Chickens are durable animals, but always susceptible to sickness/disease. Signs of sickness include pale comb and wattles, discharge from eyes/nostrils/beak, diarrhea, loss of feathers, scabs, bleeding, swollen body parts (the bottom especially), lowered body temperature, infestation of mites/lice, and weight loss. Also look for irregular behavior such as unusual decrease or stop in egg production, not eating, listlessness, drooped wings and head, unable to stand, and closed eyes. You will know if your chicken seems "off", especially if you know her personality.
If you notice one of your chickens is sick, you can help it out by:
-taking it inside, to a warm and draft free room
-get a large box (enough for her to walk around in a little) and fill it up a couple inches with shavings
-attach a heating lamp on top of the box so the chicken can be warm
-give her plenty of water, and yummy food (like veggie broth, yogurt, oatmeal, cheese, etc), or the chicken pellets; or crumble which I added water to to make it mushy
Keep her in there until you see she has perked up and is moving around in the box, trying to get out.
This website has helped in figuring out what's wrong with my chicken:
http://www.welphatchery.com/poultry_health.asp
Or get "The Chicken Health Handbook", which if very informational (and good if you don't always have internet access)
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