Strange hen behavior?

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BCcowgirl

BCcowgirl

In the Brooder
Jun 29, 2015
10
1
24
I have a laying hen who has been acting weird for the last three days. I've had hens do weird things before but this particular one is a little strange.

I've noticed she stands up very straight and always stands over the other eggs, like she's going to lay. I've checked to see if she's big in the bum but to me it doesn't look like she's egg bound. I put her by herself an hour ago and she ate feed and drank water like usual. I'll put updates here in a bit.

Thank you for any replies.
 
The very upright stance is often a symptom of being egg-bound, even if there's not noticeable swelling like an egg ready to plop out. One quick and easy thing you can try is to give her a warm bath. Fill your sink partway (or a dishpan, if you'd rather) with bathwater-hot water (if you like hot baths, that's the temp you want, if you like cooler baths, make it slightly warmer than you would prefer for your own bath). Set her in it, where her bottom and abdomen are in the water. She may actually settle in to the water comfortably, like it feels good to her, or she may argue with you and decide you need the bath, instead, but if she is egg-bound, it might allow her to pass the egg she wants to pass.

I would strongly advise to lift and move her carefully, though, because if there's an egg in there "stuck", you don't want to break it. That nearly always ends badly when that happens.

Good luck! Keep us updated. Hopefully the bath works out well, without any further intervention.
 
Day two and she's still standing straight up and eating/drinking.

I'll try the bath and see how that goes. Thank you for the suggestion!
 
What color are her "chicken bombs," her poops? Hopefully they're normal.
fl.gif
Her still eating and drinking normally is a good sign that things are not yet super-serious, but the longer it goes, the more dangerous it gets for her.
 

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