Went out to check for eggs and our best layer (Kung Pao, a R.I.Red) was in the nesting box around 2:30 pm. Went back out around 3 pm, she had laid her egg but was laying on her side in the run. At first I thought maybe she was in the process of taking a dust bath as she and the other 3 hens commonly do. But they usually do this together and the other hens were all out free-ranging in the yard. Upon closer inspection she was not panting or holding her wings out and would not drink water on her own. Checked her vent and everything looked fine. Also checked if she might have been attacked by some other animal (although this seemed very unlikely due to how calm the other hens were in the yard). No bites or bleeding was found. She was hatched in March of 2010 so is not an old fragile hen. Assume this was brought on by the heat we've had over the last 2 months and maybe it has finally taken it's toll on her. Brought her inside the house and my daughter and I began trying to hydrate her by using small suringes of cold water. She perked up a bit after about 1/2 hour of this but is still not her usual self and can only stumble around a little bit.
Any ideas of anything else we can do here? She is our best layer (296 eggs since Aug of 2010) and we'd sure hate to lose her...
Thanks for any advice you can provide,
Donna
Any ideas of anything else we can do here? She is our best layer (296 eggs since Aug of 2010) and we'd sure hate to lose her...
Thanks for any advice you can provide,
Donna
