Plant City Newb
In the Brooder
Good morning.
I have a small flock and I'm fairly new to chicken keeping. My girls are getting close to the time when they'll start laying (one is getting really 'squatty' around me). Yesterday, when my girls were out for their afternoon free ranging I saw one relax her feathers to poop. Then she kept her feathers relaxed and seemed to be straining a bit and I could see her vent was a little pushed out. I got the girls back into the run and checked her out. Her vent was back to normal. A couple of hours later I checked her again and her vent still looked fine. It was pulsing a bit, but I don't know if that was from being ticked off at being picked up again or something else. This chicken does not like being touched one bit!
My question is this: Is this a normal behavior for pullets getting ready to lay their first egg? All of the girls have gotten their wattles and their combs are red and have split at the top. So I know they're close to laying. I can imagine how weird body changes must be to them (as a female, they have my sympathy!). I did check their pelvic bone width this past weekend and they're all widening.
Any advice would be wonderful.
Thanks.
I have a small flock and I'm fairly new to chicken keeping. My girls are getting close to the time when they'll start laying (one is getting really 'squatty' around me). Yesterday, when my girls were out for their afternoon free ranging I saw one relax her feathers to poop. Then she kept her feathers relaxed and seemed to be straining a bit and I could see her vent was a little pushed out. I got the girls back into the run and checked her out. Her vent was back to normal. A couple of hours later I checked her again and her vent still looked fine. It was pulsing a bit, but I don't know if that was from being ticked off at being picked up again or something else. This chicken does not like being touched one bit!
My question is this: Is this a normal behavior for pullets getting ready to lay their first egg? All of the girls have gotten their wattles and their combs are red and have split at the top. So I know they're close to laying. I can imagine how weird body changes must be to them (as a female, they have my sympathy!). I did check their pelvic bone width this past weekend and they're all widening.
Any advice would be wonderful.
Thanks.