- Mar 26, 2013
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Howdy folks, new chicken owner here. I inherited 3 hens from a neighbor last July when he moved and couldn't take them with him. They are a Black Sex Link (Gladys), Rhode Island Red (Pip), Golden-Laced Wyandotte (Wally) all 1 year 4 months. I added two Easter Eggers in December, Betty and Wilma, now both 6 months. All lay except Wilma hasn't yet.
Gladys has been having trouble laying proper eggs since the winter and her molt. They've been long and thin shelled in the center so that they are cracked. Egg inside is fine, I fed them to my cats.
Then Saturday she finally laid a perfectly normal egg. Then Sunday she came out of the coop and just stood in one place for a really, really long time with her tail drooping and her back end pulsing. This is not her normal behavior so I isolated her. She was having watery green poop, not eating or drinking a lot. She would only really eat the dried mealworms treats, a cracker and pecked at some greens, wouldn't touch yogurt. I gave her a couple of epsom salt baths. Didn't really see any behavior change. Her poops went from green to brown. So I put her back in the flock this morning.
Then I noticed the same behavior starting in Wally.....
Maybe it's not an illness at all. I haven't had the chickens through a full year yet. Maybe they just like lying around in the spring? Wally was lying in the grass with her eyes closed and a wing partially up or stretched out...
Appreciate any guidance. Thanks much! So far having chickens has been great. Until it's not.
-Anne
Gladys has been having trouble laying proper eggs since the winter and her molt. They've been long and thin shelled in the center so that they are cracked. Egg inside is fine, I fed them to my cats.
Then Saturday she finally laid a perfectly normal egg. Then Sunday she came out of the coop and just stood in one place for a really, really long time with her tail drooping and her back end pulsing. This is not her normal behavior so I isolated her. She was having watery green poop, not eating or drinking a lot. She would only really eat the dried mealworms treats, a cracker and pecked at some greens, wouldn't touch yogurt. I gave her a couple of epsom salt baths. Didn't really see any behavior change. Her poops went from green to brown. So I put her back in the flock this morning.
Then I noticed the same behavior starting in Wally.....
Maybe it's not an illness at all. I haven't had the chickens through a full year yet. Maybe they just like lying around in the spring? Wally was lying in the grass with her eyes closed and a wing partially up or stretched out...
Appreciate any guidance. Thanks much! So far having chickens has been great. Until it's not.
-Anne
