Poorly hen, anything I can do myself?

[mariat]

Hi again everyone, I need some advice please. I have had my hens for about 6 weeks now, and until this morning I thought everything was going OK. However, one of my Rhode Rocks didn't want to come out of the coop this morning, and is now standing hunched up and not eating, although she has drunk a little. I picked her up and she feels rather skinny and I think her crop is empty. She is around 21 weeks, and I feed them on layers pellets that have Verm X already added, so I don't think it's worms. Her breathing seems fine and AFAIK all the other hens are OK. I know she was eating yesterday, and was chasing round for treats.

[kitla]

If she's lost weight perhaps she hasn't been eating as well as you thought, they're
good at hiding their illness until it gets bad. What are her poops like? that can often
give a clue, if you know where she sleeps in the coop check in the morning.
She could still have worms, Vermx offers some protection against them but no
guarantee, I would say they still need worming with something like Flubenvet
occasionally. The vet should be able to test a poop sample for worms then you'd know
for sure, sometimes you can even see them moving in a fresh poop. (I hope you're not
having your tea! ) Perhaps she's ready to lay her first egg & having some problems, is her vent "pulsing" a lot?