Chicken had a hard time laying a egg and now she is sluggish.

[SamanthaLiz]

I put her back with the rest. Watching to see if she goes up to roost soon with the rest when they do. She's moving super slow by comparison.

 

[micstrachan]

The normal poo is a good sign!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I'd keep treating her with calcium for a few days. If you just now switched to layer from chick start/grower, she likely is low in calcium. That can cause temporary paralysis reversible with treatment of calcium.

Normally this hits high production cage layers, however, it can occur in any hen with the right conditions.

Typically you start layer feed a couple of weeks before anticipated laying to make sure the hen has enough calcium stores.

The watery poo could have been additional egg white from a broken shell-less egg.

That much lethargy after egg laying is not ever normal, not even in new layers. It means something is wrong.

I also agree it could be severe fatigue after straining to lay a shell-less egg (perhaps x2). There is also a nerve that runs through the pelvis that can be affected from straining to lay (usually large eggs).

My thoughts.

LofMc

 

[Kiki]

 

[SamanthaLiz]

I'd keep treating her with calcium for a few days. If you just now switched to layer from chick start/grower, she likely is low in calcium. That can cause temporary paralysis reversible with treatment of calcium.

Normally this hits high production cage layers, however, it can occur in any hen with the right conditions.

Typically you start layer feed a couple of weeks before anticipated laying to make sure the hen has enough calcium stores.

The watery poo could have been additional egg white from a broken shell-less egg.

That much lethargy after egg laying is not ever normal, not even in new layers. It means something is wrong.

I also agree it could be severe fatigue after straining to lay a shell-less egg (perhaps x2). There is also a nerve that runs through the pelvis that can be affected from straining to lay (usually large eggs).

My thoughts.

LofMc

Thank you so much for the thoughts! My other hens are laying really thick shelled eggs, so I'm not sure it's a lack of calcium in their feed, as I've also been supplementing with oyster shells for about a month now, as just a new layer working out the kinks, but I will continue supplementing for her for sure. I was mostly worried that she was rejecting the new food altogether for taste, etc.

 

[micstrachan]

Keep us posted! I hope she recovers well.

 

[SamanthaLiz]

Thanks everyone. She stayed on the ground while everyone else went up to roost, so I took her into the garage for the night, as it's supposed to be 47°F overnight tonight. Will update in the AM.

 

[SamanthaLiz]

She was being a bit more vocal this morning, so I put her back in the coop with the rest of the girls. She is sitting on the ground, not moving around much and looking unhappy. Time to call a vet?

 

[Sara Ranch]

Consider treating for cocidius and doing a dewormer. She's out on grass and could easily pick up one or the other or both.

Chickens tend to go down pretty fast, so please keep a close eye on her.

The Nutri Drench is good. Love the sprig of fresh herbs in there! Looked like a fancy tea.

 

[Parront]

I took Dylan, my african grey parrot, to the vet for egg-binding. Your bird sounds like this could be her problem, too. The treatment I got cost me ~$800.00. Your bird sounds less sick than Dylan was, the egg passed. The vet gave me Calcium Glucconate to give by syringe. It is sweet and Dylan took it from the syringe like a treat. Here is a link on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Durvet-BC121...=1505745255&sr=1-1&keywords=calcium+gluconate
It is $10.18 on Amazon, I now keep it on hand! It says in the description that it is for "milk fever".
Since you look like you have a Tractor Supply, Here it is there for $6.49: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/agrilabs-calcium-gluconate-23-inj-500-ml?cm_vc=-10005
You could go get some right away.

The dosage for my bird was .5 ml per day for 20 days. Dylan weighs almost exactly 1 pound, so for a 5 lb chicken, I would give 2.5 ml/day. Dylan showed rapid improvement, 2-3 days you should see results.
Here is an article about the subject directed at breeders of broiler chickens:
http://en.aviagen.com/assets/Tech_C.../English/AviagenBrief_CalciumTetany_Apr09.pdf