Chicken egg bound?

[catapllr]

Hi feathered friends,
I have a chicken who has stopped laying for about 2 to 3 weeks now. She is approximately 8 to 10 months old, and has been a good layer up until now. It is winter in Connecticut, so it is cold, but all of her sisters are still laying. I brought her inside where it’s warmer, have given her many Epsom salt baths, which seems to be the only place she is comfortable pooping. Her poop is on the harder side. She’s becoming very sharp, and losing quite a bit of weight. I am hand feeding her many different things with calcium added. Thoughts as to what could be the culprit?

 

[Eggcessive]

She might have some reproductive problem or cancer, but hopefully she is just taking a break. What do her poops look like? I would slack off on giving extra calcium since she has stopped laying. That might help her droppings not be so hard. How does her crop feel, and is it emptying overnight by early morning? You might try feeding her B vitamins and offering some scrambled bits of egg, tuna, or chopped meat along with her chicken feed.

 

[ameliathedominant]

if she was truly eggbound she would have not survived this long. is it cold there?

 

[catapllr]

She might have some reproductive problem or cancer, but hopefully she is just taking a break. What do her poops look like? I would slack off on giving extra calcium since she has stopped laying. That might help her droppings not be so hard. How does her crop feel, and is it emptying overnight by early morning? You might try feeding her B vitamins and offering some scrambled bits of egg, tuna, or chopped meat along with her chicken feed.

She’s eating, although not as much. I have been giving her scrambled eggs along with her crumble. Her droppings are not as hard anymore, and are much smaller. I’m guessing because she’s not eating as much. She’s definitely losing weight and isn’t very cold because I keep her inside now. Thanks for the insight.

 

[catapllr]

if she was truly eggbound she would have not survived this long. is it cold there?

It is cold, but she is inside the laundry room away from the chill.

 

[Farmer Brian]

I just came on to post the same type of problem with one of my girls. Seven months old today and my girls started laying about 6 weeks ago. This one spent one night in the corner of coop, slowly walked outside when I opened the coop on Friday. Friday evening when I locked them up, she was laying under the ramp in the dark.
I brought her into the basement to get warm. She mostly just lays in the cage with head up purring. Her poops look watery, not formed.
She's a jersey giant. As are her five sisters. I also have a rooster that is a silver cochin I believe. He's big and very protective/aggressive.
She doesn't look picked on, but is it possible that he has tried to breed her too much and she's just tired? She's been in for two nights and no egg from her.
I'll take her food away tonight and check her crop tomorrow morning.
Didn't mean to hijack cataplt's thread. Hopefully all replies will benefit both of us.

 

[Farmer Brian]

Never mind. I checked on her last night and she was purring. Crop felt empty. This morning early, found she had died over night. She was a real sweetie. Hate to raise them to egg laying, just to lose them so young. Good luck Catapllr.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry you your loss @Farmer Brian . It is best to start a new thread of your own when seeking advice about your chicken having a problem. We don’t want to hijack this thread by @catapllr . To know what she may have died of you would have needed to get a necropsy by your state poultry vet who could have done a necropsy. She may have suffered from a reproductive problem, but organ failure or other problems might have been possible. In the future, if you lose one, keep the body cold in a cooler, but not frozen, and contact your state vet from this list:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/PoultryLabs.cfm