11 mo Brahma EE hen (not yet laying) with bloated abdomen… help?!

[Samanternat]

My Brahma EE hen is not exhibiting any unusual behaviour that I’ve noticed lately. However, today she was getting into it with my two other hens (she is a month older and has always been top of the pecking order with my rooster from the same hatch). It was just odd to see them fight, and especially to see the younger ones go at her. She also was in the coop instead of the run more than usual today according to the cameras.

Her energy seems about the same otherwise, her crop seems normal, I haven’t noticed appetite changes, she’s just as cuddly as ever and trilling pleasantly in my arms, her tail is up…

I thought maybe she is getting ready to finally lay now that it’s almost spring?! But there is no egg from her yet (never has been as far as I’m concerned… we get steady same 2 color eggs from the other hens since fall).

I was checking her vent and hip bones to see signs of laying and noticed her abdomen was pretty bloated. You couldn’t tell by looking since she is fluffy but I went back and forth comparing to the other hens (not Brahmas) and I’m fairly sure it is bloated.

What could this be, if anything? First time chicken owner and any slight change that I notice I will worry about. I’m worrying about egg binding, water belly, internal laying… I just don’t know!

Please advise!!!

 

[CCsGarden]

Sounds like Waterbelly! Pictures will help and from their I can try to hell more.

Righf now Give her vitamins E and B with Alpha Lipoic Acid on some yogurt.

 

[Samanternat]

Sounds like Waterbelly! Pictures will help and from their I can try to hell more.

Righf now Give her vitamins E and B with Alpha Lipoic Acid on some yogurt.

I can try to get a picture tomorrow but you won’t see anything but a fluffy butt to be honest! It’s not stretched or obvious. It only seems bloated when I feel it… and I could be wrong. I was inspecting her head-to-toe when I noticed the pecking order seemed to change toward her, plus her staying in the coop alone more than usual (not lethargic, still pecking and kicking stuff around in there).

Thanks for the suggestions… I’ll look into where I can get some of those things.

 

[CCsGarden]

Alright! Hmmmm.....so she has never laid before?
What feed do you use? How many hens is she with?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she getting layer feed and does she have access to some crushed oyster shell? Those both have calcium to help lay eggs. Hopefully, she is just getting ready to lay. What does her usual dropping look like? Are the white caps (urates) white and not yellow? Pictures are welcome.

 

[Samanternat]

Alright! Hmmmm.....so she has never laid before?
What feed do you use? How many hens is she with?

I strongly believe she hasn’t. Over the winter she developed more and more signs of maturity/readiness so I’d been expecting an egg from her when Spring came… Brahmas are late bloomers I’ve heard and she is a Dark Brahma mix.

There are 3 hens (her included) and 1 roo. Grower feed for everyone, but I add oyster shells separate for the layers to help themselves to.

 

[Samanternat]

Is she getting layer feed and does she have access to some crushed oyster shell? Those both have calcium to help lay eggs. Hopefully, she is just getting ready to lay. What does her usual dropping look like? Are the white caps (urates) white and not yellow? Pictures are welcome.

I had her inside earlier for an hour and monitored her droppings which were typical sizes and with normal amounts of white urates.

Usually they get oyster shells, it was empty, so I topped it up today! Grower feed is what I feed everyone since I have a Roo and everyone wasn’t laying - I’d read that it’s not good for them and supplementing with the shells was enough.

 

[Eggcessive]

The dark and buff brahmas I had laid a medium size cream color egg, smaller than you would think a big gal would lay.

 

[CCsGarden]

I strongly believe she hasn’t. Over the winter she developed more and more signs of maturity/readiness so I’d been expecting an egg from her when Spring came… Brahmas are late bloomers I’ve heard and she is a Dark Brahma mix.

There are 3 hens (her included) and 1 roo. Grower feed for everyone, but I add oyster shells separate for the layers to help themselves to.

Okay! Yeah, my Brahmas took awhile to start laying. I did have one that had lots of egg issues when she first started laying, so maybe that's kinda what you are going thru.
Keep going on oyster shells for them. Can you give this hen some direct calcium?

 

[Samanternat]

The dark and buff brahmas I had laid a medium size cream color egg, smaller than you would think a big gal would lay.

Good to know! My other two lay a light tan and a brown… I can easily tell apart. I’m hoping Brahma will lay a distinctive shade so I’ll know it’s hers.