Chicken not looking right

[MrZebra]

Bit of a problem with one of the chickens: The feathers from her bottom and progressing under her legs and chest are unusually dirty and on closer inspection seem to be just spines. I can't tell if the rest of the feather is absent or just matted on to the spine. The skin is very red.

I've just given her a bath in some warm water and mild disinfectant.

Any advice? I realise that a picture would probably help, but I think I've already traumatised her enough for the moment with the bath...


In other news, the oldest chicken was ill last week, I figured she was going to snuff it, but she pulled through! She's a tough old bird.

[Crocus]

Hi Mr. Zebra, long time no see! Have you taken the chicken to the vet perhaps/ I don't know the first or last thing about chickens, but what you've described doesn't sound right to me. I hope for someone to give you the advice you need.

Hope everything else is fine and well with you?

[Pippa]

How wet and muddy has the chook been over the last few weeks, most chicken owners I know are having a dreadful time keeping the run dry and as chickens are really jungle birds maybe the wet doesn't agree with her. Might be worth a look on Newhouse farm forum or Creative Living, both have loads of poultry folk on them.

[sunflower]

Is she laying OK? I wondered if a soft shelled egg had dispersed the moment she layed. Having said that, my Alice has a grubby bum as well but she looks in the picture of health. Like Pippa said, the wet weather makes it difficult for the hens to find a dry spot.

[jazzactivist]

I don't know anything about hens, Mr Z, but yesterday OH and I saw some in a run near to where we went for lunch and commented on how dirty they looked - unusual for that flock. If you are worried then a phone call to your Vet may help (not your's, of course, as you are obviously a healthy zebra, but the one that you use for your animals!).

[MrZebra]

They have free run of the place, so she could just have gone swimming in a mud puddle. The others were pretty clean though. I haven't noticed any abnormal laying.

I'll keep an eye on her...

[Crocus]

Hi Mr. Zee, how's the chook doing? X

[Oola]

Hi MrZ

Would suggest checking a) if she's just moulting or b) having a feel around her undercarriage.

Sometimes when the skin becomes inflamed or stretched it can cause the feathers to fall out. She may choose to sit at night, rather than perch, which obv. can have an effect on the feathers.

If her rear end or her undercarriage feels a bit swollen or hard (check against other hens for reference!), she could have sterile egg yolk peritonitis (I forbid you from getting rid of her if this is the case :p), which one of my hens lived with for two years. It basically means there's a disorder in the ovum or somewhere along the egg-making route and the yolk gets dispensed into the abdomen. If they're not particularly frequent layers they can reabsorb the eggy material and cope with it OK, going about their daily business.

A swollen abdomen can also indicate that there's ascetes/ascites present - this is a much thinner liquid than egg yolk and might be a result of cancer or some other disease. It really depends on her demeanour, especially if she's drinking, eating and pooing OK. It may just be something really simple - but if you're worried for her, get her to a vet. If it's diagnosed as something treatable, treat it, if it's sterile EYP then you can allow her to live out her life - they usually get on with things OK.

If she seems OK chances are it's nothing sinister - she may start to regrow some new feathers, in which case she'll need a little extra protein in the way of things like dried mealworms (the ones you can get for wild birds) mixed into their corn and layers mash.

[Crocus]

Hi Oola! Long time no see - hope you are fine and well? xx

[sheddie]

Hi Oola good to see you online, I just knew the topic of chickens would bring you out. X

[SummerSkye]

When one of my young geese was having problems it was suggested to give it a teaspoon of brandy dribbled into its mouth or use a syringe ... always worked apparently for this person's hens ... luckily my goose recovered when I removed bread from their diet so I never used the brandy but worth a try .. worse than can happen is that you will have a drunken chook ...

[Crocus]

Hi Summerskye! x

[MrZebra]

Chicken is still looking mucky around the back, but the feathers underneath seem to have recovered. I'll give it another bath when the weather warms up a bit, I think it will be ok.

When I went to clean the coop on Monday I found the oldest chicken in there looking very sad. She's been very tired for a while now, although she did have a great time the other weekend when I was digging a border, she picked all the insects out of the freshly turned earth.
I put her in a crate and brought her into the house. I did manage to get her to eat some food, but she basically didn't move for that day or the next day; she died the following night. She was old, and you could tell it was her time... I buried her in the garden yesterday.

[sheddie]

Mr Zebra do you get sad when you lose a chicken and have to bury it or can you think well it's had it's life now it's over. X

[Crocus]

Hi MrZee, sorry to hear about the chicken. I suppose one has mixed feelings, because it is something one's responsible for and develop some kind of bond, but if they're old and it's their time, one also accepts it that way. x

[Oola]

When I saw her last year (I think she was the one with the very red comb) I thought she may have a chronic heart or lung condition. It's hard letting them go, goodness knows I know this, but as long as they have free range, shelter, food and lots of things to keep them occupied (not hard when you're a hen), they have a good life. And that's all that counts in the end.