Fading Hen

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kitty

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Hi all, looks as if I'm going to lose the 3rd of my original batch of 4 chooks. Our first blackrock hen died in June for no apparent reason, she just seemed to lose strength day by day until she finally expired one night.
Now it looks as my 2nd Blackrock is going the same way, she hasn't laid for about a week and her comb is going a very pale pink and she is moving very slowly and often stands in a corner with her tail pointing down. She is about 30 months old and apart from the symptoms above she looks normal i.e. good plumage, clear eyes and although she is eating, she is eating very sparsely and she is last to the food (very unusual for her). Also her poo looks normal.
Has anyone any ideas what's causing this please
 
Going off lay and her comb going pink are not abnormal at this time of year, and if she isn't moulting, is pooing OK and her eyes are clear, these are good signs. However, if she isn't eating the full amount you expect, for whatever reason, she may have been slowly losing weight and strength - does she feel light when you pick her up? Can you feed her extra-nice and nourishing things in a warm mash, ie make a mash with ordinary pellets and hot water, mix in sunflower seeds, dried mealworms, chopped cooked egg, cod liver oil and/or chicken vitamins of some kind.

It sounds as if anaemia might be a possibilty - can you rule out redmite in the coop? If there is redmite they will slowly be sucking her blood every night and she will show exactly the signs you are noticing.

The other thing that might well affect appetite and general wellbeing and strength is a heavy worm burden - when were they last wormed with Flubenvet? If this was more than 6 months ago, it may well be at least a contributory cause to the problem. If you do think they need worming you may have to give her the dose via the 'treat' method, to ensure she gets a full dose, as if her appetite is poor she might not take enough to be effective if the powder is just added to pellets in the normal way.

Lastly, how is the 4th hen? Is she in full health or also poorly?
If you're sure there's no redmite problem, and they have been recently wormed, I would book a trip to the vet maybe.
 
Our Black Rocks showed rather different symptoms at 18 months to 2 years and we lost 3 out of 4. They all had swollen backsides and green poos which seemed to appear overnight. They just bloated up and Baytril had no effect. In the end they couldn't eat even their favouieas they were so swollen. Doesnt sound like yours at all though. So I would agree entirely with Marigold, either bad worms or red mite. I know it's cold now but we have red mite in two of our coops which are getting very slowly worse. I have noticed that the mite have moved upwards, above the hens, perhaps for warmth in the roof.
 
Thanks for replies, the other remaining chook from my original flock of 4 (a speckledy) is fine and the new 2 newer chooks, another blackrock and a silver sussex are also fine. I last wormed them about 3 months ago and there is no evidence of tthem from their droppings.
Also I have thoroughly inspected the coop and the chooks for red mite and can find no evidence of them, I have also inspected at night time and checked their perches with tissue but there are no indications of blood from the red mites. If it did turn out to be red mite, surely the other chooks would also be affected?
 
Well yes, good, I think you have ruled out two of the most likely problems, assuming you did use Flubenvet for worming. I'm glad the rest of them are OK. You might try giving her a bit of individual TLC, to get her to eat better, and see how she goes.
Have you contacted the supplier to see if he has any ideas on what might be wrong? Genuine Rocks are supposed to be hardy, healthy and long-lived, so maybe he can cast some light on the problem.
Do you have a vet experienced with poultry?
Please let us know how you get on.
 
Thanks again, will do the TLC bit. As far as our local vet is concerned however, my information is that they are not chicken friendly.
I'll just have to keep a close watch on her.
 
UPDATE, She is much the same really except she has now started to make a slight warbling type sound occasionally. Is this of any significance do you think?
 
Could be a respiratory infection developing Kitty. That's not necessarily the original problem. It could be due to her inactivity over the last week.
 
Another Update.
The last few days she seems to be quite a bit better, she is eating more, moving more quickly and doesn't stand in a corner with tail bent down. Although she is still not 100%, I am a lot more optimistic now. One thing which I have noticed which may be if significance is that she has shed a massive amount of for want of a better word is like dandruff. I believe I have read on here somewhere that this is due to new feather growth. Although there have been no outward signs of moult, she seems to be sprouting absolutely loads of new feathers underneath the top layer, so I'm just wondering whether all this new growth of plumage has weakened her and dragged her down, can anyone confirm that?
 
I would think that's a hopeful sign, suggesting she's got enough spare energy to renew her plumage. I'd give her cod liver oil in her feed,and plenty of protein eg sunflower seeds, mealworms etc, to make sure she has enough resources to keep her new feathers growing. It's very pleasing to hear of her progress!
 
Yes Kitty, the 'dandruff' is the dry sheaths of the new feathers. They crush them to flake it off, so the feather opens out. Good source of protein, which feathers are made of, is maggots. Wriggly white ones from a fishing shop -chickens love them. And the other sources Marigold has mentioned -we buy sunflower hearts, which is the seed with the black shell taken off and is much easier for a less mobile chicken to digest.
 
chrismahon said:
we buy sunflower hearts, which is the seed with the black shell taken off and is much easier for a less mobile chicken to digest.
Click to expand...

Yes I always get the hulled kind, I forgot you can get them with shells on! A good place to buy all sorts of bird foods including sunflower seeds and big bags of mealworms is https://www.brinvale.com/ which gives free delivery over 10kg.
Other good high-protein foods are sardines - and cooked egg, of course.
 
:D
Hi all, just a quick update to say that my black rock is now fully back to normal and has today laid her first egg in about 2 months and that she now has a beautiful / thick plumage and is eating well and is her usual self.
Just one minor observation though is whereas she was always first to the food previously, now she is about 3rd or 4th, but I am obviously well pleased with her excellent progress.
 
That's great news. Heavy moult can really take it out of them, especially when the weather's cold as well. It's possible that she's at the end of the food queue compared with before, because she's slipped down the pecking order a bit during her time of not feeling very well. So long as she's not being bullied off the food, and is eating well, this doesn't matter, and now she;s started to lay she may regain her original place.
 
Thanks for your replies I'm really made up that she's ok now, her crop is really full before she goes in for the night and she is starting to boss a couple of the other birds around a bit now. As I mentioned, her plumage is beautiful now and in fact I would say it has not been like this for over a year, although it was not that noticeable from the outer feathers that she must have been in a heavy moult underneath but it feels really thick now (and she needs it in these current temperatures!!)
 
Well final post on this subject, she is looking absolutely fantastic, laying daily and once again she is top of the pecking order with a beautiful sheen to her plumage . What a difference a couple of months can make, from what i thought was almost certain death to the hen I used to know, I am so elated!!!! Thanks for everyones help and advice.
 
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