shots.
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Update!
I brought her indoors for around 4 days, 2 of these with a 2kw fan heater aimed at her, and a 250W bulb the rest of the time, fed her bread (with flubenvet) and corn, and she slowly rallied.
I decided to re-introduce her to the flock, which was predictably tricky with bullying, so confined her to the house for a couple more days. The bullying has eased off and although she is being shunned a fair bit she is much better, with the tail spotted being up for the first time today.
Thanks for all help and advice.
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Great news. Reintroduce her to the hen house when its just about dark, chicken's eyesight is rubbish and they are at their most docile then, they will wake in the morning none the wiser and hopefully all should be well.
Well done wee hen. x