hen not acting right

[shannon84]

Yes, and it very watery....... I've had her since this past Monday and she's laid one egg since I've had her and it had like a ring around it, not too deformed though. Is one egg normal for a new Hampshire red hen?

 

[babybird2003]

Hard to say. It depends on her age, food quality, calcium supplements and temperate.

 

[shannon84]

I think she's still on the young side maybe 3 years. I'm hoping she has an egg in her crate for me tomorrow morning, she eats so good and drinks. Hard to believe she could be that sick. Not sure what quality of food my dad gave her but I'm giving her food for laying hens, with oyster already in it. :'( she's very timid and gets bullied, maybe the new environment and charged stressed her too much.

 

[islandgirl82]

Chickens don't do well with change and stress can cause hens to stop laying. That doesn't mean she's in the clear given her body posture. Has her comb gone pale? Is she still eating and drinking?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello I'm new with chickens as of (Easter week) I just got a young adult hen off my dad and she's not anywhere near as spunky as my other hen. She's eating and drinking but she moves so slow with her tail down seems very lethargic to me, also has no feathers around her vent? I just gave her olive oil and Epsom salt by the way to see if it helps? Any ideas on what this could be? Thanks! It sounds like she is having trouble. You are doing good with giving her the warm bath and massage, it doesn't hurt to lubricate the vent either. Since the abdomen is hard, she's slow, lethargic, walks with a waddle, lays down a lot and she is an older hen (3yrs old can be "old") she may have an internal laying problem like Peritonitis. The egg that she laid with a ring around it could be a "body checked" egg, which as you suspect can be caused by stress or her age.

Even though layer feed has calcium you may want to offer oyster shell free choice to her, give her some liquid calcium or you can feed her a crushed tums. Some hens consume/need more calcium than others.

You can also offer some poultry vitamins to help give her a boost. If she is still lethargic and slow, she might benefit from extra protein as well, scrambled/hard boiled egg, tuna, mackerel or meat is a good way to add protein, just offer as a treat or mix with her layer feed.

Here's some links that may be helpful.


Peritonitis and internal egg laying issues:
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/tag/laying-issues/
http://www.hobbyfarms.com/livestock-and-pets/6-causes-of-chicken-swollen-abdomen.aspx

Egg Quality:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

Salpingitis:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/12/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard.html

 

[islandgirl82]

How is she doing today?

 

[Jenna14Chicken]

I agree with everyone I have had to deal with egg binding before but unfortunately my girlie didn't make it :'( I hope the best to you and hope she will be ok and hope it's not anything to serious. A picture would help just to see if we can help in determining what is going on. Good luck to you and her, I hope she will be ok.
Jenna

 

[shannon84]

Chickens don't do well with change and stress can cause hens to stop laying.  That doesn't mean she's in the clear given her body posture. Has her comb gone pale?  Is she still eating and drinking?   

 

[shannon84]

Hi thank you so much for the reply. No egg yet but I haven't checked on her for a couple of house. I have her another empson salt soak and more Vaseline around her vent. I can't feel an egg but when I took the tip of my finger out I seen a very small amount of whitish looking stuff come out? What could that be? He comb is more red then yesterday. Looks more perky. But still moves slow and waddles and lays around. I just want to help her so much, I feel completely helpless. Should I give her An antibiotic and if so what's the name? Thank you so much! Yes I think she became very stressed with a pecking hen attacking hen And a rooster that jumped her every chance he got. (Sexual of course)

 

[shannon84]

She is e

Chickens don't do well with change and stress can cause hens to stop laying.  That doesn't mean she's in the clear given her body posture. Has her comb gone pale?  Is she still eating and drinking?   

ating she is eating and drinking. I'll post pics of her when I get home. Thanks Hun!!