irsmun
Chirping
- Mar 23, 2022
- 42
- 48
- 57
I have a 21 week old barred rock. She was doing this weird thing with her backend letting it pulsate constantly. Otherwise she was perfectly normal. I was watching her because I suspected egg binding. I am new to chickens and have never seen it before. I was just going off what I had picked up in learning about chickens. She had not laid her first egg so I posted about it here on BYC. I did examine her vent and did not feel an egg. Well yesterday she laid her first egg. So I thought, awesome, there was nothing wrong with her.
So today she gets ready to lay her second egg. She is pacing fiercely. She laid her first egg under the poop board of the roosting bar. I blocked that off so she would use the nest boxes. I watched her today getting ready to lay her 2nd egg. She was crazy. She was trying to knock the wire down with her foot to get into that space. Then she climbed on to the top roost and jumped down on the poop board 4 or 5 times. She looked like she was trying to bust it down with her weight. She went into the nest boxes multiple times. She would be in one for a few minutes and then change. Each time she was scratching the hay around with such force. She seemed possessed. She even knocked out one of the golf balls I had in there. She completely tore up all the hay in the nest boxes. After a while of watching this I decided to let her work her anxiety out and I went about some chores but I stayed close to the coop.
At some point she bolted out of the coop into the run. She went straight for the water. She took a drink and off she went. She looked very uncomfortable like a person who had to go to the bathroom real bad but couldn't find a place. She zigged and zagged everywhere. I went and stooped down to look at her backside. I could see the end of an egg protruding. I didn't know what to do. I grabbed her, put her back into the nest box and left. She came out. I did it again. She came out. I thought maybe it was a good idea given her urgency to give her the spot she originally wanted to lay the egg. It didn't work. She came of there too but she was starting to stumble like one of her legs was asleep. So I gloved up, oiled my finger and examined her vent.
I could feel the egg. It was right there. I don't know anything about chickens but I do have 6 kids. I used my finger to gently message around the egg and help expand her vent. I had her legs spread to open up her pelvic bones a bit. The egg did not feel large or misshapen. I have no idea what the problem was. After I felt I had adequately messaged the area, I set her on my haystack to rest and try to pass the egg. I thought maybe we needed some warm water to help. I filled a tub up and went back to where she was. She was on the floor. She had passed the egg.
She couldn't move well. Its like her legs were asleep. She was also closing her eyes and letting her head down sideways. I decided to put her in the water anyway. After a few minutes I took her out but no change. I gave her some water with by dipping her beak. She did drink but her lethargy was still there. I decided to try to pep her up if I could. I got some calcium powder and sugar and mixed it with a little water. I was slowly giving it to her. After a few squirts I heard her gurgling. I thought, oh no, she could be inhaling the water. So I picked her up and leaned her forward and messaged her chest area. Out came the water plus some scratch seed. I tried to make sure it was all gone so she didn't choke on her vomit. After I was sure. I up-righted her and gave her more water. This time I just put a drip bubble on the end of syringe and let her take it in. I set her down in a milk crate and watched her. She was trying to get out but it was like one of her legs was asleep. She finally managed to get the ground and she sat there. At that point I moved her inside the coop and came here to request insight.
I don't know what is happening or what I should do. Her eyes do seem open now and she's not lethargic but she cannot move around because of her leg.
So today she gets ready to lay her second egg. She is pacing fiercely. She laid her first egg under the poop board of the roosting bar. I blocked that off so she would use the nest boxes. I watched her today getting ready to lay her 2nd egg. She was crazy. She was trying to knock the wire down with her foot to get into that space. Then she climbed on to the top roost and jumped down on the poop board 4 or 5 times. She looked like she was trying to bust it down with her weight. She went into the nest boxes multiple times. She would be in one for a few minutes and then change. Each time she was scratching the hay around with such force. She seemed possessed. She even knocked out one of the golf balls I had in there. She completely tore up all the hay in the nest boxes. After a while of watching this I decided to let her work her anxiety out and I went about some chores but I stayed close to the coop.
At some point she bolted out of the coop into the run. She went straight for the water. She took a drink and off she went. She looked very uncomfortable like a person who had to go to the bathroom real bad but couldn't find a place. She zigged and zagged everywhere. I went and stooped down to look at her backside. I could see the end of an egg protruding. I didn't know what to do. I grabbed her, put her back into the nest box and left. She came out. I did it again. She came out. I thought maybe it was a good idea given her urgency to give her the spot she originally wanted to lay the egg. It didn't work. She came of there too but she was starting to stumble like one of her legs was asleep. So I gloved up, oiled my finger and examined her vent.
I could feel the egg. It was right there. I don't know anything about chickens but I do have 6 kids. I used my finger to gently message around the egg and help expand her vent. I had her legs spread to open up her pelvic bones a bit. The egg did not feel large or misshapen. I have no idea what the problem was. After I felt I had adequately messaged the area, I set her on my haystack to rest and try to pass the egg. I thought maybe we needed some warm water to help. I filled a tub up and went back to where she was. She was on the floor. She had passed the egg.
She couldn't move well. Its like her legs were asleep. She was also closing her eyes and letting her head down sideways. I decided to put her in the water anyway. After a few minutes I took her out but no change. I gave her some water with by dipping her beak. She did drink but her lethargy was still there. I decided to try to pep her up if I could. I got some calcium powder and sugar and mixed it with a little water. I was slowly giving it to her. After a few squirts I heard her gurgling. I thought, oh no, she could be inhaling the water. So I picked her up and leaned her forward and messaged her chest area. Out came the water plus some scratch seed. I tried to make sure it was all gone so she didn't choke on her vomit. After I was sure. I up-righted her and gave her more water. This time I just put a drip bubble on the end of syringe and let her take it in. I set her down in a milk crate and watched her. She was trying to get out but it was like one of her legs was asleep. She finally managed to get the ground and she sat there. At that point I moved her inside the coop and came here to request insight.
I don't know what is happening or what I should do. Her eyes do seem open now and she's not lethargic but she cannot move around because of her leg.
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