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On the North Shore: VV North Shore Chickens
Another sick chicken!
Hi, I have a rhode island red who is 7-10 months old, my favourite hen. Two days ago I noticed that her comb had turned from bright red to pale pink, but she seemed normal otherwise and had normal poops, so I let her into the yard and didn't do anything. Tonight, she didn't go into the coop with the other chickens like she normally does, and I found her in a corner of the run. She seems tired all of a sudden, and looks like she can't see properly. Her tail is drooped down, too, and her poop is yellow and runny, which I have never seen before. I've had one other chicken not go into the coop, and I just threw her in, but she was dead in the morning. I thought this was maybe because it was a cold night, but tonight it's mild! Has anyone had these problems, or know what I should do?
Thanks
Thanks
Sasha Fergusson
Feb 15, 2011
Duncan Martin
Hi Sasha,
The runny yellow poop (is it kind of frothy?) seems to happen monthly to a lot of birds and can be a false alarm sometimes. My 3 hens have it periodically for a day or two. She could be molting, which would make her low on energy and is known to turn the comb pale. But if she looks and acts really sick, then chances are she is sick. Make sure she isn't overrun by mites (look in her downy feathers), as they can be awful parasites, and you can try giving worm medication to all of your chickens, although it sounds like you haven't seen any worms. I doubt it's the cold, unless she sleeps in a poorly ventilated coop with too much humidity.
These are all possibilities - I'm not any kind of actual chicken health expert though, so take whatever sounds like it could be right and look into it further. Best of luck.
Duncan
Feb 15, 2011
Amy Weeks
Hi I had this exact problem with a lady a few months ago. I took a chicken first aid workshop late last year and I learned that "hey chickens die" If you've checked for mites, drafts etc then there's nothing you can do.
The tell tale sign that a chicken is sick is when she seperates herself from the flock. Since they don't want to show signs of weakness and get pecked at.
I bet if you got another hen she'll last for years!
Feb 28, 2011