[beamer]

hi everyone
new to this forum so please forgive me
have just purchased two hens and after a couple of weeks
my hen has slowed right down and spends a lot of the time just sitting with hers eyes closed, when she does get up and move around she only opens one eye and keeps the other one closed? seen her open it once and it looks a different/ paler colour to the other one? any ideas?
have noticed that our other hen is the dominant one and pecks her a bit, could she have caught her eye? just feel bad for her and vet cant see her for days.
thanks in advance

[beth123]

Hi beamer

I can't really advise you on what to do but I too have only had my 4 chickens a couple of weeks and lost 3 already.  Its very difficult to know what to do but you've come to the right place.  There are some very experience poultry keepers on here who will be able to give you excellent advice.  Keep us updated.

Best of luck.
Beth

[helens-hens]

Hi Beamer
I am new to this forum and only been keeping hens for 6 months - we all have to start somewhere!

I was wondering if your hens were laying yet? When I first had my 2 blackrocks, 1 hen was dominant from the start, made sure she got to any treats first, full of confidence and was laying from day 1. In contrast the other hen appeared stressed from the start (possibly from the journey, new hen house, different pecking order etc) and was much quieter & submissive and didn't lay any eggs (not that I was expecting them to straight away). Though she was eating & drinking & moving around she nevertheless spent quite a bit of time sitting down, apparently sleeping. She then started to show signs of mild respiratory problems and I was on the point of taking her to the vet when she suddenly started laying. Almost overnight I found that the respiratory symptoms had gone and she became much more confident with the other hen and was prepared to compete for food etc and generally became much livelier & happier.

I think the whole experience of being transported to a new home, having a new coop etc can be a bit too much for some hens and it takes it out of them. Is your hen eating & drinking OK? Make sure she is being allowed to get to her food & water (or perhaps give her a separate supply). I also made sure that when giving them a treat e.g. corn that the quieter hen had her share.

You may find that with a little TLC she will come out of herself but if her eye problem persists I would definately still take her to the vet.

Hope she gets better soon

Helen

[Jeanette]

How old are your girls ? Is she still eating and drinking, What are her poos like, Has she been wormed, If you feel under her wing and then under the wing on the other girl you can tell if she is running a temperture. Lastly how long has she been like this.
It could be that she has been pecked in or near the eye but it would help if you could get a picture for us to see. If she is no better soon i would take her to the vets. Unfortunatly chickens are very good at hiding things when they are not well and sometimes it can be to late. Another thing would be to get in touch with the people that you got her from and see if they have any ideas.
I hope that this helps in some way and that she is better soon.