Guinea hens not moving

[netguru]

Four days ago I let the flock out for the day and noticed one hen limping. The 3 males and other hen seemed fine. After I caught her I put her back in coop (chicken wired horse stall). The rest of the day she just sits on the floor and won't move unless you are trying to pick her up. Her legs kick fine if she is turned upside down to examine her. Two days later the other hen does not want to move either. We have them isolated now in a large dog crate and they won't eat or drink, just lay there. Checked for leg injuries, bumble foot, and mites. Nothing. Not egg bound either. They have recently laid 50+ eggs, and we have 41 incubating right now, and 8 or so in the chicken coop to let a broody hen have them. We are stumped as to what is wrong. Could they just be upset we took the eggs? Any ideas/help would be appreciated.

 

[PeepsCA]

Have they been on a layer feed, with free choice access to oyster shell while they have been? If not... my guess would be a calcium deficiency from laying so many eggs, and their leg muscles are weak because of it. I'd put them in a crate with some soft bedding (in the coop or pen or somewhere the flock can see them and vice versa) and see if you can tempt them to eat with some plain unsweetened yogurt mixed into some layer feed. Leafy greens like spinach and chard also have a good amount of calcium in them... and a little minced raw liver or some meal worms for a protein boost won't hurt them either. If you can find it, there is a calcium supplement product for livestock called Calciboost, it's liquid and you can give it to them orally a few drops at a time (tho they will hate you for it). I'd also add poultry vitamins and electrolytes to their water and see if they recover with a few days of nutritional support and some R & R.

Good luck with them. Hopefully all of the keets that hatch from their eggs are healthy. If they hatch with a lot of leg and toe issues tho you may want to stop setting their eggs until you get the Hens back to better health.

 

[netguru]

Thanks for replying. I guess we messed up. We didn't have oyster shell since we have always used a complete feed. However, they have not been eating any feed since they free range. I had thought it might we calcium and was giving them some egg with the shells and some yogurt mixed in. They have not eaten much of it. Where do you get the calciboost?

 

[PeepsCA]

Oystershell free choice is always the easiest... they will usually instinctively eat what they need. If they had access to yogurt and egg shells tho.. hmm. Makes me wonder what else could be going on. I really doubt they are eggbound, but check for messy vents and if you have the stomach for it insert a finger and feel around for an egg that may be stuck... you can do a search here on BYC and find all kinds of egg bound info.

Depending on where you live sometimes Calciboost is on the shelf at Tractor Supply, or the local feed and farm stores. You may need to order some from online tho.

 

[netguru]

They didn't have access to egg shells or yogurt until after they got ill. Thanks for the info. I will try Tractor Supply. They are alert and don't seem in distress. I will get some oyster shell. Do they normally eat that no problem?

 

[PeepsCA]

I have either rabbit feeders or small feeder pans of oyster shell hanging in all my pens/coops, and sometimes I'll mix in a scoop with the feed or sprinkle some on top... but for the most part I let them have access to it 24/7 and they can eat it when they want/need it. They go thru it pretty fast during the laying season. It's usually in small chip or flake form. If that's really what your Hens need they may instinctively dive right into it and eat a lot of it, so you may need to let them have a little bit a few times a day for a while until they slow down on it. It dissolves as they digest it, and they absorb the needed calcium.