I would suggest removing her to a quiet, warm place until you know what the problem is. This is as much for the protection of the rest of your birds as for the sick one's comfort. She might hanve something contagious.

Sorry I can't help with the diagnosis, but if you go to Velvet Sparrow's member page and you will find tons of helpful information.

Birds don't usually show signs of illness until they are VERY ill, so you need to act quickly. Keep her someplace warm and quiet, and make sure she is eating and drinking. Offer her goodies such as scrambled eggs, diced grapes and raw corn on the cob (or canned) to get some nutrition in her. Check her poops to see what they look like--it'll help your vet diagnose her. Call him first thing in the morning and tell him you have a very ill bird.

Without more info it's tough to offer more help...check her to see if she's lost weight and for mites. If you click on my 'My Page' there is tons of chicken info there that might help. Good luck!

Velvet ~:>

Thanks. She is going to the vet this morning. It was hard to find one after I was directed to 5 others first. I've got her in the garage with a low heater on her. She seems very content. I will let you know what the vet says. I read your page, v/sparrow, thanks, lots of great info.

Without doing bloodwork and x-rays they couldn't be sure what's wrong with her but they examined her stool and gave her antibiotics. She is in the warm garage with a heater and plenty of TLC. Fingers crossed.

Fingers crossed here, too....don't give up on her, I've had many a sick chicken myself that I thought were done for and they pulled through and lasted for many years.

I'd support her by giving her unflavored Pedialyte to drink--it will give her a needed electrolyte boost. Also offer the cooked food goodies to keep her eating--scrambled eggs, cooked ground beef, mealworms (chickens LOVE these and they are very nutritious!), diced grapes, raw corn on the cob (or canned if you can't find it on the cob), etc. You want to keep her from losing weight in her breast area, which is very hard for chickens to regain.

Don't stop the antibiotics, even if she seems perfectly healthy--continue giving them the full time the vet recommends. Stopping too soon can cause a relapse, and then the bug has built up a resistance to the antibiotic and is harder to kill. Also, since antibiotics kill off ALL the bacteria in the body--good AND bad--after she finishes the antibiotics she may have diarrhea...you can give her a bit of unflavored yogurt with active cultures (MUST be active cultures) to help restore the balance of flora and fauna in her gut, or you can go to the pet store and buy some BeneBac, a gel that does the same thing. BeneBac is marketed towards bird owners so look for it in that section. Don't start the yogurt or BeneBac until AFTER she is done with the antibiotics, though--she needs to be done with them in order for the yogurt to do it's thing.

Velvet ~:>

She passed away yesterday. We did everything right and loved her a lot but it just wasn't meant to be. Thanks so much for all your advice.

Sorry to hear that your hen died, but I am glad you realize that you did all you could for her. One of the problems with chickens seems to be that they are often VERY sick before they exhibit symptoms. Take confort in knowing you gave her a good life.

I'm sorry to hear you lost your hen. But thank you for posting and asking these questions. I've learned a lot right along with you, and now know even more. I'm sure my day is coming when I will be facing these exact same challenges, and because of your caring, I will have some idea what I need to do.

I'm so sorry! :( Good for you though, for taking care of her and trying. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, all we can do is provide a warm, safe, loving place for them to die. With chickens you really have to leap quickly and be aggressive in treating them, they hide sickness so very well. I've lost birds the same day I noticed they were ill.

I'd keep any medications handy that the vet gave you, though, and watch the rest of your flock like a hawk for signs of illness--usually in chickens the first thing to look amiss is their poops, so do a poop quality inspection for a while. :)

Velvet ~:>

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I will be watching the others carefully. Something very odd happened when she died, that evening my rooster cried a very sad type of sound and not a crowing sound. My other hen has been laying and egg every day since she died. She didn't lay while the sick hen was in the house, away from her. The egg-laying-hen has never laid eggs before. I find this very odd and fascinating!

Been lurking here a bit - sorry about your hen, as I have one that is on the "watch list." Tho she seems OK, I'm still hoping she starts to lay again after moulting.

About the post - regarding mealworms. Someone told me these can be "raised" too. As I'm getting short on grubs -feeding them when I strain the compost - it would be nice to know how to home-raise some mealworms. What is the technique please?

Bejay

What should you look for in the poo what is healthy and what is bad? My chicken is refusing all food, water and goodies. We have bought her inside in a box away from the others the vet is at a loss. She is listless and unaware of her surroundings closing her eyes. She is normally really fast and always first to get food. This is so out of character we only noticed this yesterday. Her feathers are healthy and the vet said there are no obvious signs she looks healthy but very under weight. Any advice would be gratefully recieved.