Help please- Hen is screaming in pain all morning

[dzipperer]

Hen is a buff orpington and she is 6 months old. She has been screaming all morning.
I felt her tummy and its hot and big. She is kinda fat anyways but its really big this morning.
She is very uncomfortable and acts like she can't settle down anywhere. could she be eggbound?
I have never had an eggbound chicken before.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Sounds like a normal egg song to me. I don't know what you mean about her being "hot", but it sounds like she is going to lay soon.

 

[Whirlwind]

What do you mean screaming? Like cackling???? Is she eating , drinking??
Has she laid an egg before??

When my hen was egg bound she just stood still in one place, kind of swaying and moaned.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

There's a difference between screaming all morning and singing the egg song for the first time. Have you experienced the egg song before? It's hard for us to judge without seeing and hearing her.

 

[ivan3]

Egg bound hens will often assume a `penguin' stance with torso tilted so that the tail feathers are nearly dragging the ground.

 

[dzipperer]

yes I have heard the egg song. Its not anything like the egg song. she just does the same bbaaaaakkkk over and over and over. She sounds like she is in pain. She has been doing it all morning. Im pretty sure she has laid an egg before. I just got her a week ago so I don't know much about her history.

 

[Eggs4Sale]

I don't know if it's true, but I've read on here about people sitting their hen in the bathtub (warm water) to help pass an egg.

But I don't know if that is her problem.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Well, very hard to tell without seeing and hearing her I guess but I'm thinking it would be unusual for a chicken to scream in pain. I think it would be more like them to become reclusive and try to hide away. Is she eating or doing anything else normal? Can she be distracted by treats? Mine will stop the egg song or anything else they are doing for a bit of scratch. I think I'd keep an eye on her and see if she lays an egg here pretty soon. It's possible she's just one of those drama queens about laying an egg, I have one like that.

 

[caralouise1974]

I agree. Whever one of mine is sick she tends to stand or sit still, making no sound at all and looking generally sorry for herself.

Bawking from my girls is generally reserved for the egg song or to call a danger alert to the rest of the flock (generally when a plane flies overhead or there is a particularly strong gust of wind

... wimps!). Poultry are prey animals, they don't like to call attention to themselves, especially when they are at their weakest and less able to escape from predators.

Are we SURE this hen is definitely in pain?

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Two other things occur to me- is she missing her old pals? Or is she going broody and hollering for everyone to stay away?