Could hen be stressed from loss of other hen -laid soft shell egg

[dawniemc]

We have had 2 hens for 2 years and one of them has become very inactive, a bit bloated, won't eat and when my husband went to pick her up she just let out diarrhea : ( She seems lethargic and has trouble keeping her eyes open and right now she is staying in the corner in the coop and will not respond or eat. She is just standing there unhappy and bloated.

We live in the Torrance area of Los Angeles and we have a nice back yard and they get plenty of veggies, scratch, mash and most recently some all purpose pellets in addition to some Oyster Shell. I am not sure if she is reaching the height of her chicken years. She did not lay through the winter but the other one did. No surprise with it being winter but this is Los Angeles and they laid all last winter but then again it was a bit colder than usual this year, so we were not concerned. Any suggestions?

I was going to mix some cod liver oil with some spinach or yogurt in case she is backed up. We both recently lost our jobs and are on a tight budget and we have limited vets to see chickens and they charge a lot. I do not want her to suffer and will take her in if necessary, but if anyone has been through this or has any suggestions I would love to hear from you. Thanks, Dawn -

UPDATE: The vet recommended we euthanize the hen as she had signs of peritonitis and was ill and could not withstand treatment. 24 hours later our other hen laid a soft shelled egg. Is she possibly going to be getting egg peritonitis or could she be stressed with the other hen gone. They have been with each other since they were chicks and one always yelled for other one when wandered off to far or missing. Any help will sincerely be appreciated. Thanks, Dawn

 

[MTopPA_18707]

Chickens definitely are not solitary creatures . . . . the remaining hen will be very lonely.

This reminds me of the kind of thing you'd read in James Herriot books.

 

[Rin]

I'd either bring the lonely hen in and set them up in a big dog crate if at all possible to either keep an eye on or make her feel less lonely. Chickens get VERY stressed when left all alone. It's hard to relax and do anything when you know there is no one there who has your back. Just you against the scary dark that surrounds you.

 

[dawniemc]

Will she accept another hen or juvenille or chick? We would have to keep a chick in the house until summer so she is ready for outdoors and that could be a while.

 

[DTRM30]

she would probably welcome the company - but there would be some pecking order going on to decide who's the boss. Every once and a while - nothing you do will help them get along together. But considering she's all alone, and if you only got one more - they would probbly be fine.

If you get a chick - as you said - you will need to wait until the chick is big enough to defend herself against the resident hen - your hen could kill a small chick.

The hen you have now probably won't last very long all alone. She'll be very lonely and may just "give up" -

I do think stress would affect her eggs - give her some time to get back on track.

If it was me - I'd get another chicken for her (if she was on the younger side). But that's just me.

 

[Rin]

Quote:
And just be careful where you get it from. Don't want to spread possible irreversible diseases around either. But yea this hen needs some company and soon. Even if that company is with you in your house temporarily.

 

[chickengrl]

I would also try to get some extra calcium in her if you can. The soft shell could mean that she is a little low. I know you had oyster shell out which should have taken care of it, but maybe she wasnt eating it. I think someone once suggested dissolving tums in water and giving her some drops of it. They are loaded with calcium and that should boost her some. Good luck!

 

[dawniemc]

Thank you so much for the help. We will increase the calcium and I am on the look out for a hen or juvenile to adopt. A rescue may have one as well. I really appreciate the feedback.