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Like any other pet, chickens can sometimes have health problems. Illness is quite uncommon in mst hens, but when problems occur, your birds deserve some extra special care. This section of our Guide covers symptoms, possible causes, and what to do about it.
A trio of healthy chickens roaming the garden
Sick Chickens
The following signs will tell you if your hens are unwell. Isolate any ill birds, and call the vet.
- Dirty or messy feathers outside the molting season
- Hunched-up posture
- Lethargy, sitting alone, or perching on a roosting bar in the daytime
- Evidence of parasites on skin or feathers
- Runny poo, completely white poo, or signs of blood or worms in the poo
- Sneezing, wheezing or other unusual sounds
- Being bullied by the other hens suddenly
- No appetite
- Slow growth compared to birds of similar breed and age
Don't Panic! Five Signs that a Hen is Healthy, In Spite of Appearances!
- Small, soft-shelled or shell-less eggs in young birds. The first few are usually a bit abnormal, so this is fine.
- Loss of feathers. This happens every year during the molt, so don’t worry.
- No egg-laying. This is a regular cycle – eggs will all but disappear during the colder months, and also during the molt.
- Red or dark spots in or next to the egg yolk. This is normal, and unless there’s a lot of red – i.e. blood – or blood in every single egg, everything’s fine.
- New birds hiding in the coop - they're just finding their feet in the new flock and will be out and pecking in no time!
Comments
June, 23 April 2022
One of my hens has a very dirty bottom,not around the vent,lower down. What is the best wat to clean her? she is fit and well otherwise.
An Omleteer, 30 April 2021
I have 3 rescue hens. All thrived. They have free range in my garden and are housed safely at night. I promise them a good life but not necessarily a long one as Mr Urban Fox has visited in the past! Suddenly they all are losing their rear-end feathers. I have covered their housing with diadromous earth, louse powder and finally Harkers spot on Endectocide. I also spray the red areas with blue dye to prevent pecking. One seems to be recovering, one the same and one very poorly with pale comb and extreme lethargy. I even dug a hole as I was sure she would die. However, she seems to be slowly on the mend. I bought shell strengthing to put in their water as very thin shells and feather loss but they will not drink it unless desperate. If it is the feather mite I have done all I can think of to eliminate it. ANY suggestions please.
Elizabeth, 27 April 2021
I have a rescue hen, she appears to be egg bond, how can I help her, I have 2 other hens who are very healthy
Jill, 1 March 2021
I have 13 hens and a French Marans rooster. Recently, two of my Isa Brown hens became unwell. Both seemed to be off balance and unable to walk, and the sicker of the two died after a few days. I suspected, being free range, that they had eaten a weed that was toxic to the hens, so I gave the other hen who wasn't as sick, a few days on epsom salts, then antibiotics, then wormed her and gave her vitamins. She did seem to pep up, but refuses to eat and still has the wobbles. That was almost 3 weeks ago and I have been force feeding her via syringe and tube. She is pooping ok, although runny poops, but I put this down to feeding her with baby bird rearing mixture, which is runny. I am running out of options and hope someone on this forum may have some insight into why my girl isn't getting any better.
Mas, 28 March 2019
My bantam hen seems at times like she makes an effort to breath and her rear feathers are covered with white feces, is it curable?