Unhappy Hen

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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Anonymous

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Hi there, just wondering if anyone can advise me on one of my hens who has been out of sorts for ages, but seems really under the weather now. I discovered serious numbers of louse egg clusters on her vent feathers a number of weeks ago and took her to the vet. She had an injection and since then the live ones seem to have gone but the clusters are still there I am giving her regular baths to try to keep the vent feathers clean and waiting for her to moult to get rid of the feathers.

However, I'm not sure if this is the reason she is off colour or not. Her comb seems to have shrunk and gone a purpley colour. She sits hunched all day, hardly moving, with her body all puffed up. She is eating a bit but is not socialising with the other hens at all. She turns her back on them and just sits hunched. She also has taken to sleeping in the nest box. This has been going on for months, but seems worse lately.

I don't know what to do! If anyone has any ideas I'd be very grateful.
 
Hello, have you checked the coop for red mites? They will only go on the birds after dark and can cause anemia and death very quickly if there is a bad infestation. Look under the perches and in the cracks and crevices. Or look on the birds at night- you need to clean the coop with a red mite killer and you could also powder the hens as well but make sure the powder you use is suitable for use on animals and not only for the coop. Hope she recovers quickly.
regards, David :)
 
I use red mite powder every couple of weeks and haven't seen any for months. She seems free of them and the other two hens are lively and happy. She has been out of sorts for months now, and kept herself to herself. She is eating but not much. Could it be the cluster of louse eggs around her vent? There are so many of them it must be uncomfortable.
 
Apart from good advice Davidd has said & that you have already taken her to the vets. How old & what breed is she? Some old animals & birds are very susceptible to lice etc is her poo watery? has she got a clean bottom apart from the 'cluster' on her?
 
hello, she is a cross breed, not sure of what about 2.5 years old. Def no red mite as I checked her and the coop today. Her bottom is very dirty so I try to bath her once a week.
 
you say her comb is small and purply coloured.... could be a circulation problem?

though how you'd prove it I dont know... can you ECG a chicken?! :-)07
 
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