Hen lays on the ground
Question
The last few days the red star has been laying on the ground all day by herself and is very lethargic.
If I bring food and water to her she will eat at a slow pace and drink plenty of water.
At night she lays in a nesting box by herself while the others are on the perch.
During the day I have noticed the other hens pecking at her.
She had this issue about 4 months ago where she either laid alone or stood alone with her eyes closed.
This time she has not done the closing of the eyes in the middle of the day.
We thought that last time she behaved oddly was because we just started using a red tinted infrared heat lamp in the coop.
We feed our flock Blue Seal Organic life layer pellets along with loose organic grains from our local co-op ( red wheat berries, white wheat berries, millet, pearled barley, quinoa, etc.). Any ideas?
Answer
The feed sounds great. You don’t mention if your chickens free range having access to vegetation. It might be that she has intestinal worms that are robbing her of nutrients in her feed.
Since you feed organic, there is a product called Diatomaceous Earth that is all natural and can help beat a parasite problem without chemicals.
There are some great articles on line and sources for buying “food grade” DE.
You need to boost her energy with some electrolytes and vitamins and coax her to eat and drink as much as possible. I would offer her fresh greens and fruit as well.
Feed stores carry a vitamin/ electrolyte powder for poultry that you mix with feed or water. She is losing life slowly and needs all the support you can give her quickly.
I would separate her from the flock and provide a heat lamp keeping food and water close to her.
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