Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Marie2020]

Dotty - your wise counsel needed
Yesterday I continued to think Dotty didn't look fully OK, and after bed-time she came down from the roost and went into a nest box.
I set the alarm super early this morning hoping to see an egg, but ready to find anything including Dotty dead in the box.
Instead I saw nothing because Dotty said hi to me from the day perch by the nest boxes.
I grabbed her and gave her the once over. I examined her vent and couldn't see or feel an egg and I felt around her underside and didn't feel an egg from the outside either.
The nest box had no egg but also no poop.
So, did she stay all night in the box and didn't poop?
Did she come out in the night and actually spent the night on the day perch (the camera didn't pick that up, but they aren't perfect)?
She isn't pumping her back end and it is still too dark for me to see her comb color. I made her take some calcium tablets just in case, and when it is lighter I will go sit in the Chicken Palace and try and observe her behavior and poop. On camera right now she looks like normal - sitting with Minnie and preening,
Any ideas? And I am a bit worried I don't know how to examine her for a stuck egg. Could someone explain how to feel her underneath and where I would feel an egg if it was stuck? I get the bit about sticking my finger in her vent but not how to examine her outside.
Thanks all!

I honestly hope you find your answers the sooner the better. When you do examine her vent do you use olive oil?

 

[RoyalChick]

I honestly hope you find your answers the sooner the better. When you do examine her vent do you use olive oil?

No. Water based personal lubricant. I took coconut oil out to the Chicken Palace with me but then remembered I keep the lubricant in the Chicken Palace.

 

[BY Bob]

Dotty - your wise counsel needed
Yesterday I continued to think Dotty didn't look fully OK, and after bed-time she came down from the roost and went into a nest box.
I set the alarm super early this morning hoping to see an egg, but ready to find anything including Dotty dead in the box.
Instead I saw nothing because Dotty said hi to me from the day perch by the nest boxes.
I grabbed her and gave her the once over. I examined her vent and couldn't see or feel an egg and I felt around her underside and didn't feel an egg from the outside either.
The nest box had no egg but also no poop.
So, did she stay all night in the box and didn't poop?
Did she come out in the night and actually spent the night on the day perch (the camera didn't pick that up, but they aren't perfect)?
She isn't pumping her back end and it is still too dark for me to see her comb color. I made her take some calcium tablets just in case, and when it is lighter I will go sit in the Chicken Palace and try and observe her behavior and poop. On camera right now she looks like normal - sitting with Minnie and preening,
Any ideas? And I am a bit worried I don't know how to examine her for a stuck egg. Could someone explain how to feel her underneath and where I would feel an egg if it was stuck? I get the bit about sticking my finger in her vent but not how to examine her outside.
Thanks all!

She may have re-roosted in the night. Is that a roost that had a ramp? For some reason Betty and Hattie do not poop a lot when they sleep in nest boxes. I can't figure it out but they seem to hold it in. Hattie is a real roamer so she may leave the box, poop, eat, drink, and then return. I have never watched closely enough.

 

[BY Bob]

I honestly hope you find your answers the sooner the better. When you do examine her vent do you use olive oil?

Coconut oil works great. It melts when it gets to body temperature but is easy to get where you need it beforehand.

 

[Ponypoor]

View attachment 3097283

She is a lovely barred rock, very snazzy

 

[Ponypoor]

Dotty - your wise counsel needed
Yesterday I continued to think Dotty didn't look fully OK, and after bed-time she came down from the roost and went into a nest box.
I set the alarm super early this morning hoping to see an egg, but ready to find anything including Dotty dead in the box.
Instead I saw nothing because Dotty said hi to me from the day perch by the nest boxes.
I grabbed her and gave her the once over. I examined her vent and couldn't see or feel an egg and I felt around her underside and didn't feel an egg from the outside either.
The nest box had no egg but also no poop.
So, did she stay all night in the box and didn't poop?
Did she come out in the night and actually spent the night on the day perch (the camera didn't pick that up, but they aren't perfect)?
She isn't pumping her back end and it is still too dark for me to see her comb color. I made her take some calcium tablets just in case, and when it is lighter I will go sit in the Chicken Palace and try and observe her behavior and poop. On camera right now she looks like normal - sitting with Minnie and preening,
Any ideas? And I am a bit worried I don't know how to examine her for a stuck egg. Could someone explain how to feel her underneath and where I would feel an egg if it was stuck? I get the bit about sticking my finger in her vent but not how to examine her outside.
Thanks all!

I too would like to understand how to do this sort of exam. Hopefully I never have to perform it.

 

[RoyalChick]

She may have re-roosted in the night. Is that a roost that had a ramp? For some reason Betty and Hattie do not poop a lot when they sleep in nest boxes. I can't figure it out but they seem to hold it in. Hattie is a real roamer so she may leave the box, poop, eat, drink, and then return. I have never watched closely enough.

The only possible roost is one without a ramp - they fly up from a tree stump - but my chickens seem to be able to find their way around at night so I wouldn't rule that out.
Now it is light I need to go look around that roost - maybe she dropped an egg in the night from the roost.

 

[RoyalChick]

I too would like to understand how to do this sort of exam. Hopefully I never have to perform it.

I have been looking it up on the internet - I may have been examining too much in the abdomen and not close to the vent.

 

[Ponypoor]

Yep, last month and a bit of the Saturday markets (I was told that the guys putting up the house wanted us to give them cash as well as the ridiculous number of goats they hunted) I managed to save a little over $5k, and still cover all the overhead to maintain product levels. May-November are usually insane for us schedule wise as DH is working two paying jobs (almost like one full time one ) plus working at the abattoir here three days a week for free. There’s also the Saturday market, peeping the product for the markets, and the chickens… meat chickens included. Which is going to make the whole “roof” thing that much more challenging.
Tax:
They are thinking about it… I can tell mental note add door screen to the never ending to do listView attachment 3097432

I put chicken wire with my screen door in the barn as I just knew they would rip the screen in no time!

 

[Ponypoor]

The only possible roost is one without a ramp - they fly up from a tree stump - but my chickens seem to be able to find their way around at night so I wouldn't rule that out.
Now it is light I need to go look around that roost - maybe she dropped an egg in the night from the roost.

You need one of those forehead LED lamps like o have. I can leave lights off and just use the lamp to check nest boxes and roosting chickies without disturbing them.