4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[eggalp]

Grey hasn't been herself for about 2 months now, since i got two newbies. I thought she was just sulking but now im not so sure. She has laid loads of softees - one a day for a few weeks, then nothing for over a month except a few lashes. She has seemed ok though so i wasn't particularly concerned, but the past couple of days she has seemed very listless - not moving much and yesterday she got in the trug and didn't move all day until it got to half seven then she went to bed - about an hour earlier than normal. I let her out today and she didn't seem interested in food and got straight in the trug again. Ive just phoned OH who's working at home today and she has been sat on the nest for a few hours. Ive noticed that her poos have gone a bit green, and there seems to be a few of her feathers in the run so i wonder if she is moulting??

Do they moult at this time of year? and would it make her feel so ill that she doesn't want to eat?

I have just finished worming her with flubenvet and have checked for mites, lice etc but cant see anything unusual. I lost a hen at the end of march for unknown reasons - i dont want this to happen again, it was so upsetting

 

thanks for any advice

 

alison

[Budgies]

Sorry to hear about it Alison. It's possible that being unwell has brought on a moult, but green poo is often a sign of a parasite (worm) infestation.

 

Mites are notoriously hard to detect - they don't live on the chickens and only come out at night to feed on them. If you have them, a wipe over her roosting bars with a piece of kitchen paper will come away streaked with blood. She will also probably have a pale comb as they soon become anaemic with the constant blood sucking.

 

If you can rule out worms and mites and as she's been under the weather for quite a time, I'd be tempted to take her to the vet. She's not laid for ages either, so it could be an infection or something that has travelled to her egg laying tackle.