Hello, I've been lurking for weeks, but this is the first time I've needed specific advice. I'd be very grateful for your help.
The story so far....
Beginning of May I acquired 4 chooks - 2 Hamurgh banties and 2 unspecified brown hybrids. All about 1 year old, all laying. All good apart from a little egg-eating (now settled) until Hannibal, the largest and top of the pecking order stopped laying. She always seemed very skinny but ate well and I just thought she'd been a bit neglected (both the brown hens were "free to a good home", and I reckon the previous owner knew nothing: BOTH wings were clipped, and she wanted rid of them because they "messed up her lawn"). So I check she wasn't egg bound, which she didn't seem to be, and checked her pelvic bones and noticed they've closed down (indicating she's not producing eggs at all?) again. I reckoned the most likely cause was worms, so for the last week they've all had Flubenvet.
Problem is, the course is finished today (7 days), and for the last 24h or so she's seemed withdrawn and unhappy, which she wasn't before now. She did get very excited when my daughter threw a strawberry in (try telling a 20 month old the chickens can't have any supplements to their medicated food!), but otherwise has been pretty static. All fluffed up and head pulled in.
Checked her again: no egg to feel, crop is palpable but not over-full (compared with other chicken), no signs of mites or anything else (have been treated anyway), bright eyes, good colour in comb etc, no diarrhoea that I've seen. Possibly sounded a bit funny last night when she took herself to bed early (normally the last one in), but otherwise no obvious symptoms at all.
So, my questions are:
1. Is she going to die?
2. Are the other chickens going to die? (In both cases I mean imminently, obviously)
3. Do I need to get her to a vet or is there anything else worth trying meantime?
4. As the only vet I have heard of who does poultry ss an hour away, does anyone know a poultry vet nearer to Stoke on Trent?
Any help or advice gratefully received.
Thanks