ahwhite
Chirping
- May 25, 2016
- 65
- 46
- 81
Sigh...I have a chicken who is in rough shape and need some advice.
I'll give some background info. My chickens are molting and it is getting cold in Wyoming (single digits at night). They've had extra protein (meal worms) access to calcium, scratch to keep them busy, extra shavings in the coop etc...almost all of them seem to be doing fine. They are out during the day and one of them seems finished and is back to laying.
Except this one hen. So unfortunately she broke her leg at a young age (about a year and a half ago), but we decided to see if she could heal and be alright. In general she does fine. She gets around fine, dust bathes, and I've even miraculously seen her on the roost once or twice, though she usually just sleeps on the ground. However she is a bit more of a loner than the other hens. Usually they all get along fine, and she does spend time with them/snuggle up with some etc. she just tends to be by herself more often. She is also more prone to being bullied it seems, occasionally. She is the only one that has gotten broody, so during those times she gets picked on.
So I've noticed over the past few days that she is not doing so hot. She doesn't come out of the coop much, and when she does she tends to be pretty still. She is getting bullied by a couple other hens pretty badly, one that isn't usually nasty, but they are molting badly so I think they are just cranky. Anyway yesterday I noticed how bad they were being and how sullen she seemed so I isolated her in a dog crate with some food, water, and wind protection. She seemed alright if not great, she scratched around for scratch I put in there, seemed to drink and eat some, though she mostly slept.
Today i got her out of the coop in the morning and put her back in there. I was worried she wasn't able to eat or drink because of the bullying so I wanted to see how she would do. She seemed worse today. She was more unstable than usual, puffing up her neck feathers (not at the approach of other hens) and sagging her butt a little. She ate the treat I gave her and food if I held it up to her, but I couldn't really get her to drink water. Her poops looked fairly normal if kind of small. I put a heating lamp on her to see if that would help. She wasn't getting better, and I am not even close to an expert so I kind of braced myself for her not making it, figured she is slightly weaker because of her leg.
Then I realized she could be egg bound. I didn't think of it at all because she hasn't laid in quite some time (a month or so) and she is still molting. I've had one egg bound hen before though so it seemed like similar behavior, and this was the only thing I could think of. I reallllly didn't want to bring her inside, because I don't want her used to the warmth, but I figured if she is egg bound, that would be her only chance. So I've done what I did with the other hen that got her through; I examined her vent, and didn't feel anything, though I never know what I'm doing. I did an epsom salt bath, massaged her rear end, lubed her vent with preparation H and vaseline, gave her some crushed up calcium tablet, gave her coconut oil, put her in a dog crate inside with a heating pad, and tried my best to get her to drink water. She only drank a little and is still resisting. She is more open to food, but I've taken it away. I covered her crate up so it's dark, and even diffused lavender! haha. Like I said her poops have looked normal, though some white poop came out while I was examining her vent, and I guess it could have been tinged yellow, which is scary.
So... If an egg broke inside her is there anything i can even do? I feel like she might just not make it. Does this sound like she could be egg bound? Can they be egg bound while actively molting? If she does make it, whats the best way to reacclimate her to the cold? I can't have her living inside the next three months! Any other advice?
Thank you for reading a long thread!
I'll give some background info. My chickens are molting and it is getting cold in Wyoming (single digits at night). They've had extra protein (meal worms) access to calcium, scratch to keep them busy, extra shavings in the coop etc...almost all of them seem to be doing fine. They are out during the day and one of them seems finished and is back to laying.
Except this one hen. So unfortunately she broke her leg at a young age (about a year and a half ago), but we decided to see if she could heal and be alright. In general she does fine. She gets around fine, dust bathes, and I've even miraculously seen her on the roost once or twice, though she usually just sleeps on the ground. However she is a bit more of a loner than the other hens. Usually they all get along fine, and she does spend time with them/snuggle up with some etc. she just tends to be by herself more often. She is also more prone to being bullied it seems, occasionally. She is the only one that has gotten broody, so during those times she gets picked on.
So I've noticed over the past few days that she is not doing so hot. She doesn't come out of the coop much, and when she does she tends to be pretty still. She is getting bullied by a couple other hens pretty badly, one that isn't usually nasty, but they are molting badly so I think they are just cranky. Anyway yesterday I noticed how bad they were being and how sullen she seemed so I isolated her in a dog crate with some food, water, and wind protection. She seemed alright if not great, she scratched around for scratch I put in there, seemed to drink and eat some, though she mostly slept.
Today i got her out of the coop in the morning and put her back in there. I was worried she wasn't able to eat or drink because of the bullying so I wanted to see how she would do. She seemed worse today. She was more unstable than usual, puffing up her neck feathers (not at the approach of other hens) and sagging her butt a little. She ate the treat I gave her and food if I held it up to her, but I couldn't really get her to drink water. Her poops looked fairly normal if kind of small. I put a heating lamp on her to see if that would help. She wasn't getting better, and I am not even close to an expert so I kind of braced myself for her not making it, figured she is slightly weaker because of her leg.
Then I realized she could be egg bound. I didn't think of it at all because she hasn't laid in quite some time (a month or so) and she is still molting. I've had one egg bound hen before though so it seemed like similar behavior, and this was the only thing I could think of. I reallllly didn't want to bring her inside, because I don't want her used to the warmth, but I figured if she is egg bound, that would be her only chance. So I've done what I did with the other hen that got her through; I examined her vent, and didn't feel anything, though I never know what I'm doing. I did an epsom salt bath, massaged her rear end, lubed her vent with preparation H and vaseline, gave her some crushed up calcium tablet, gave her coconut oil, put her in a dog crate inside with a heating pad, and tried my best to get her to drink water. She only drank a little and is still resisting. She is more open to food, but I've taken it away. I covered her crate up so it's dark, and even diffused lavender! haha. Like I said her poops have looked normal, though some white poop came out while I was examining her vent, and I guess it could have been tinged yellow, which is scary.
So... If an egg broke inside her is there anything i can even do? I feel like she might just not make it. Does this sound like she could be egg bound? Can they be egg bound while actively molting? If she does make it, whats the best way to reacclimate her to the cold? I can't have her living inside the next three months! Any other advice?
Thank you for reading a long thread!
