We lost a hen to egg-binding last year; we had just gotten the hens (full grown) and had no idea what it was, and so we didn't act fast enough. Now, in hind-sight, I'm wondering if this might be happening again...
I don't know how long Henrietta usually takes to lay an egg... I generally don't sit around watching for who lays which egg and when.
. That said, I am often around the run/yard and have a pretty good idea what is reasonable. Henrietta has been in the coop now for over 2 hours. She started in one box, and has now moved to the official "laying box" (all our girls lay in the same box). This morning she was in the coop, but came out for a quick romp in the yard and a treat or two, but then returned to the nesting boxes. That was more than 2 hours ago, so technically she's been trying for longer than that.
She is not lethargic, like our hen that died, and although I am not sure if she laid yesterday, she did 2 days ago. So it's been no more than 48 hours. As far as the other symptoms of egg-binding, there are none, although I did not observe her poopin' this morning, so I can't say on that front.
How long do I wait until I do something to help her out... if at all? She's my daughter's favorite hen (she's the "cuddliest", good grief) so I am a little more likely than usual to want to intervene... but only if necessary.
I don't know how long Henrietta usually takes to lay an egg... I generally don't sit around watching for who lays which egg and when.
. That said, I am often around the run/yard and have a pretty good idea what is reasonable. Henrietta has been in the coop now for over 2 hours. She started in one box, and has now moved to the official "laying box" (all our girls lay in the same box). This morning she was in the coop, but came out for a quick romp in the yard and a treat or two, but then returned to the nesting boxes. That was more than 2 hours ago, so technically she's been trying for longer than that. She is not lethargic, like our hen that died, and although I am not sure if she laid yesterday, she did 2 days ago. So it's been no more than 48 hours. As far as the other symptoms of egg-binding, there are none, although I did not observe her poopin' this morning, so I can't say on that front.
How long do I wait until I do something to help her out... if at all? She's my daughter's favorite hen (she's the "cuddliest", good grief) so I am a little more likely than usual to want to intervene... but only if necessary.
