Q&A for How to Tell if a Chicken is Sick

Your hen should be propped up and healthy. If she is sitting on random eggs, then she is most likely broody and wants to hatch chicks. Unfortunately, if the eggs aren't fertile, she will be sitting on them for days on end until they eventually hatch or she eventually gives up. It's important to break this broody cycle as it can deplenish her health by taking away her time to eat, drink and remain active in the garden due to her focus primarily being on the eggs and keeping them warm at all times.

If you have a spare coop, quarantine them in there. Otherwise, you can use an outbuilding that's warm. As a last resort, you could take your sick chicken inside your own house.

Is she old? Chickens do slow down/stop laying when they are old, and will not be as active. She will probably not make it much longer. If she is a younger hen, was she exposed to heat for a long time? She could be dehydrated or have heat stroke.

You should bring her to a vet so the vet can correctly examine her to get a diagnosis.

Sounds like she has some sort of bloat or egg block. Take her to the poultry vet ASAP for the vet to diagnose it.

Surprisingly, chicks don't need food the first 1 - 2 days they are hatched. This is due to the nutrients they absorb from simply eating their egg contents. If your chicks seems active and drinking, they probably don't have anything wrong with them. Make sure they are getting the right temperature of heat and the correct nutrients in their food. Contact a vet or even a breeder for more help.

Check under the claws. If you find a hard bump, this is a staph infection and you need to get to the vet right away to drain it or she could lose the foot.

First, check your chicken's feet to make sure they don't have anything stuck in there, like a thorn. If the feet are warm, swollen, or red, then you may want to consider taking your chicken to a vet.

Check if your chicken is egg bound -- that is, an egg might be stuck. Consult your veterinarian about what to do if that's the case.

She might be broody. I had a chicken that got REALLY broody, and almost died. They stop caring for themselves to "hatch" the eggs. Even if there are no eggs they will still sit there, potentially until they die. Take her off the nest and put her in the yard. Give her her favorite food, and give her fruit or vegetable juice to keep her hydrated. If you give up, your chicken could die.

Try to increase their range so they can escape each other. Being “cooped up” can cause unnecessary stress. This can lead to feather plucking and cannibalistic behaviors.

Your hen has trauma. Take her to the vet for advice.

I would definitely take him to a vet. This can help the rooster get better. If you do not take him to a vet, it could lead to something serious.

It may just be weak from all the other chicks picking on it. I would recommend you separate the bullied chick from the other chicks. Make sure the chick has a heat lamp and food/water. If the walking problem persists, call a vet.

Your hen could be, as it is sometimes called, "broody." She will sit on the eggs whether they are fertile or not. This has happened to my hen several times before, and I kept taking her out of the nesting box until she gave up and let me take the eggs. Also, cooling down your chicken a bit could help.

As long as the sneezing isn't frequent or constant, then yes, this is fine.

The best way to tell if a chicken has a sour crop is by feeling the crop in the morning, when it should be empty unless food and artificial lightning was made available during the night. The crop should be flat. If you gently feel the crop and it's still full and/or squishy, then it likely has a sour crop. The smell of the chicken's mouth should also have a foul smell. Lethargy and a lack of eating are common symptoms if your chicken has a sour crop, as it cannot digest any food. It's important to see a veterinarian as soon as possible, as sour crop can lead to weight drop and eventually death.

Lethargy is common when a chicken is egg bound or has a sour crop. It's important it eats and drinks, and to also immediately treat any illness or problematic symptom as soon as possible. Both an egg bound hen or a sour crop can lead to death. To check to see if your chicken is egg bound, you will carefully need to feel for an egg in the vent. Otherwise, if your chicken has a sour crop, you might notice a bad smell coming from its mouth. Both cases need veterinary attention as soon as possible.

If your chicken is staying in her coop, she is probably brooding which means they are going through a motherhood stage where they sit on their eggs for days it is kind of dangerous because your chicken could stop eating and drinking. Try to lock that chicken out of the coop eventually they will grow out of it. But be aware for your other chickens go out there every few hours and if you see a different chicken trying to get in the coop let that on in but keep the brooder out.

Lice may have weakened her immune system making her more susceptible to disease. If she is lying with one leg forward and the other back, it could be Marek's Disease. I would suggest you start by treating the lice (I would use a topical treatment) and separate her from other chickens, and get veterinary advice about the disease.

The case might be that your other chickens are bullying or picking on her, or she could have some kind of illness. Chickens hide any signs of illness or injury to keep themselves "safe". Start by weighing her daily to make sure she is not losing weight, and get veterinary advice if her condition worsens.

How old are your hens? Hens naturally slow down and stop laying after a while. Their first year is when they lay a lot, and in the few years after that they begin to slow down and don't lay as much. If you're still worried, take them to the vet.

He's not just getting old, that's for certain. Start by monitoring your rooster - perhaps bring him inside or into a separate enclosure from any other chickens, so that he doesn't make anyone else sick, and keep an eye on his water intake. If he seems to be drinking normal amounts of water, then dehydration won't be the problem. It sounds like an illness though, and probably severe. My suggestion is that you get him to a veterinarian immediately.

It sounds like your girl has some sort of parasite. Check if the others have them, and then I would recommend worming them all, cleaning the coop and removing all the droppings, and take her to the vet to diagnose the problem.

It could be any number of things. Possibly Mycoplasmosis. Bring her inside for a while in a small enclosure so you can monitor her better. Take her to the vet if it doesn't self-resolve in a few days.

That sounds bad. Bring her inside in a small enclosure - that will keep her warm at night as well as make it easier for you to monitor her. She is clearly ill. Keep offering her plenty of water. When chickens aren't feeling very well, they often lose their appetite. Try her on wet, heated poultry mash, various seed mixes, dried insects and mealworms, even cooked mince and wet kitten food might help. Mix it in with her regular feed, and offer her grit for added calcium in a separate dish. You may have to provide some enrichment for her inside. Make sure what you are feeding her is good-quality feed. Get her to a vet as soon as possible.

Your chicken is clearly very ill. Red droppings indicate internal bleeding, and are always a bad sign. Good on you for bringing her inside. You need to get her to a vet as soon as you can. In the meantime, try giving her things like a little bit of cooked mince and wet kitten food - it might encourage her to eat if you mix it in with her regular feed. Offer her some grit for more calcium in a separate dish, but do not put it in the same dish as her feed - she needs to be able to take it if she needs it, not because she is forced.

What time of year is it? She could be moulting - or the hen who is bullying her could be pulling her feathers out. If she is being bullied it could be because she is ill. As chickens are prey animals, an ill chicken is considered weak, and its illness is a threat that weakens the flock, making them more liable to being attacked by predators, so the others often turn on the sick hen. Try to separate her from whomever is bullying her and check her for any open wounds from the pecking. If you can't get the other hen to stop, you may have to rehome her, or the one who is bullying her.

Depending on the time of year, your hen could just be moulting - this makes her feathers look a bit messy. But if she isn't roosting with the rest of the flock, that could be an indicator something is wrong. You could try bringing her inside in an enclosure so you can better monitor her and help her care for herself, as well as keep her warm at night. You need to contact a vet about it. You will also need to provide some enrichment for her if you do choose to bring her inside. It could be that her beak or throat is sore, and sometimes when chickens aren't feeling very well, they don't eat much, so you may have to force-feed her.

My chickens have been similar to this before and recovered just fine, but its always good to be cautious. The sleepy and puffed-up feathers is called lethargy, and usually it is a symptom of respiratory infections.