DeniseR Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 Since Toyah my Auracana bantam came out of broody cage ( see previous post ) she is not eating. Not interested in pellets, corn or anything the only thing I can get down her is bread. She appears healthy with normal poops but is so thin her crop is almost empty. I have caught her acting strange, running round like a lunatic chasing birds, standing tall like a cockerel with her all her neck feathers puffed up and chasing/attacking her pal. It's as though she is on edge/ hyper I have had 4 new ex batts introduced to the garden but they are not in close proximity. Not quite sure what to do for the best now, don't want to isolate her as I have a feeling keeping her away while she was broody stressed her terribly. Please tell me this could be hormonal and she will settle down. I am feeling very despondent at moment as I had Bella PTS the other day with EYP and her pal Belinda is on Baytril after laying 2 lashes in the past few weeks - vet suspects start of EYP for her too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 That’s really odd because one of my Wyandotte bantams, Penny, was behaving just as you describe a couple of weeks ago. Shelley the pekin was poorly and I was taking her in and out of the run (unfortunately she died) and during that timePenny started to behave like she was going mad. It started one night when she went to bed but then car straight back out shouting her head off. She did this three times before she finally went in and stayed in. She then just behaved as if she was constantly on edge for about the next week. Really het up and agitated and wouldn’t stand still for long enough to eat except for mealworms. After a few days she had longer periods of acting normally, and after a week or 10 days she was totally back to normal. I have no idea what it was all about, unless it was a reaction to the change in the flock from losing Shelley (she was in the middle of the pecking order- Penny is too). That would make sense if it was a similar reason with your Araucanian. I hope she’s back to normal soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeniseR Posted December 14, 2017 Author Share Posted December 14, 2017 So sorry to hear you lost Shelley but you could be right about the pecking order etc. Bella the ex batt who died was second in line, possibly it has upset the balance and along with the arrival of new girlies has completely stressed her out. It gives me hope that like your Penny she will sort herself out, I really hope so. it's probably me that's also stressing out too I am in "oh no,not another one" mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippie Chick Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 Hi, I have an araucana, Clara, although she's not a bantam. She is my only broody chicken and normally goes broody throughout the year, she'll lay maybe 10 eggs in between each bout of broodiness Anyway, when she's in her broody mindset she does behave very much like you've described and I often say she's gone into 'eagle mode' as she often makes a noise like an eagle then rushes at the other chickens and it does take her a few days after snapping out of broodiness to lose that behaviour. She also likes to jump onto the top of the treadle feeder and stretch up when I go into the run, not entirely sure of the reason why she does it but I usually pick her up for a bit which seems to make her happy. She will always eat something although she's less enthusiastic when she's recovering from broodiness. If yours is pooping normally then she's getting something down her and probably grabbing pellets when you're not watching, just not as much as usual. Hopefully she'll snap out of it soon x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 We have a Marans not eating for no apparent reason. Will gobble sunflower hearts but that's not good for her long term as they are too high in protein. We tried wet mash, which usually works but she won't eat that either. We are now bringing her in and feeding her with wet mash balls. We've had this problem before and after a few weeks of balls he started eating on his own again, so we'll see what happens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 15, 2017 Share Posted December 15, 2017 It might be due to being unsettled, try some Vit Boost tonic in their water; this contains B vits, so is calming. I wouldn't worry too much about her not eating, she is probably having some food, just not when you are watching! They rarely starve intentionally, but please don't feed bread or any other processed food. As Beantree mentioned, sometimes a wet mash of pellets and hot water will help as the warmth makes the feed smell more to attract them to it. Just don't leave it down longer than an hour as it will start to go sour and can get mouldy very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeniseR Posted December 16, 2017 Author Share Posted December 16, 2017 I was off work yesterday so let them out onto the grassy area of the garden, they had a whale of a time and Toyah was rummaging around as much as the other two so think I need to chill and leave her to it - as you say they rarely starve themselves, I have been putting lifeguard tonic in their water as its recommended for ex batts so the others are on it too. She is still jumping and fluffing herself up and will for no reason tear across the garden - mad chicken! Ps... duly noted, will stop the feeding of bread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
