Help, I've got a sick chicken! Anyone have any ideas?

[Tenaj]

We have a laying hen (two years old) that a few weeks ago seemed very weak and she would just go outside and lay in the sun. We kept expecting her to die but she kind of recovered but still isn't quite right.

 

This sounds wierd but she looks like a penguin - it's like she lost her butt. :confused: She's eating and drinking and walks around but there is definitely something wrong. her back end has dropped.

 

Any ideas - I've tried searching but no disease seems to fit the description.

 

Thanks

[supermom]

She was a year old, beautiful Buff Brahma. We thought everything was fine and then found her dead at the edge of the woods...right where they always root for bugs and dirt bathe. I saw no signs of foul play, so I guess she got sick....or maybe over heated????? I am wondering if chickens have heatstrokes. It was in the 90s, but there have been many of those. We did not have water out in the woods, but there was water at their chicken house. I'm also wondering if it's normal for the chickens to start loosing some feathers on their backs when it gets hot out. Several are doing that right now.

 

I hope you don't mind me asking my chicken question in your thread. I hope your chicken gets better. It is sad to see one sick and die. The other day a hawk swooped down and grabbed one, but she was too heavy and didn't fly. WHEW! That would have been horrible to see our girl flying through the sky!

 

Monica

[amy g.]

Try searching this board:

 

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/forumdisplay.php?f=26

[Pongo]

How about chicken soup?

 

Sorry no help here, I couldn't help myself Ü

[Doran]

We have a laying hen (two years old) that a few weeks ago seemed very weak and she would just go outside and lay in the sun. We kept expecting her to die but she kind of recovered but still isn't quite right.

 

This sounds wierd but she looks like a penguin - it's like she lost her butt. :confused: She's eating and drinking and walks around but there is definitely something wrong. her back end has dropped.

 

Any ideas - I've tried searching but no disease seems to fit the description.

 

Thanks

 

 

A penguin like stance is a classic sign of a hen which is egg bound. However, if she's been this way for over a week and she's still with you, it could also be egg yolk peritonitis or EYP. Of the two, I've seen far more of the latter than the former. Google both, specifically for poultry, and see what you think about materials you read online. If she's a "pet", you could start her on a round of antibiotics, if you're into medicating your birds (fwiw, we *rarely* did). I'm sorry to say that hens are among the WORST creatures when it comes to ease of diagnosis. They hide their illnesses quite well, and often, as in the case of Supermom's bird, die suddenly with little warning.

 

If your bird was mine, and I'd determined that antibiotics were not the way to go, I'd separate her from the flock (because she'll have an easier time of recuperating w/out competing with the others), feed her a diet rich in leafy greens like kale, dandelion, chickweed, soft grasses. Chop these up and offer them to her in small quantities with no other foods for about two days. If she's eating the greens and seems perky, you can also try some chopped hard boiled egg. Give her a week or so of TLC and maybe she'll come around.

 

I hope she recovers for you.

 

 

 

She was a year old, beautiful Buff Brahma. We thought everything was fine and then found her dead at the edge of the woods...right where they always root for bugs and dirt bathe. I saw no signs of foul play, so I guess she got sick....or maybe over heated????? I am wondering if chickens have heatstrokes. It was in the 90s, but there have been many of those. We did not have water out in the woods, but there was water at their chicken house. I'm also wondering if it's normal for the chickens to start loosing some feathers on their backs when it gets hot out. Several are doing that right now.

 

I hope you don't mind me asking my chicken question in your thread. I hope your chicken gets better. It is sad to see one sick and die. The other day a hawk swooped down and grabbed one, but she was too heavy and didn't fly. WHEW! That would have been horrible to see our girl flying through the sky!

 

Monica

 

 

supermom -- your bird *could* have died of dehydration and heat exhaustion...it does happen. I've rescued more than one bird on the brink of death from overheating. The problem is, when they get too hot, their legs give out and they lie down. This keeps all the heat in their bodies instead of allowing them to be up and about w/ air circulating under them. Then, their hearts and lungs give out. If you're going to range your birds, do set a waterer out in the areas they most love, just as a precaution. That said, she could also have died of reproductive issues (see my reply to Jan above).

 

As for the feather loss on their backs, it sounds like you've got an over eager rooster in your flock. Yes? Feather loss on backs is typical in birds with males in their midst -- the treading from their spurs wears the feathers off. If you don't have a rooster, you may want to consider mites.

 

 

Hope this helps you both!

[supermom]

Well.....there is no rooster. I peeked around for mites and don't see them. Would they be visible?

Monica

[Doran]

Well.....there is no rooster. I peeked around for mites and don't see them. Would they be visible?

Monica

 

 

Please tell me a bit more about what you're seeing in the way of feather loss. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, though I'm signing off shortly for today.

[supermom]

It's a small area right before their tail feathers....an area probably about the size of a golf ball. The longer feathers have come out, but I pulled back back the feathers to look closely and there are little feathers there. It's not like they are bald, but the long ones have come out. And there are several chickens losing some feathers in that same area. They are full and pretty everywhere else. Their legs don't look scaly. Their combs look nice. I was figuring it was just something that happened when it got really hot out. The one that died was a Buff Brahma and I did not notice this on her. The ones missing some feathers are all Production Reds.

Thanks for any insight.

Monica

[Soph the vet]

I saw no signs of foul play

 

Sorry, I just couldn't resist highlighting this part of what you said!

No pun intended?

 

I'm so glad Doran is here. My poultry med is really paltry in comparison:lol: but "egg bound" was my first thought regarding the "penguin", of course it was my ONLY thought as it is the ONLY thing I remember from my avian classes!!

[Tenaj]

Thanks Doran -

My daughter (the official keeper of chickens at our house) is going to work with her. We've got a rabbit cage and we'll bring her up by the house to keep a closer eye on her and try the "green" diet. From googling it doesn't look like there is much hope - but she's lasted like this for two weeks so maybe she'll make it.

[Doran]

It's a small area right before their tail feathers....an area probably about the size of a golf ball. The longer feathers have come out, but I pulled back back the feathers to look closely and there are little feathers there. It's not like they are bald, but the long ones have come out. And there are several chickens losing some feathers in that same area. They are full and pretty everywhere else. Their legs don't look scaly. Their combs look nice. I was figuring it was just something that happened when it got really hot out. The one that died was a Buff Brahma and I did not notice this on her. The ones missing some feathers are all Production Reds.

Thanks for any insight.

Monica

 

 

Monica -- that feather loss would not concern me. Not sure where you are geographically, or if you had lights on your birds at all this winter, but it could be that they are molting a bit. It could be that they are pecking at each other a bit. Mites would be evidenced by lots of scratching. You would see all your birds scratching often. But, you probably won't see them by looking. There are different types, but the ones I've experienced are dust colored and the size of a speck of dirt. You would want to look for them at night, with a flashlight, as that's when they are most active. Check for "moving dirt" under wings, around the vent, and in the neck area, which are places mites tend to congregate. Also on roosting perches. But, again, it sounds like natural feather loss to me.

 

 

Thanks Doran -

My daughter (the official keeper of chickens at our house) is going to work with her. We've got a rabbit cage and we'll bring her up by the house to keep a closer eye on her and try the "green" diet. From googling it doesn't look like there is much hope - but she's lasted like this for two weeks so maybe she'll make it.

 

 

You're right, it's a tricky road at this point. Depends on how weak she is and if she's seriously infected or not. Fair warning: It may not be a pretty exit, so you could consider helping her with the process if she deteriorates slowly but noticeably over the course of the coming days. If she's still eating and drinking now though, and if her eyes look bright, that's a good sign!