big belly and stopped laying

[LavenderWilder]

My BlackCopper Maran, Angelique who is not quite a year old has been laying quite well throughout the winter. I had a heat lamp set on a timer so between that and regular daylight hours, the girls were receiving a good 13 hours of light. Angleique was laying about 4-5 eggs per week for several months. About a week ago, none of my five outdoor hens had been laying much at all and I'm wondering if it is because I cleaned and re-bedded the nest boxes, opened a bag of feed by the usual brand I buy but this time there is a lot of green pea in the mix which I didn't see in the last several bags...or am I feeding too much...they have a free feed canister set up in the coop which never runs out. Six hens go through a 50 lb. bag of this organic feed per month. Angleique's crop is really full like as if she is carrying a large beer belly. It does not feel densly compacted or like there is a hard mass inside. I thought of turning her upside-down to see if it might dislodge something....Any help would be much appreciated. or could her vent need looking in to...?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

That amount of food seems right. I also have 6 hens and go through my food at about the same rate. If her crop seems full, I would isolate her tonight with only water, no food and check on her in the morning. If her crop is empty after not eating all night then her crop is fine and you can cross that off the list of potential problems. If it is still full or is squishy then there is a problem.

I would not attempt to vomit her unless you are sure you know what is wrong and have tried all other cures. It is really easy to get liquid in a bird's lungs and make matters worse.

Chickens can be really strange and get stressed by odd things. New bedding and new food could have set her off and she may just need time but you want to make sure she is healthy first.

 

[cafarmgirl]

X2 everything ChickensRDinos said. I absolutely would not try to vomit her, or any bird, except as a last ditch effort. It's just to easy for them to aspirate it and die.