Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[MyHaven]

She could be egg bound , by the description of her stance . Is she laying ? My advice would be to go out and get her tonight ( less stressful ) examine her for parasites and bulges or softness in the abdomen. Sometimes a warm 20 min soak in Epsom salts will help them along. Keep her isolated and warm so you can have a look at her droppings and any egg that she may lay. If you don't have a good 'pep ' up or multi vitamin , dissolve 1/2 a teaspoon of vegemite in hot water, let cool and put it on her feed.

Thanks, she
- is swollen and slightly squishy from around vent forward to keel
- did not show any discomfort while I examined her, picking and prodding
- did a normal type poo although small for a morning job
- is not grey but not the brightest red either
- is not eating much, although she hasn't been in the brooder long to be settled
- is probably not laying, I have another leghorn x who lays a very similar egg
- has nothing but a little poo around her vent.

I can not find any lumps or anything hard when prodding, is she laying internally? I've never had a single egg laying issue.

Yes I have some multi vitamins in her water.

Cheers

 

[MyHaven]

************************** Thanks so much for the photos MyHaven ... Buttercup - a beautiful bird with all that patterning - even if not 100% 'to the book' Lovely comb and wattles from what I can see. Speaking of combs and wattles, your barney Lacey ... has a very large comb and pendulous wattles. Front on has the looks of a rooster, but the tail is not long / big or brag-ish enough to be rooster-ish. AND she lays eggs, so that is my own question asked and answered .... LOL. ... You have really lovely girls there. ................. Now to another question you have asked : and and particularly : THIS is exactly how Mandy has looked for months, on and off - becoming worse in recent weeks - which now appears to be fixed hopefully. At least in Mandy's case it was her swollen leg which has returned to normal size. This is the 'tail down' that I have been describing, and is not a 'penguin sit' which is entirely different, and often a sad scene and outcome. Fancy suggested it could be egg binding, so do everything that Fancy has suggested - and have a vet evaluate her, if it doesn't improve in a day or so. Check her legs, her wings, etc., she might be having trouble physiologically. I thought of egg binding for Mandy, initially - but soaking with warm / almost hot towels in her nether regions, made her a very happy chook ( back beginning of year ) ... but did not in the long term do much. But, she was laying then also - nice good eggs so I determined not to worry too much then, her last eggs being early April ( I think - from the colour and brown spray ). Then the long moult, and nothing - just more of the tail down business, and a few weeks back, the evidence of her leg being swollen. ...... Vet visit. .... and recently, a few eggs. Now - I am not saying this is the same for you - not by any means, but I figure a chicken with tail down is saying something - that she is not happy. On the other hand, considering Mandys intense dislike of leaf rakes and currawongs - which has had her upright and ready, and able to move properly, faster with tail up ... I am going to suggest something : 1 ) ... Do everything Fancy suggested. Hopefully, that helps 100%. 2 ) ... If you know of something that will raise her interest or have her run for some reason - try to get her to elevate her tail and move normally. If she cannot do that for even a few moments, then it's back to no. 1 again ... and a Vet visit. Must say, that Mandy did not 'strain' to do anything, and did not walk with her legs slightly apart ... just sloooow - one foot beside/in front of ... the other. And then a sit ( repeatedly ). See if you can catch your girl sitting to lay an egg or trying to ... if her tail is elevated at that time, then that I think, is a good sign. Mindy Araucanas' ' tail literally hits the roof when she is laying. And I hope your catching her, shows something you can recognise - is her crop full ( evening ) ? ... can you feel ( very carefully ) any 'lump' between the upper bones of her legs ? ... is she swollen in the belly region ? does she have any swellings anywhere else ( like feet / legs ) ... is she uncomfortable if you lift her wings ( she will let you know ), does she have any nasty looking wounds on the bottom of her feet ?. Might I also suggest, a cotton bud with plenty of vaseline, to be introduced into her vent. Will help if there is an obstruction - won't do any harm if there isn't. She will not mind that at all. The best of good luck with your 'chicken from the train' .... I cannot now recall the story of how she came to you. Sorry ... Let us know .... I do hope all will be well. Cheers .......

Thanks, the leghorn doesn't come good when she runs off. It seems to be a physical "collapse" in her structure. Not just a slouch for comfort. I call her my chicken on a train - because of the terrible risk of combining mobile devices and online shopping in transit. I bought her and her sister on the train on my way home from work one day. $10 for the pair in my own street. My Barny does have a wopper of a wattle and comb set. She also crows like a rooster - when I don't have any roos from hatches. So did her mother who was the best mothering, laying and protecting hen I ever had. The crowing isn't as loud as a roo.

 

[MyHaven]

Absolutely! My little ' buddy ' was staggering all over the place after coming out of fight , it's been weeks but he is now back with his girls.

Oh no, who's your little buddy. I missed that. Not LG? I do have a soft spot For LG. Good that he's come good.

I had to separate my two brahma boys on the weekend. They must be evenly matched as they were exhausted when I found them still young so they didn't hurt each other too much but they were moving in slow motion. Stopped them crowing for days too. They must have been fighting all day I was at work.

 

[MyHaven]

Hi all.  I think I have worked out the breeds of the chickens my nephew gave me and yes I am getting heaps of eggs.  I have been given some frizzles, gold sebrights, silver sebrights, cochin, wheaten maran, pekins, silver spangled hamburgs, black and gold phoenixes, Andalusian, splash Andalusian, araucanas, speckled Sussexs, silver Sussex, buff pekin and lots of mixed breeds. 
Now the hard part who do I keep they are all beautiful. I don't think any amount of chicken math is going to help me keep 70+ chickens even if more than half are bantam chickens.

Oh it's a tough life.

In all seriousness that is a difficult task ahead. Some nice birds there. I'm assuming you have hens and roos.

 

[MyHaven]

It's always a hard decision on who to keep. When i breed each season i always want to keep them all. I don't as would kill me but so far i have not sold one Millie fleur Belgian i have bred. I guess you go with either the breed you like or the egg colour, size etc. The chicken owner in me says to you to keep them all but i have been known to be a bad influence

I agree, keep them all.

But as no doubt she can't - good advice pick a breed or go by the eggs.

And maybe consider the age of each bird too.

I suggest you don't rush into the choices LuckysMum

 

[Fancychooklady]

Oh no, who's your little buddy. I missed that. Not LG? I do have a soft spot For LG. Good that he's come good.

I had to separate my two brahma boys on the weekend. They must be evenly matched as they were exhausted when I found them still young so they didn't hurt each other too much but they were moving in slow motion. Stopped them crowing for days too. They must have been fighting all day I was at work.

LG is kept busy chasing off the young cockerels. He has appointed himself ' protector of the hens '
My little Buddy is a blue laced red Wyandotte that was almost scalped by another rooster over 18 months ago. I managed to nurse him back to health but he got hit on the head by the falling ramp , when one naughty goat went into the coop to steal food. At least that's what I think happened. He was unable to stand so I kept him in a brooder box and fed him lots of vitamins and boiled eggs , mackerel and rice. So happy to see him back with his girls.

 

[MyHaven]

LG is kept busy chasing off the young cockerels. He has appointed himself ' protector of the hens '
My little Buddy is a blue laced red Wyandotte that was almost scalped by another rooster over 18 months ago. I managed to nurse him back to health but he got hit on the head by the falling ramp , when one naughty goat went into the coop to steal food. At least that's what I think happened. He was unable to stand so I kept him in a brooder box and fed him lots of vitamins and boiled eggs , mackerel and rice. So happy to see him back with his girls.

I think I remember all that.

Some birds just can't keep out of trouble. I'm so glad he's back on his feet.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks, she
- is swollen and slightly squishy from around vent forward to keel
- did not show any discomfort while I examined her, picking and prodding
- did a normal type poo although small for a morning job
- is not grey but not the brightest red either
- is not eating much, although she hasn't been in the brooder long to be settled
- is probably not laying, I have another leghorn x who lays a very similar egg
- has nothing but a little poo around her vent.

I can not find any lumps or anything hard when prodding, is she laying internally? I've never had a single egg laying issue.

Yes I have some multi vitamins in her water.

Cheers

You won't necessarily feel an egg but the swelling could be ascites. I would still give her the warm Epsom salts bath and gently massage towards the vent. Get a stool and make yourself comfortable because she should enjoy it and the longer the better. A little Epsom salts in her feed might also help. When was the last time you wormed her ?

 

[MyHaven]

You won't necessarily feel an egg but the swelling could be ascites. I would still give her the warm Epsom salts bath and gently massage towards the vent. Get a stool and make yourself comfortable because she should enjoy it and the longer the better. A little Epsom salts in her feed might also help. When was the last time you wormed her ?

When I left her this morning she was sitting in the sun that shone into the brooder through the window. I couldn't find my Epsom salts so will buy some today. I did give her a massage when I examined her. She did seem to enjoy it.

She has been wormed 2 months ago.

 

[Fizzybelle]

Hey all, how's everyone been?

Well good news. We've started putting the wire on our super chicken pen, and Agnes is doing ok. Her left eye which initally was the worse eye has stabilized for now, and the eyelid seems less swollen. Her right eye though is still a bit sore for her. I'm awaiting a call from the vet, he's been hard to get a hold of this week, in order to decide what to do next treatment wise. She's doing as best she can, hanging around her flockmates, dustbathing, and eating. A little slow, but then again she always was, and not being treated any differently by the other girls, which is also important. Not out of the woods yet, but I think it'll be ok. I got a new phone yesterday and I adore the camera, so here's a very pretty and super clear picture of my Aggie. Yes, she's had a haircut, well two hair cuts. One was to trim feathers away from her eyes, the other, she somehow got poo on her head. Dunno how, dunno who's it was, but it was dried and mashed in there really good. Silly bird



That would be her left eye in the photo, it's looking good. The eyelid around the right though still more swollen. What this is or what caused it, no clue. Best guess from the vet and ophthalmologist is it's a systemic reaction. Mealworm's have been helping make the medicine go down though, and speaking of mealies, mine have started to pupate! My little farm seems to be a success!