[smith47]

For the last couple of days one of my chucks has been very quiet with all her feathers fluffed up all the time, she is also not eating much, well not from the feeders, she scratts around a bit but not enough to stop me being conserned, can anyone advise me please.

[ANHBUC]

Sorry no one has given you advice yet smith47.  If you give more details on your breed of hen, age, whether she has been wormed recently, checked for lice/ticks/mites, is she laying or has stopped, any abnormal poos.  All this information will give other members more of an idea on what the problem might be.

[bantam novice]

Hello and welcome to the forum, Smith47 
As ANHBUC said a little more info would be useful.  In the meantime good luck and keep us posted.

[smith47]

I dont know what breed she is, she is brown thats all I can say, she is about 9 months old, dont know if she has stopped laying, but I would say so, she stays in the coop longer than the other birds in the morning, I have tried to watch her when she comes out, but I cant stand there all day. I stroked her crop last night before I put them away, this morning I used warm water for their food, I gave them mash and porrage in two bowls, the others loved it, I held the porrage under her nose to tempt her, after a while she came out and did eat some of the mash, did a poo, which looked the same as the others, but she is now sat on her own whith her feathers fluffed out again. She has not been wormed, but I will sort that out today. I have to say I am in NZ so it is early winter here, I hope I have given you more information, I keep reading tips, thats where I got what I have tried, thank you for taking the time to help.

[Helenaj]

Is it possible that she is starting to go broody? Does she try and stay in the nest box when fluffed up and make "growling" noises when you put your hand near or try and peck?

Failing that, start with worming and go from there - it's always a good failsafe.
There are several other things you can also do:
1. check her temperature - put your hand under one wing and then do the same to a "well" hen and see if they feel the same.
2. check her eyes - are they clear, no bubbles or discharges from eyes or nose.
3. Smell her nostrils - it shouldn't smell unpleasant (only mind your eyes if she's a pecker!). If you smell anything really unpleasant - like rotting meat almost, then she may have Mycoplasma and needs a dose of antibioitics from the vet.
4. feel her breastbone - it should be prominent, but not razor sharp. If it feels very sharp this again may be down to worms.
5. very gently feel under her belly near the vent -  can you feel anything? It could be she has an egg in her she cannot pass.
6. finally give her a good look over for lice and ticks and treat accordingly.

Good luck and lets us know how she gets on.

[smith47]

Thank you for all the information, this morning she was again a bit slow to come out of the coop, but once out she fed well, still has her feathers fluffed, but much more agile today, her temperature was the same as the other chucks, her eyes and nose clear, no bad smell, so I am hoping she is getting over whatever it was, I will keep the post up to date, I am so glad I found this site, I am learning so much from you all, thank you again.

[ANHBUC]

Lets hope she was just having a few off days.