Just because your chicken stopped laying eggs or has a pale comb and wattle does not mean that she is unhealthy. She could just be broody or going through a molt. It is important to look at your chicken as a whole before you intervene. Do you know how to tell if your chicken is unhealthy?
There are 7 signs to look for that will help you to determine if your chicken is unhealthy.
1. Separated from the Flock
Chickens are social animals by nature and if they are off on their own, this should be a signal to you that something isn’t right.
Healthy chickens will preen together, sun bathe, eat and drink, peck and scratch the ground and perch together.
Instead, an unhealthy chicken is likely to be off on its own. It may be off in a corner or under a bush. They will instinctively do this not to draw attention to itself.
Sick chickens are picked on by other coop mates because they are a threat to the rest of the flock. They are, “only as strong as their weakest member.” A chicken that is ill is likely to draw attention to predators.
It is sad, but other chickens will peck an unhealthy chicken to death.
This is why it is important to recognize if a chicken is ill and separate them, in a separate enclosure, from the rest of the flock.
2. Crop Isn’t Emptying
A healthy chicken will fill its crop during the day and by morning it should be completely empty. There are 3 common crop issues that a chicken can develop that will affect their health. The sooner that they are treated, the better the odds of survival are.
3 Common Crop Issues that Can Affect a Chickens Health
- Sour Crop
- Look: Crop is full.
- Feel: Chicken crop is squishy or feels like a water balloon.
- Smell: Breath smells sour.
- Listen: Gurgling coming from crop area. This is the yeast fermenting inside.
- Impacted Crop
- Crop is hard and not pliable when massaged. This can be due to eating too much long, fibrous grass, straw or foreign material.
- Chicken will eat less or stop eating completely. When its crop is full, it send a signal to its brain to stop eating.
- Chicken will poop less because food will not be moving throughout the digestive system.
- Pendulous Crop
- This is a crop that has expanded and the muscles do not contract back to its resting shape. A chicken with a pendulous crop will have a long, distended crop that has difficulty emptying without assistance.
3. Unusually Pale Comb and Wattle
Now, just because a chicken comb and wattle is pale does not always mean it is unhealthy. A young chicken that is not mature and a broody hen will also have a pale comb and wattle. This is completely normal.
It is if you have a mature chicken that once had a red comb and wattle, but suddenly develops a pale comb and wattle and exhibits other symptoms as well, then you should be concerned.
Reasons Chickens Develop a Pale Comb and Wattle
- It has mites, lice or other parasites.
- Chicken may have Marek’s Disease
- Coccidiosis
- Your chicken is experiencing stress
- Malnourished
- Your chicken is experiencing Heat Exhaustion
- Dehydration
4. Stops Eating and Drinking
A healthy adult chicken will eat about 1/4lb of feed a day. This is the equivalent to about 1/2 cup layers pellets.
Healthy chickens should be seen grazing throughout the day. You should see them pecking and scratching the ground, foraging for food.
An unhealthy chicken will often be off on its own and not have an appetite to eat or drink.
5. An Unhealthy Chicken Will Look Unkempt
Healthy chickens dust bathe and preen regularly. Unhealthy chickens will stop preening themselves and will not dust bathe.
An unhealthy chickens wings my be held out from its body and be slightly drooped. If may have ruffled looking feathers.
When a chicken preens, it restores the oil to its feathers, giving them a nice sheen or shine. Because it doesn’t preen or dust bathe, it may have dirty or dull looking feathers.
It may have its eyes closed and shiver.
SIGNS OF AN UNKEMPT CHICKEN
| AN UNHEALTHY CHICKEN WILL LOOK UNKEMPT |
|---|
| WILL NOT DUST BATHE |
| WILL NOT PREEN |
| WINGS HELD OUT FROM SIDE |
| WINGS DROOPY |
| RUFFLED FEATHERS |
| DULL LOOKING FEATHERS |
6. Change in Droppings
When a chicken becomes unhealthy, it will often show by affecting its digestive system. This can be seen with a change in the consistency of their droppings as well as the frequency. Any change at all in either the consistency or frequency should be a signal to you that something is wrong.
How a Chickens Health Affects Its Droppings
- Diarrhea
- Chicken Pasty Butt
- No Droppings
7. Hen Suddenly Stops Laying Eggs
When a hen doesn’t feel well, it will put all of its energy into battling whatever ailment it is going through. This means that she will either cut back or stop egg laying all together.
A hen will also cut back or stop laying eggs if she is molting or just broody(trying to hatch a clutch of eggs).
So, this is something that you will need to observe. If your laying hen suddenly stops laying eggs and is also listless, withdrawn or has diarrhea, then you need to be concerned.
If you have a sick chicken, it is especially important to take precautions when cleaning and interacting with them. According to the CDC, you need to “Stop Nuzzling Chickens.”
CONCLUSION: How to Tell if Your Chicken is Unhealthy- 7 Best Signs
Just because your chicken is exhibiting one of these signs does not mean that it is necessarily unhealthy. Molting chickens will develop a pale comb and wattle and either cut back or stop laying. This is completely normal and healthy.
If you have a hen that is not broody or going through a molt and is exhibiting several of these symptoms, then you should be concerned.
| 7 SIGNS YOUR CHICKEN IS UNHEALTHY |
|---|
| 1. IT WILL SEPARATE ITSELF FROM THE REST OF THE FLOCK |
| 2. CROP DOES NOT EMPTY |
| 3. UNUSUALLY PALE COMB AND WATTLE |
| 4. IT STOPS EATING AND DRINKING |
| 5. IT APPEARS UNKEMPT |
| 6. CHANGE IN DROPPINGS |
| 7. SUDDENLY STOPS LAYING EGGS |
