Ailing Hen

[lakotapoet]

Thanks for the opportunity to learn and discuss chickens...I love them! I have 3 hens and 1 rooster all a mix of Rhode Island Red and ?. I've had them for about 2 months and they are just about the age for laying. One hen started to nest and produced 1 egg that was almost instantly moved, cracked and broken. I did'nt see it happen but I removed the egg so not to encourage egg eating. The hen however is not doing well. She has been in a nest now for 3 days, moving from 1 to another, and has white poop? coming from her rear. I moved her out of the nest to see what was going on and she instantly ran to another nest...it didn't look like she could stand...just squatted down. She is breathing heavily probably from the stress of moving her but I am worried. Got any ideas? I added diotomacious earth to their feed for parasites...recommeded by someone who raises chickens otherwise I feed them layer from Tractor Supply and until now have been flourishing. Help!

 

[CMV]

Could she be broody? Has she laid since the first egg? The white poop-is it poop or discharge?

 

[lakotapoet]

The "poop" is very runny. No more eggs as of this morning. I'm afraid she might be dehydrated...I'm going to separate her tonite and give her water with a dropper just in case. What do you think?

 

[CMV]

New layers can take a bit to work out all the kinks in the plumbing. I can't really see anything from your post that would indicate she was actually having a problem. Why are you worried about dehydration?

DE is useless taken internally unless you are using it as a mineral supplement. It is not a wormer. It becomes ineffective when it gets wet and the inside of a chicken is wet.

 

[lakotapoet]

Update on ailing Hen (Sweet Pea). Not much change. I moved her out of the nesting box and she promptly moved to the next one. More accumulated poop this morning looks stuck to her butt. I've had to work this last 5 days and haven't been able to keep a close eye on her to see what her habits are. All the others are doing fine...

 

[lakotapoet]

I'd like to share a website I found. This is where I got my introduction about food grade diotomacious earth and it's uses around animals and poultry. The bag I bought had a formula for adding to chicken/duck/goose feed. Since I'm not the chicken expert and am learning, I'm not going to use it in their food anymore but will use it in the coop for flies and other external pests. I am confused about the conflicting information.

 

[lakotapoet]

Oops! www.wolkcreekranch.com

 

[lakotapoet]

Oops again...that's www.wolfcreekranch.com

 

[CMV]

I am thinking you may have a broody on your hands. Is she all puffed up and making strange soft sounds (almost like purring or whirring noises)?

Seriously, DE is not worth wasting your money on. The negligible health benefits do not make up for the cost of the DE. It is not a wormer and doesn't kill external parasites. It can be used as a preventative for external parasites, but even then...my birds were dusted with DE routinely and it was mixed into their bedding at each cleaning, and they almost died from a massive mite infestation that I didn't realize they had because the DE was supposed to prevent that kind of thing. I tried to use it to kill some ant nests I had, but after putting it out anew each day for a month with no reduction in the ant populations, I got some ant baits and they were gone within 3 days. DE is good for drying things out if you have a wetness issue and it works to knock down the stink in a soggy run. That's about the extent of its powers. I have read the studies, too. That's why I used to be a religious user. Personal experience has showed me that the stuff is a waste of money, however. I still have about 50 lbs of it taking up space in my shed. I keep it around for when the run gets soggy and nasty. I have had it for years and it won't be replaced when it is finally gone.