# Chicken died after weeks of looking sick



## nickygio (Dec 24, 2012)

Our Leghorn hen had been looking tired and roosting early, but she would still eat and drink and socialize. We just thought she was getting old. She kept getting weaker and her stool started becoming messy, from diarrhea to tarry black, and eventually bloody on her last day. She would fluff up her feathers and put her head into her body and sleep during the day, while still standing. Her legs also seemed weak the last few days, and she also would roost in the nesting box. Is this a worm problem or some other illness? We have another chicken who is also starting to roost early and we don't want this to happen again. Any help would be appreciated.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Blood could very well indicate a parasite problem. Talk to your vet, see if they will do a fecal float on a relatively clean sample from that hen. That is one of the best ways to know if that's it and what to use to get rid of the over abundance. 

I haven't wormed my birds in years after reading a study regarding how animals can actually fend off overloads of internal parasites without us having to do anything. So far I've lost none to parasites, one is 9 years old most of the others are over 8.

The reason I'm saying that is something else might be going on. Maybe its a feed problem or environmental. Something to look at to see if there is a cause.


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