hen is all hunched up doesn't look right

one of my hens is all hunched up and doesn't look right. she keeps curling one foot then the other up under her like she is cold she is missing a patch of feathers on her back but so are a lot of the others and they don't look bad like she does. i notice her right away because in particular the feathers on her head and neck are all fluffed up and she looks hunched and she holds her tail feathers down not pointed up and happy like everyone else. she does not feel very plump and does eat and drink but not with any pep. this happened to another of my hens this winter but i had to go away to school for a month and when i got back my chickensitter said she had died. what should i look for? should i seperate her? keep her in a warm basement? or just my little side coop? how would i know if it is somekind of intestinal problem or desease? anyone had this problem? please help.

sorry that i am clueless. at first it sounded like broodiness. have you checked her for lice or mites? how many rooster to hen ratio? is their coop heated? are they the right breed fro cold weather?

what are they fed? how much space do they have? a lot of disease and parastie problme is from overcrosing, and or poor nutrition. has your chicken sitter obvserved this behavior before?

sorry that i am answering your questions with more questions. but i don't have any answer for you, and perhaps my questions will help you or somebody else to get to the bottom of this. more inforamtion about the situation/surroundings would be valuable.

tf

don't be sorry so glad you are trying to figure this out with me.
no apparent lice. 12 hens one rooster. coop is unheated. heavy breed buff orpington should be okay in cold and our winter here is pretty over. they are fed organic layer pellets, whole corn, whole barley, whole flax, whole sunflower, kelp, diamond v yeast culture, grit, oystershell, and scraps. chicken sitter clueless. i try to give them really good organic food and a variety of whole stuff to scratch all day. they live in a generous coop and their yard is about 10 x 20. any ideas? should i try keeping her seperate to observe her poo or if she is laying?

I'm thinking egg bound

It sounds like the hens need a break from the rooster. If he has long spurs they might need to be trimmed. Usually if the feather loss is on the back towards the tail, it's the rooser breeding them. Laying hens don't regenerate feathers very fast, especially in winter. Check the sick hen for an injury under her wings, especially on the side that he is picking up her foot. Also check for egg bound. SOmetimes a warm bath will help that. I would definately try to give her some private space as other chickens can be pretty hard on a weak one.

I give mine a pile of wood ashes to dust in a few times a year. It's what my grandfather did for mites, but the feather loss is generally widespread over their body with mites. It sounds like they get a really good diet

Good luck with her.

she does get plenty to eat. isolation and darkness and a warm bath may help her feel better. if for some reason [like competition] she got more barley than usual, that can make for a REALLY big poo.

hope she is better soon. when you take such good care of them, it is still so baffling why things happen. but they do...

tf

here goes im gonna give her a bath, let her dry in the warm cellar tonight, then keep her in the side coop alone for a bit. that way i can see if she is laying, if she has any weird poo, make sure she gets enough to eat. plus keeps her away from the rest if she is sick. she is a bit small. thanks everyone here goes. will keep you posted.

The hen is likely eggbound .... a terribly common malady. It can be cured butt the cure is kinda gross. vegetable oil, rubber gloves optional and reaming the hens cloaeca with oil. I don't think a bath is of any/much value unless it is to get rid of the vegetable oil.

The warm water relaxes the muscels and the water lubricates. I always try it first as it is less stressful on the bird.

i thought she needed to SIT in the warm water, sounds like she just got a good bath...???

I fill a bit tub or the bath tub with abut 6 to 8 inches of warm water and lower the chciken in , then I hold her and gently massage the area of her belly and butt and pour warm water over her back, all the time talking to her. Usually the egg pops out in the water. (it takes about 5 to 10 min.) Then I wrap her in warm towels till she is almost dry and then put her in a warm place with a heat lamp or something till she is totally dry. I've had them fall asleep in the tub.

90 % of the time I end up with a happy empty chicken. (and a dirty tub)