[WoodlandsDevon]

One of my hens has been quite lethargic this week. she's been doing green poos and passed a 2cm long skin coloured piece of something (i don't know what it is) in her poo as well. can any one help as to what is wrong? i let her back with nineteen others and it looks a bit like another has got it (standing still and a little hunched). i'd be grateful if anyone can help me.

[zoe_emma]

I can't offer a great deal of help I am afraid, although we have had several lethargic droopy-winged hens lately. Four in total, two got better but sadly two didn't. My OH looked on the net and we ended up taking them out so the others can't have a go at them. We put ours in an old indoor rabbit cage in a quiet part of the house with hay and some water.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will come along soon, good luck.

[Fanackapan]

Mine have just begun to moult and were slower for a couple of days before the moult started , could yours be on the verge of a moult ?
Have you heard any sneezing or sign of respiratory problems ?
There can be many reasons for hens to appear lethargic and until they become apparent I would probably just try giving them a boost to their systems with extra protein such as meal worms or live maggots, even oily fish like tuna can help.
Apple cider vinegar is beneficial in their water and if you do observe a moult then adding poultry spice to the feed also helps the hens.
As for the strange thing the hen passed , it may well have been what is known as a lash , which is discarded reproductive tissue , the hen can be a bit down before this is passed but usually picks up, however they don't always go back to laying again especially if the hen is a bit older.

[Eve]

I agree, sounds like your hen passed a lash. One of mine had that last Christmas, she was my best layer and didn't lay for 9 days afterwards and wasn't well for a few days before and after, but has been fine again since.

[WoodlandsDevon]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I've examined their breathing and thankfully they have no difficulties there! i am trying cider vinegar at the moment in their water so I'll just see how it goes! Yes it was most likely lash that occurred, i haven't seen this before so I wasn't sure.

[Mammyshaz]

I've heard of lash and it sounds like what your hen had but I haven't witnessed it in my own hens ( yet) to give any advice. Hope she is back to normal soon 

[HesterF]

Trouble is that there can be quite a few hen problems which result in hunched, sad looking hens with funny poo - some recoverable, some not. I lost a lot to Avian Leukosis last winter and that was how they looked. Even once I knew what was happening, there was nothing I could do. But it may be something that she just gets through with a bit of TLC in a few days. Even a vet wouldn't really know without blood tests and so on. I would, however, keep her and the other saddish one isolated for a couple of weeks just in case they have got something awful - it might just save the rest of them.

H

[chrismahon]

Hi WoodlandsDevon. The green poos say internal infection and the 'lash' is shed oviduct. So it sounds like one triggered the other. We had a run of it with Black Rocks. Could be a breed and age related thing. We gave our hens a 7 day course of Baytril and they picked up and started laying about two months later.

[Kitchen Cottage]

Hi,

All I can offer is that my hen Emily (who is almost a pet) was very very poorly a couple of months ago.  Not walking, head laying over.  I was hand feeding her for 2 weeks and was basically forcing it down.  Someone on here recommended boiled eggs and, whether it was coincidence or not, within 3 days she came back and started to want food or water... I am now a convert to boiled eggs to perk up a hen