Anything wrong?

[Eggstravaganza]

So one of my hens is being antisocial, not sleeping with the others on their roosting bar and prefers instead to just sit in her nesting box. This is two nights in a row. Last night she seemed maybe kind of slow and lethargic but I couldn't really tell if it was just cuz it was dark or if it was abnormal at all. Today, I picked her up and she moved about normally and ate, drank, etc. and seemed pretty much normal but then i came back later and she went to her spot away from the other four hens. Also, probably 1 or 2 months ago, she started laying considerably smaller eggs than she was before, which seems weird. Her "tiredness" or whatever and her small eggs don't coincide chronologically but I don't really know if anything is up. Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Haunted55]

Age? Feed? Have you checked her for mites? How many chickens are housed together? Roos? More info would be needed to even make a guess. The nesting box gives her security, now to figure out why she needs it.

 

[Reurra]

Age? Feed? Have you checked her for mites? How many chickens are housed together? Roos? More info would be needed to even make a guess. The nesting box gives her security, now to figure out why she needs it.

If she is laying, she is not egg bound, so thats a good thing.

Mites are a possibility, so could worms. Check her vent for infections and inflamed redness. Check her feet for bumble feet, that can cause pain when perching and make them want to sleep in a box. Bumble foot has a black scab on the foot pad. If you ahve a rooster, he may be enjoying her company too much. Check for cuts or infections. Check inside her mouth for possible canker.

Chickens dont act sick unless they are very very sick, so immediate diagnosis and treatment is very critical.

 

[Eggstravaganza]

Update and more info:

She lives with four other hens, no roosters. She is about 10 months old. We feed her just layer crumble and kitchen scraps though we were without crumble for a day or so and couldn't get to the store so we just fed them a bunch of fruit and veggies and now they're back on crumble.

She still likes to stay in her nesting box but she is still eating and drinking and her poop looks normal, not runny or bloody. Her behavior is a little abnormal in that she sometimes keeps her feathers kind of fluffed up and doesn't really squawk full out but makes kind of a more hoarse, quieter version of a squawk. I checked her vent, feet, beak, comb, feathers, and skin and can't find any evidence of mites, lice, etc. Here are some pictures. Her breast has less feathers than the other hens and there was a reddish patch of skin that just looked like it had gotten a little scratched. She has layed today.









I think I'm going to take her into the vet tomorrow because they didn't have time for her today. Anything else I can check for?

 

[Reurra]

She is a pretty little hen, let us know how she is doing.

 

[jak2002003]

You don't think she has just gone broody? They will puff up their feathers then, and also be anti social. They will spend most of their time in the nest box too on the eggs.

Are your sure she is still laying? It might be another hen laying eggs in her box.

Let us know how she is doing.

 

[Haunted55]

I have to agree with Reurra and Jak2002003. This very well could be just her going broody. The smaller eggs I wouldn't worry too much about either, unless we are talking a really huge difference. Sometimes hens, when they first start laying, will have all kinds of different sized eggs. From super jumbo, [that came out of this poor little thing???!!!] right down to pee wee size. It can take months for them to get it straight. Under a year old I wouldn't worry about that unless there were other symptoms.

If I could, I'd like to ask a few other questions. When you feel her breast, is it full and plump or are you able to feel the keel bone really well? I'm not sure of the breed of chickens you have, but to me it looks as if she may be a bit on the skinny side. Has she ever been wormed? If she is one of the crested varieties, there can be issues with them that can manifest in different ways. Again, I am not seeing anything here to make me think extreme emergency, but in the future, it may be a good idea to give them some vitamin suppliments in their water, once or twice a week, everyday if they are under stress or sick. Either savAchick or one of the other vitamins for poultry.

If you have an Avian Vet. or even a Vet who is willing to see your bird and you can afford them, I would go and have them do a thorough exam. Not only will this give you peace of mind but will set up a rapport between you and the Vet so that if there ever comes a time when you need them, you have a history already.

 

[Eggstravaganza]

I was thinking that she had just gone a little broody but I wasn't really sure. It's possible I was reading into the other symptoms too much but I just want to keep a really close eye on her and observe her very closely. This is my first time having chickens and I've only had them for less than a year so I'm not very experienced with that kind of stuff.

She is a speckled sussex, which do go broody right? So how long do they go broody for? Is it just for a certain season, or on and off or pretty much continuous? And would her being broody cause her to be antisocial even if she isn't in the nesting box? Like this morning she was just in the coop on the roosting bar for a while when the other girls were out and about, though she eventually came out.

Jak2002003: Since my hens are all different breeds, I can tell their eggs apart easily so I know that she layed yesterday.

As for her breast, it's hard to know exactly what "plump" is, but comparing her to my other hens I can't tell a difference at all. I can definitely feel her keel bone very well though as you can see in the picture and to be honest it doesn't really feel plump. In front of the keel bone it's more full feeling but I'm not sure if that whole area is the breast or just more forward. I can't really think of any reason that she would be skinny. She has food all the time. The only thing would be, like I mentioned above, that we ran out of crumble a few days ago and didn't have time to get new feed for a day so we just fed them lots of kitchen scraps, fruits, and veggies for the time being. Now they've got plenty of crumble though. So maybe they would all be slightly skinnier after that, I don't know. Also, I don't think this is an issue, but I never feed them any scratch. It's just supposed to be a treat though and not a necessary part of their diet, right?

She has never been wormed. What does this entail? I'll go to the feed store today and check out the vitamins because that seems like a good idea.

I just went out there and watched her for a bit and she's hanging out with everyone else, not in her nesting box, and acting completely normal. She is running around, eating and drinking, everything.

I think I'm going to wait on going to the vet because it's kind of expensive. I agree with what you said about peace of mind and establishing a rapport, but as of right now she seems to be healthy and everything so I'm just going to keep a close eye on her and take her to the vet if I think it's necessary. You think this is an okay idea?

Thanks so much for all the help guys! I'll be sure to keep you updated on her.

 

[Haunted55]

I was thinking that she had just gone a little broody but I wasn't really sure. It's possible I was reading into the other symptoms too much but I just want to keep a really close eye on her and observe her very closely. This is my first time having chickens and I've only had them for less than a year so I'm not very experienced with that kind of stuff.

She is a speckled sussex, which do go broody right? So how long do they go broody for? Is it just for a certain season, or on and off or pretty much continuous? And would her being broody cause her to be antisocial even if she isn't in the nesting box? Like this morning she was just in the coop on the roosting bar for a while when the other girls were out and about, though she eventually came out.
She could be thinking about going broody...I know sounds crazy but I have a couple who will do that. For a day or two they will hang around inside and jump in and out of the nesting boxes. All of them and I have nine. the next day she will go into one of them, maybe 3-4 of them and finally lay her egg and then set there for the rest of the day. Next morning she's out with the rest. Yes, she is a Speckled Sussex hen. You tell me...

Jak2002003: Since my hens are all different breeds, I can tell their eggs apart easily so I know that she layed yesterday.

As for her breast, it's hard to know exactly what "plump" is, but comparing her to my other hens I can't tell a difference at all. I can definitely feel her keel bone very well though as you can see in the picture and to be honest it doesn't really feel plump. In front of the keel bone it's more full feeling but I'm not sure if that whole area is the breast or just more forward. I can't really think of any reason that she would be skinny. She has food all the time. The only thing would be, like I mentioned above, that we ran out of crumble a few days ago and didn't have time to get new feed for a day so we just fed them lots of kitchen scraps, fruits, and veggies for the time being. Now they've got plenty of crumble though. So maybe they would all be slightly skinnier after that, I don't know. Also, I don't think this is an issue, but I never feed them any scratch. It's just supposed to be a treat though and not a necessary part of their diet, right?

Going without their grain isn't going to make much a difference for a day. During the Summer months my birds hardly ever touch their grain at all. They are too busy out side with the grass and bugs. I think you more than covered it with the food you gave them. Word of caution...if you give them potato skins, please cook them if only in the microwave for a couple of minutes. Boiling them is better but the microwave will do. Potatoes have nicotine in the skins and too much can poison them. Cooking breaks some of it down and makes it safer to feed them.

She has never been wormed. What does this entail? I'll go to the feed store today and check out the vitamins because that seems like a good idea.
Worming at least once a year is a good idea, even if you don't think they need it. I use Safeguard wormer for goats, 1/2cc per each bird. The best way I've found to do this is to put it on a small piece of bread and feed to each one. Sounds like a pain, but trust me, you'll be hard pressed to keep up with them, lol. Another way is to put 3cc into a gallon of water and make this the only water they get for 24 hours. If they should finish before the time is up switch to plain old water. Either would need to be redone in 10 days to get any eggs that were laid. Vitamins are always a good idea.


I just went out there and watched her for a bit and she's hanging out with everyone else, not in her nesting box, and acting completely normal. She is running around, eating and drinking, everything.

I think I'm going to wait on going to the vet because it's kind of expensive. I agree with what you said about peace of mind and establishing a rapport, but as of right now she seems to be healthy and everything so I'm just going to keep a close eye on her and take her to the vet if I think it's necessary. You think this is an okay idea?
I think you'll be fine with this course of action. Just watch, as you said and it should be all good.

Thanks so much for all the help guys! I'll be sure to keep you updated on her.