Magda12
Songster
I have 10 color eggs layers, all bought together a year ago in April. One of my EEs hens has done something weird twice now, that I have witnessed. She stands really still with her back hunched and tail down. She acts like she's uncomfortable or in pain or something. You can see the feathers on her back end moving like she's contracting to lay an egg. Last time I just left her go and it cleared up.
This time, I went to check on them after church around 8 and she was outside the coop (door closes at 6:30 ish). She was kinda huddled up underneath it by herself. Not sure if she's ever done this before because I don't always check that they all went in. But I have never seen any of them outside after the door closes when I have looked.
I brought her in. I didn't feel anything in her abdomen region, but I am also a newbie and didn't want to break an egg if there was one. She did squat for me. Her crop felt normal to me (again, newbie) like it always does, firm but not gigantic and hard. She did have some poo on her rear feathers but her vent was clean and looked normal (I think) - pale, nickel sized, closed and nothing hanging out of it or anything. Her comb is bright red.
I gave her an Epsom salt soak, cleaned the poo off her feathers and gave her some water with added trace minerals (she drank probably 4-6 oz). I tried to give her a calcium tablet but she resisted really hard and I was trying not to squeeze her. I thought I got it in, but turns out I dropped the darn thing and didn't find it until after I had already put her back in the cat carrier, so I broke it up and put it in the water I left in there with her. I am going to keep her in the house tonight and see how she is in the morning.
Any ideas on what could be up with her and what I can try? At the end of the day, as much as I like the little buggers, we have them for egg laying and not (primarily) as pets, so I don't want to involve a vet, but I also want to do everything I can to help her and make sure she's not suffering or anything.
By the way, none of this is easy but it's worse when your husband is an absolute OCD germaphobe. You'd never know he spent summers on a freaking farm growing up
This time, I went to check on them after church around 8 and she was outside the coop (door closes at 6:30 ish). She was kinda huddled up underneath it by herself. Not sure if she's ever done this before because I don't always check that they all went in. But I have never seen any of them outside after the door closes when I have looked.
I brought her in. I didn't feel anything in her abdomen region, but I am also a newbie and didn't want to break an egg if there was one. She did squat for me. Her crop felt normal to me (again, newbie) like it always does, firm but not gigantic and hard. She did have some poo on her rear feathers but her vent was clean and looked normal (I think) - pale, nickel sized, closed and nothing hanging out of it or anything. Her comb is bright red.
I gave her an Epsom salt soak, cleaned the poo off her feathers and gave her some water with added trace minerals (she drank probably 4-6 oz). I tried to give her a calcium tablet but she resisted really hard and I was trying not to squeeze her. I thought I got it in, but turns out I dropped the darn thing and didn't find it until after I had already put her back in the cat carrier, so I broke it up and put it in the water I left in there with her. I am going to keep her in the house tonight and see how she is in the morning.
Any ideas on what could be up with her and what I can try? At the end of the day, as much as I like the little buggers, we have them for egg laying and not (primarily) as pets, so I don't want to involve a vet, but I also want to do everything I can to help her and make sure she's not suffering or anything.
By the way, none of this is easy but it's worse when your husband is an absolute OCD germaphobe. You'd never know he spent summers on a freaking farm growing up
