# Skinny, drunk chicken



## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

Hi all, I'm new to the site and to chickens so my ability to diagnose is limited. This morning I noticed that one of our hens was stumbling around, so I brought her in and put her in my bathtub with hay and food/water. I fed her an egg and she ate it quickly. So she ended up eating 4 1/2 eggs plus some feed through the day. When I was checking her over I noticed that she was very boney, her breastbone was sticking out pretty good. She is alert and has a good appetite. I fed her out of my hand and she was picking out her favorite grains, so her aim is good.

So, this evening I checked all of my birds and they all had full crops but they are just as skinny as the sick bird. Every time I check their crops at the end of the day they are full. They have access to 2 acres to free range and free choice feed in their feeder. They are dual purpose so I assumed they are supposed to be meaty. They have just now turned 6 months old, and 6 of the 11 are laying now.

We slaughtered 2 buff roosters when they were right at 5 months old and, fully dressed with no bones, they weighed around 2 pounds. Is that what I should have expected them to weigh?

I looked at Marek's disease and she doesn't have a lot of the classic signs, but that doesn't mean anything. I also looked at all of the diseases that could look like Marek's, so any help would be appreciated.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

At six months they are right at that stage for being bony. About like puppies when they hit that growth spurt. 

What kind of feed are you giving them? 

Its possible the girl you brought in is the under bird and is being bullied from the feeder. It might be worth setting out extra feeders so there is an option for the lower birds. 

Since her appetite seems to be so good that might be all that you need to do and just wait and see.


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## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

I am giving them what we feed our goats- oats, barley, BOSS and wheat bran plus I add peas to up the protein. None of my chickens seem to bully each other, at least not to the point that I notice. I'm out there about 2 hours a day and I haven't noticed any bullying. I gave her some of our goat's milk last night and she had drank a cup by this morning. Her appetite isn't as good as yesterday, she won't eat much. I figure that since she ate so much yesterday and drank all that milk she may be full. She is still very drunk acting and seems to have a fever, her legs and feet are hot to the touch. I was going to start her antibiotics until I read that you can't use the eggs ever once you give them some. So, I am giving her colloidal silver. I know that some people don't like it but that's what I feel best giving her.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

What you're feeding them is not a complete diet, especially not for young growing birds.

Never is not correct. Thirty days is more the average for not eating eggs after antibiotics. If she's running a fever you can dissolve a 325 mg aspirin in a gallon of water and give that to her free choice.


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## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

What should I be feeding them, besides the crumbles?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

You did't mention crumbles or I completely missed it, I saw BOSS, and what you feed the goats. So. . .


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## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

I meant I don't want to feed them crumbles as it is highly processed. I found an organic feed that I am going to start feeding them.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Sooner would be better. They should have been on regular feed from the get go, they are lacking way too man vitamins and minerals feeding them the way you are. There are important choices to make, feed processed to make sure they are getting what they need or don't and run in to issues. My birds have always been on processed since organic was not available, my oldest is now over nine years old. The next two are over eight. The rest are five years and above.


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## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

I've already started them on something that is for chickens. I'm curious, though, since they are free range with all the pasture they can roam, how much of their nutrition can come from that? I will always offer them free choice feed, I was just wondering if they were able to forage for most of their food.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

There are way too many variable to say whether they can or not. In some areas of the country goats have to be supplemented with selenium since it is not available in the soil. Chickens also need micrograms of selenium so if you live in an area where it isn't available then they are going to lack in the mineral. They can get more of what they need in the early growing season but when things begin dying off in the heat/dryness then they no longer have that extra. 

If you want birds to live a long time then the safest thing to do is make certain they have a balanced diet specifically made for them.


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## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

We are about to invest in a loose mineral system that includes 10 separate minerals for our goats put out in separate containers so they can get what they need. Would the chickens benefit from this or would this need to be away from where they can get to it?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Its needs to be away. Selenium is toxic in too high of a dose. Not knowing what the concentration is for the goats it could be way over what is safe for the chickens. 

If the birds are getting fresh, quality feed they should not need any supplements. Goats depend on getting most of their nutrition from foraging but as I mentioned before, if your soil is weak in some minerals they will need the added help.


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## hildar (Oct 3, 2013)

Even adding some cracked corn or whole field corn in their diet may help. I also would treat them for worms. My chickens have meat on their bones even at 4 months and 5 months. I guess it all depends on what we feed them. However they should be eating chicken feed, and corn along with the goat feed. You can make a barrel of mix with what you have. Personally my chickens eat a mixture of chicken feed along with whole and cracked corn. Then I give them any left overs that we have here in the house. I have 5 pullets that wont eat whole corn and 2 OEG roosters that find it to big to eat so this is why I mix everything so they all get a little bit of everything.


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## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

I ordered an organic mix from azure but it won't be in until next month. So, until then I am giving them purina flock raiser crumbles in one feeder and the old feed in another feeder. The new feed that is coming has a little corn in it so I hope it helps with their weight. I also give scraps from the kitchen, which they love. 

Another one of our hens started limping today, so I assume that it is working itself through our flock. I started giving her vitamin b and CS in hopes that it will lessen the severity. I'm trying different things so I can maybe find something that will work. Our sick hen is still with us. She goes out in the front yard in a small pen during the day and comes in at night. All she can do is sit up and flop from place to place, she is still uncoordinated and we have to hold the feed up to her for her to eat. We feed her several times a day and her appetite is great. I read that I need to weigh her everyday to make sure that she's not loosing weight, so I started that today.

About 7 weeks ago I brought in a new hen to our flock. She came from a breeder who has several different breeds at her house. I would say she had 100+ birds. All of her birds looked healthy and the one we bought was seemingly well. Two days after she got here all of my birds got a respiratory illness. She was the only one that didn't get it so I assume she was a carrier. Now, my birds are getting this. I haven't been anywhere else that has chickens and there is no one around me that has chickens. It looks like the new hen is the culprit but the breeder says that her place doesn't have Marek's. I'm not sure why her hens aren't dying from it but that's the only thing that makes sense. And yes, I know now that I should have quarantined her (I didn't know that at the time) but she hasn't been sick the entire time I've had her so even quarantine wouldn't have prevented this.


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## carolthom (Sep 13, 2014)

Just to update you on our chicken, she died last Friday. I had been reading about what would happen as the tumors grow and it happened to her. So, it would have to be Marek's. I started feeding my other limping hen with a fairly aggressive CS routine. She never got any worse and she has started loosing her limp. If I hadn't put a piece of tape on her ankle for identification I wouldn't be able to pick her out of the flock. I'm keeping an eye on the others for symptoms, none so far. Thanks for all of your comments, it's helped me a lot.


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