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Post by heather17 on Sept 16, 2009 5:55:55 GMT -5
???I have a chicken has been healthy all year - I have just been on holiday and a friend looked after them (I have 2 - the other one is fine) and I have come back and the chicken is very sleepy. There are no signs of a cut on the body and she come out of the hen house in the morning and is drinking alittle and she tries to peck at the food but she doesn't eat any of it. She is very listless. My neighbour has chickens and they do mix as they all roam around together. My neighbour did say she had a sleepy chicken that died !. She does seem slightly better today than yesterday - but does stay very close to the hen house. Can anyone shed any light on what it could be. I cannot see any lose droppings either. Thank you.  |
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Post by sgelder on Sept 16, 2009 10:23:23 GMT -5
Hi Heather
I had a chicken that became listless and looked sleepy all the time, she would just stand around hunched up in the corner of her coop, this was because she was being bullied, out of our sight. If you are mixing your chickens with your neighbour it looks like she has been put her her place, in the pecking order, unfortunately it looks like she is at the bottom.
What I did with mine is I kept her in the house for a couple of days, she slept in an old fishing basket and I fed her on layers mash and cottage cheese until she was stronger. She had her own food and water so there was no fear that any other chicken was going to push her out of the way or peck her for eating first. When she was fit again I slowly put her out side in a dog cage next to the coop so they could all get used to her again before introducing her to the others. This took about six weeks in all.
If you can keep her in your house an old box will work just as well you will be able to keep your eye on her. Also I gave her chopped tomatos and sprinkled with garlic, this helps prevent dehydration and staves off infection.
Let me know how you get on.
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Post by heather17 on Sept 16, 2009 11:37:22 GMT -5
Thank you so much for the advice - there is only one other hen in our hen house and they seem to get on. (Although not sure if she does get on with the neighbour's chickens). I gave her some layer mash this morning which she did eat alittle of. I will buy some cottage cheese tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Thank you again.
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Post by madhatter on Sept 17, 2009 7:23:19 GMT -5
Have you felt her crop. A sour crop can make them have this reaction. Is it soft and squishy especially in the morning or does she have bad breath see if you can make her burp by squeezeing her crop. If it is you have to empty it by turning her upside down and straighten her neck. Do not do this for too long at a time as they can not breath then give her some live yogurt for a couple of days you might have to oempty the crop again. If it is hard then it is compacted and you need to give her Olive oil (any cooking oil will do but Olive Oil is best for the bird) and massage the crop this has to been done 2 or 3 times a day also if hard keep her off food for a couple of days but give her water and grit.
Hope she gets better.
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Post by newtohens on Oct 30, 2009 16:49:26 GMT -5
My hens became listless and looked a bit hunched up. I wormed the lot of them with Fubenvet which helped a lot and they are brighter.
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