Thank you for that picture! I did not have the courage to open up my hen, though I wanted to. The picture is fascinating. Over the winter on 4-5 occasions, I found in my nesting boxes, an egg-sized ball of something that looked just like this material. Its looks like New England hushpuppies...
My hen was still hanging tough last night when I came home from afternoon shift at midnight. She actually looked relatively comfortable compared to how she'd look several days ago. Unfortunately she didn't make it through the night.
It was a stressful week but I'm glad she's not in anymore...
My 3 yr old RIR hen is still hanging in there. I'm giving her a warm bath soak daily and keeping her in a warm dark place with fresh staw. I was happy to see her drinking the water I was saoking her in. A good sign since I haven't seen her eat or drink in a few days. No egg yet though...
Chickenscratch,
How's your hen? Mine's hanging in there. No egg yet. Still not eating, drinking or walking but she seems more alert today. Fingers crossed.
I saw your posting late yesterday and spent half the morning looking for it today. That is wierd. I registered just for this posting. I have a 3 yr old hen that looks the same way - very squaty. I only noticed her condition about 4 days ago though. No way is she going to last a month like...