Please help I've no clue what's wrong

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I've had my ex battery hens for about 10 weeks now, they were wormed and vacinated before I got them. Today I've come home to find one of them all alone and obviousy ill. She couldn't even eat the sweet corn i offered her - normally, she woofs it down. I've checked for red mite but couldn't find any, her eyes are bright but she looks sleepy (she's just gone to bed early). her comb is red and now I don't know what else to check. I'm really worried about her because I don't know enough to diagnose her problem. I know that something is very wrong because she let me pick her up and stroke her and she normally struggles! Can anybody offer suggestions please
 
Sorry to hear your hen is ill.

I'm at a loss to be able to offer any suggestions tbh. My experience with ex batts is that often they are not long lived and can (and often do) just become ill and die soon after being rescued. Their bodies are just not intended for such intensive egg laying and they are burnt out. I've taken some in in the past and the mortality rate in the first few weeks was quite high and we lost a few. Then it went well for a year or so before they then started dying over the course of about 6 months till were we left with only a few.

Red mite don't live on the birds but in the housing. The only way to know if you have a red mite problem is to get outside tonight and check the housing, under the perches and so on.

Leave her overnight in a box on her own (some shavings and air holes cut in to it) and in the morning check and see her crop has emptied ok. If not it may indicate a crop problem.

Once you've ruled that out check her over fully. Her rear end for mites/lice or egg laying problem. Listen to her breathing and see if that sounds normal or bubbly (that can be treatable by a vet btw). Check her eyes and nostrils and then give a good check over for other lice, in places like under her wings. Also then check her droppings if she has done any. If they are normal you'll easily be able to tell.

I'd then keep her on her own and ensure she has fresh water and food available.

You could take her to the vets (if she isn't improving but it sounds to me like something internal in her works somewhere that can't really be fixed by medication.
 
Hi, did you check the coop for red mite? they only go on the birds after dark- any sneezing/rasping breath? bubbly eyes or smelly breath? Is she a good weight or has she lost weight?
regards, David :)
 
Thanks for your responses. I've just checked the house forred mite and it seems clear. I've not listened to her breathing but her nostrils look fine. I'll seperate her from the other two and see how she is tomorrow. It's so sad I hope she's going to be all right

Thanks again
 
Ive kept my girl in over night and there's a slight improvement in that she's taking water, but won't touch the food. But another one is now refusing to eat. They're both very quiet and don't offer any resistance when being picked up.I checked for red mite last night and it all seemed clear. I found something strange in the litter tray today it looks like she's lost some of her insides. In the overnight box there was also something that looked like the remnants of a soft egg. There's no smell and no wheezing or sneezing either. Could it be some kind of infecion? I do a 'poo run' in the run and coop about 3 times a day and clean the coop every week.
 
when i was at the vets last a lady was there with some ex batts with egg peritonitis
idk if this is your problem but i think you might be best taking them to a vet to be honest
 
If its egg related then in an ex batt it may be you are fighting a loosing battle with this girl.

You say something that looked like a soft shelled egg? Can you break it open to confirm it. A soft shelled egg isn't unusual and certainly on its own nothing to worry about (increase oyster shell intake). Many hens lay them from time to time. But it could be she has something else going on in that department that is problematic. You also described about her losing some of her insides. If you mean there is some blood and stuff in her droppings chooks can do this also and if its what I think it is, again its not a disaster.

But having said that, the fact she is clearly not right, her eggs are soft and she is shedding her stomach lining, it does make me think there is something going on that she may not recover from.

It may also be worth you taking a sample of her droppings for analysis and your hen to the vet. Is your vet experienced in poultry? Tylan and Baytril are the two things most often used to treat chicken related problems. Anything else and I'd be wary tbh.

I hope your girl picks up but knowing her history (ex batt) and how this can simply wear their bodies out, prepare yourself she might not pull through. I've had hens like this and after a few days of this kind of thing I've culled them as it seemed the kindest thing to do. Others have perked up but then within a few weeks died coming down with the same sort of thing again only this time dropping off far more quickky.
 
Thanks again for all of the response, it's very reasuring for us beginners. I took two of my girls to the vet and he diagnosed coccidiosis and gave them benaytn which worked within a couple of hours, they've perked up quite a lot. One thing that has troubled me is that he said that I should change the run frequently, I do it every other week and also scoop the poo in the run a couple of times a day and once a day in the coop, so everything is kept as clean as I can practically get it. The trouble may be that I move the run back over an old patch after 2 weeks as I'm limited on space. Is this enough time for the coccidiosis eggs to die? If not, could I treat it with something that won't harm the girls?
 
If I need an effective disinfectant I use Virkon , sloshed everywhere including over the ground ,then allowed to thoroughly dry -- its the wet/rotting stuff that allows bugs to grow , I always feel a good dry out and a bit of sun is probably the most helpful.Ros
 
Great news, the vet phoned back this morning and said that the girls didn't have coccy and they're back to nomal as far as I can tell. Thank you everybody who have reassured, supported and informed me these past days. i can't tell you how good it feels to know that there's such a caring bunch of people out there! Thank you again!
 
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