Hello BYC Folks!
I have been a long time (3+ year) lurker here reading and soaking up all of yalls knowledge. I have a sweet hen who I am very worried about and would love some expert guidance. I did read through no less than 100 posts and articles from people in similar situations last night but I'm still a little confused.
I have a sweet Easter Egger hen, Maybelle, who just turned 2 years old. She and her flock mates (I got them all together) are approximately the same size, and rather petite.
Yesterday while free-ranging I noticed she was standing off by herself with her head tucked into her neck staring off at nothing. I went to her and she was obviously not feeling well, very still with no interest in me or any snack I had for her. Her crop was full and firm (they had been free-ranging and also had access to free choice feed, Purina Layena pellets). She did drink some water while I was watching her but would not graze or scratch for bugs. She kept herself isolated and would stand for long periods with her head tucked inward.
Last night I put everyone to bed a little early so she could rest and removed all feed from the coop. This morning she was not interested in going into the run with the other girls, there are 4 others she lives with, and stayed on the roost. Her crop was smaller and significantly softer but still palpable. She is incredibly lethargic but is able to move about normally.
The other four girls are acting perfectly normal. They eat Purina Layena Omega Pellets and free range for several hours a day and often get fruit and veggie scraps for treats.
There is no injury I have found and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. She does typically lay rather large eggs and today is the third day she has not laid, she often will lay every other day or so.
This morning, per several articles here, I fed her 1/4 of a scrambled egg with a teaspoon olive oil and gently massaged her crop an hour or so after she ate. The contents are easily maneuvered and feel gritty. I have gently massaged her crop every few hours, and the past two times there is a gurgly sound as if there is air in the crop. She has been kept off feed for the day but has had access to water. We did check for an egg, there was no egg felt and nothing abnormal was noted. Her manure is in smaller amounts than usual, normal in color with what seems to be excess water expelled as well.
As her crop is smaller and easily palpated it seems she is not impacted or was just a very mild impaction from what I have read and others have experienced but I am stumped as to why she feels so crummy. I would love any advice yall can give!
I have been a long time (3+ year) lurker here reading and soaking up all of yalls knowledge. I have a sweet hen who I am very worried about and would love some expert guidance. I did read through no less than 100 posts and articles from people in similar situations last night but I'm still a little confused.
I have a sweet Easter Egger hen, Maybelle, who just turned 2 years old. She and her flock mates (I got them all together) are approximately the same size, and rather petite.
Yesterday while free-ranging I noticed she was standing off by herself with her head tucked into her neck staring off at nothing. I went to her and she was obviously not feeling well, very still with no interest in me or any snack I had for her. Her crop was full and firm (they had been free-ranging and also had access to free choice feed, Purina Layena pellets). She did drink some water while I was watching her but would not graze or scratch for bugs. She kept herself isolated and would stand for long periods with her head tucked inward.
Last night I put everyone to bed a little early so she could rest and removed all feed from the coop. This morning she was not interested in going into the run with the other girls, there are 4 others she lives with, and stayed on the roost. Her crop was smaller and significantly softer but still palpable. She is incredibly lethargic but is able to move about normally.
The other four girls are acting perfectly normal. They eat Purina Layena Omega Pellets and free range for several hours a day and often get fruit and veggie scraps for treats.
There is no injury I have found and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. She does typically lay rather large eggs and today is the third day she has not laid, she often will lay every other day or so.
This morning, per several articles here, I fed her 1/4 of a scrambled egg with a teaspoon olive oil and gently massaged her crop an hour or so after she ate. The contents are easily maneuvered and feel gritty. I have gently massaged her crop every few hours, and the past two times there is a gurgly sound as if there is air in the crop. She has been kept off feed for the day but has had access to water. We did check for an egg, there was no egg felt and nothing abnormal was noted. Her manure is in smaller amounts than usual, normal in color with what seems to be excess water expelled as well.
As her crop is smaller and easily palpated it seems she is not impacted or was just a very mild impaction from what I have read and others have experienced but I am stumped as to why she feels so crummy. I would love any advice yall can give!
