1st egg & chicken's behavior is unusual????

[fishsticks84]

Hey y'all!
Our sweet Louise laid her first egg yesterday and we couldn't be more excited! She is a 23 week old Buff Orpington.

She doesn't want to integrate with the flock and seems almost like she is exhausted? She wants to lay down a lot and isolate herself.

I checked her vent and it appears to be normal?? Any suggestions?

 

[andreanar]

That's a pretty bloody egg. Have you felt anything unusual in her belly, lower abdomen area?

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC....congrats on your first egg.
Tho a bit of blood is not unusual, her behavior indicates she's not feeling well.
It's good you checked her vent.
She could be getting ready to pass a soft shell egg,
not unusual with a new layer and it can make them act weird.
Just keep an eye on her.

 

[fishsticks84]

That's a pretty bloody egg. Have you felt anything unusual in her belly, lower abdomen area?

I did check and everything and it all appears to feel and look normal.... However yesterday her vent area was pulsating quite a bit....but its not today?

 

[fishsticks84]

Welcome to BYC....congrats on your first egg.
Tho a bit of blood is not unusual, her behavior indicates she's not feeling well.
It's good you checked her vent.
She could be getting ready to pass a soft shell egg,
not unusual with a new layer and it can make them act weird.
Just keep an eye on her.

Thank you....I'm just worried

 

[aart]

However yesterday her vent area was pulsating quite a bit....but its not today?

The vent can pulse and clench for many reasons, just breathing will do it, and especially if you're poking around back there, even just to move feathers to see the vent. So don't read too much into that. Go more by her overall behaviors..if she's eating/drinking/pooping/moving around normally, she's probably fine.
You'll feel better when she lays a proper egg, or at least gets a softie all the way out unbroken.

 

[fishsticks84]

The vent can pulse and clench for many reasons, just breathing will do it, and especially if you're poking around back there, even just to move feathers to see the vent. So don't read too much into that. Go more by her overall behaviors..if she's eating/drinking/pooping/moving around normally, she's probably fine.
You'll feel better when she lays a proper egg, or at least gets a softie all the way out unbroken.

Thank you for the feedback! She didn't have much of an appetite t yesterday and this morning...I let them out in the morning to free range and usually she walks around looking for whatever it is she can get her beak on lol...but she doesn't seem interested? She will go sit under a tree and stay there until I go get her and carry her back to the coop. I did notice that her stool was a little watery...but could that be from the heat? I put some electrolytes in their water today and she was drinking like usual.

We were in a heat advisory yesterday, but they have plenty of cool water and cooling stations.

Her egg was small and the bottom was hard but towards the top the shell was thin.

 

[aart]

The heat can definitely affect laying,
water is needed to cool the body instead of plumping up eggs.

Watery poops can be from drinking lots of water,
then moving it right thru to shed heat from the body.

They can be lethargic in the heat, panting and holding wings way from body.