Buff Silkie lethargic, constipated, stopped giving eggs

[Veldes1]

Hello, we have a beautiful buff silkie hen going through a rough patch now. A reliable layer of small yet delightful eggs for the past few months, she has lately become lethargic and constipated. She has expelled massive amounts of liquidy excrement only with a daily massage. Oddly, she has stopped laying. We haven't seen an egg in a week. Searches as to the connection between her upset stomach and egg laying has been so far unenlightening. Has anyone here encountered something similar?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. How old is she? What do you feed her? Does she seem to be drinking well? How does her crop feel, and can you check it early in the morning before she eats?

 

[Veldes1]

Thank you! She was hatched in early May. We feed her Producers Pride chicken pellets. She drinks well, and quite a lot compared to the others in my opinion. She has one box mate, also a Buff Silkie. We haven't examined her crop as yet. We shall do so in the morning. Is there something to be looking for?

 

[Veldes1]

I wanted to check her crop this morning, but my daughter beat me to it and put food out. I missed my chance!

Oh, I forgot to mention that, during this whole time, my silkie is exhibiting odd habits. She's taken to sitting in a corner and throwing pine shavings over herself. I was hoping that her lethargy was a case of brooding, though I'm not sure what that exactly is.

 

[Eggcessive]

Look for her breast or belly feathers to be missing. That along with staying in a nest box is another clue to being possibly broody. Pictures of droppings are good. They usually run to poop if you remove them from the nest box.

 

[Veldes1]

That's an interesting thing. When my daughter removes her from the box, she poops (a huge amount) in her lap. My daughter massages her a bit, and she goes.

Also, she lives in a large, expansive box, not a nesting box per se. But perhaps she's treating the whole box as a nesting place...?

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you see missing feathers? Broodies will sit tight on eggs or even nothing, and when they are picked up and moved they will sometimes just sit there. Then they get up and run off to get food or water, poop, perhaps dust bathe, and then return to the nest. They will cluck prepeatedly and hold their tail feathers upright in an inverted V. They also will take their beaks and pull any egg sat down under their beaks.

 

[Veldes1]

No, I cannot say there's any activity like that. Just a great deal of immobility. The strange act of camouflage. Pooping only when outside the box. And no eggs for more than a week now.

Speaking of poop, it was the most liquid type for several days. The last one was normal looking.

Could we be looking at a case of illness and brooding at the same time?

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you collect some droppings in a freezer bag, and ask your vet to perform a fecal float?

 

[mdtansley]

I wanted to check her crop this morning, but my daughter beat me to it and put food out. I missed my chance!

Oh, I forgot to mention that, during this whole time, my silkie is exhibiting odd habits. She's taken to sitting in a corner and throwing pine shavings over herself. I was hoping that her lethargy was a case of brooding, though I'm not sure what that exactly is.

Please help!! My 7 month old hen is exhibiting similar behavior, backing up into a corner over the eggs and keeping its head down. When we move her out of the henhouse, she also poops a very large amount and then goes almost back to normal! The only thing not normal after that is that she keeps fluffing and shaking up her feathers. Behavior is strange, but better. What happened to yours, and if anything, what helped?