Sick Chick

I've had a sick chicken today.  She was obviously feeling poorly last night.  When I let the girls out to go free-ranging she stayed behind in the chicken yard.  She was so lethargic!  She didn't resist being picked up at all. I carried her into the hen house where she could get a drink of water.  I was afraid she had gotten dehydrated, as I had let the water go dry yesterday afternoon.  She did drink a little while I was watching and I let her go to roost as normal.

This morning as I was preparing the space for the chicks I saw that she was still lethargic.  Her eyes were dull.  She just wasn't right.  I assembled one of our dog crates, covered the bottom with straw, and settled her in it with plenty of food and water.  I put her under cover in the barn, out of the chicken yard and away from the other chickens.  I didn't want to increase the chance of infecting the entire flock. When I picked her up to put her in the crate I noticed she had a "soft shelled" egg hanging from her vent.  I wiped it away best I could and put her in the cage.

I checked with the folks at the feed store.  They had no idea really what might be wrong, but suggested I administer antibiotics just in case, which I started right away in her water.  This afternoon she's perking up.  Her eyes even seem brighter.  It's hard to believe drugs would be so fast acting, so I have to wonder if it might have been difficult passage of that soft-shelled egg??