Egg bound? Help!

[mclennanchicks]

ok so my gold Wyandotte girl has been acting funny. I thought it was the time change and the darkness coming so quick, but she has not eaten food in about 2 days ( that I’ve noticed ) but I watched her drink a bunch of water this morning. She’s either on her roosting post all day, or she’s in a corner just sitting there. I tried looking at her vent, but I can’t see anything. I took a picture of her two poops she did in front of me just now. Can anyone tell me what they think is wrong with her? Also, she’s a single chicken, no flock, and hasn’t laid any eggs this week.

 

[Kiki]

Sorry she isn't feeling well.

What do you feed her?
Have you read through this yet?
Egg Binding: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

 

[mclennanchicks]

Sorry she isn't feeling well.

What do you feed her?
Have you read through this yet?
Egg Binding: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention

Hi there,

I feed her the same pellets she's been on the last 2 years, and also some yogurt and strawberries are in her diet as well. I honestly think she's just being broody. She was displaying odd behavior a week or so ago. She also makes this angry kind of chicken purring noise at me too when I walk away, but not when I walk up to her. I have had broody wyandotte in the past, and they are usually pretty nasty and don't want you near them in the nesting box, but she hasn't been like that, thats why I thought maybe egg bound? but, she's been drinking, isn't waddling, and doesn't have a hard abdomen or full crop. her comb isn't too pale either. I don't know whats going with her. I have her inside the house now ( against my husbands wishes ) and have her next to the heater and she seems happy as can be and is sleeping, and making some noises from time to time, but just the typical "chicken talk" noises.

 

[Kiki]

Being broody is possible too.

 

[mclennanchicks]

Being broody is possible too.

does that poo look odd to you? I know you probably aren't a poo expert, but the really runny one that was clear/white had me the most concerned.

 

[azygous]

Your hen certainly has the appearance and behavior of one that doesn't feel well, but I recommend you begin your diagnosing at the opposite end from where you're now focused.

Crop issues are more likely to cause lack of appetite than egg issues, and the latter more often involves sitting fruitlessly on a nest.

To begin with, it would be helpful to know the age of this hen. Older hens are more likely to have egg issues.

Next, you need to examine the crop. Is it empty, full, hard, lumpy, squishy, watery, soft, any odor? Is the crop empty in the morning when the hen is still on the roost? Or is it still full and if so, hard, soft, lumpy, etc? How low does the crop hang? Does it extend below the chest wall?

Have you observed any lash eggs from this hen over the recent past? Have you seen her struggling trying to get her egg out? For that matter, how long has it been since she laid an egg at all?

Then, ruling out those two opposites on her body, there is always the possibility she has contacted a bacteria or other toxin. You need to examine her environment for contaminants.

 

[azygous]

Not broody. Look at her eyes. Not wide and alert. She's feeling sick.

 

[mclennanchicks]

Not broody. Look at her eyes. Not wide and alert. She's feeling sick.

I may have left an important factor out, she is blind. ( I did not know she was blind until a little over a year old, she always gets on fine, but her flock mates finally attacked her and almost took one of her eyes right out! ) You mentioned a lot of things about the crop, so I am going to google to make sure I am feeling the right spot for the crop, and then look into that as well. A question though- if there were crop issues, would she be drinking?

She will be 3 years old in february. her last eggs were at the beginning of the week. She has always laid rather large eggs, and these are both a decent size, not oddly shaped. Ive never seen her lay an egg, so I can't say whether she has struggled in the past.

 

[Hopethehen]

Most likely egg bound. Can you tell me if she is a laying breed? If not, how much eggs did she lay before this started happening? You might want to feed her yummy food like snacks. A good healthy snack for her would be eggs. They love it! Boiled, scrambled, any way cooked they will eat it. But be careful feeding eggshells, they might start eating their own egg, but use those eggshells in the garden l. It keeps snails away.

 

[casportpony]

I may have left an important factor out, she is blind.

Can you post some picture of her eyes? Marek's can cause blindness, so I'd like to see what her eyes look like.