[Hawkins]

Guys I need some help and advice one of my ex-bats that I have named Holly and she is going to be my pet chicken. She seems to be depressed and has a very mucky bum.

She is eating but not as much as the others, I check her crop every morning and night and it goes up and down as normal but not as big as the others. she is fluffed up all the time and spends quite a bit of it on her own on one leg with her eyes closed as if sunbathing.

She does walk around on 2 legs but often stands on one pecking at her feet. I have washed off her feet and the scales on her feet are raised but do not appear to be sore . I have given them a good clean and put vaseline on them just in case they are itchy or something.

and she has a really runny bum.

here she is see what you think
Holly hiding in the duck house

In the field

and the mucky bum


Any ideas
no weird smells, no mucky eyes or anything.

What do we think.

and do I wash her bum and trim off the dirty feathers or leave them.
How do I try to dry her up. having the runs cant be good for her.

sorry for the long explanation never seem to be able to keep things short.

[wafflycat]

Have you wormed her? I'd bath her to clean her up, dry her off, and give her a good all over inspection to check for signs of external parasites (worm in case of the internal ones) and check those feet for signs of scale mite - raised scales can be a sign - & treat accordingly, taking hen to vet if needed.

[andreadon]

How long have you had her?
if she's new, she'll be taking time to settle in.  ours were mopey for a couple of weeks after they got out.  I would be wary about taking her to the vet too soon as she'll be pumped full of stuff from the battery and anything they give her migth exacerbate it.

I agree with the worming idea, just to be on the safe-side, and make sure you keep an eye on her eating and drinking.

[Hawkins]

ive had her about 2 months and I am making sure that she eats and drinks.

she does seem to drink a lot more than the others. i'll get some wormer just in case. It cant harm her.

Thanks guys I'll keep an eye on her. I'm not overly worried as I think she would have died by now if there was anything serious being an ex-bat. And at least if I do wash her bum I can tell if she has the runs every day.

[andreadon]

if you've had her two months, then I probably would take her to the vet.
she might have a cold or something.

Have fun washing the bum - we had to that with rita (cos she kept laying no-shell eggs and pooing all over the remains) - I used a book that described how to do it and used "feminine shampoo" to wash because i thought it would be the best thing not to irritate her.  then rinsed her off in the sink and put her in front of the fan heater (book said hairdryer, but we don't have one).  she wouldn't keep still and pooed on the floor after i'd cleaned her.  nice.
if it's really cold when you clean her, dry to dry her off inside as much as you can.

she might be drinking more to replace the moisture she's losing from the poo.