Over the past few weeks DD discovered first an unusually small egg, and then another egg that was so small she mistook it for a robin's egg (her birds are Ameraucana bantams). We oohed and aahed over it, but last week I was surprised to see yet ANOTHER "robin's egg" and began to wonder if one of the girls had a real problem. Since the 2 blacks lay bluer eggs than the wheatens I figured one of the blacks must be laying them. Today my daughter found one of her black birds laying fluffed up and lethargic, tail down, head drooping. My immediate thought was that this was the tiny egg layer and she must be eggbound or have some other problem with her "egg machinery". I felt her abdomen and I don't feel a mass, but we massaged her tummy in a warm bath for a while and I'm keeping her warm and quiet. When we were done she was nearly unresponsive, and there was mucus coming from her beak. I didn't expect her to live much longer, but later this afternoon she had brightened up a little, was on her feet, and even ate a tiny bit (scrambled egg and rolled oats with olive oil) and drank some water. She has not, however, passed either egg or poop since I brought her in 6 hours ago. Does this sound like an egg problem to you? The other birds in the coop seem fine, although I'm going to keep a very close eye on them. My daughter's only 8 and while she's a trooper it's always hard on her to lose a bird, and "Lucy" is one of her show flock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. There is no sign of injury, mites, or parasites, and no other birds in the pen appear to be affected. There is a cockerel in the pen, but he doesn't have spurs yet so it's hard for me to imagine how he might have injured her somehow.
ETA: Just checked on her, she definitely looks brighter and just had a poop. It's very liquid for sure, but no sign of blood.
ETA: Just checked on her, she definitely looks brighter and just had a poop. It's very liquid for sure, but no sign of blood.
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