Matilda84
Chirping
- Feb 6, 2024
- 22
- 58
- 54
Hi all. I noticed today that there was an egg on the floor in the chicken run, under the coop which is very unusual as they normally always lay in the nesting boxes. I went to investigate and one of my 1 year old hens was standing near it under the coop, hunched over, tail down. I also noticed some white and yellowish stuff that had come out of her vent. I wondered if the egg had broken inside her, but I checked the egg and it was whole and not cracked at all, although a bit wrinkled and felt a bit chalky. I watched her for a bit and she proceeded to lay a second egg that was shell-less. This also came out fully formed and she seemed to perk up a little after laying that. However she still seemed a little lethargic. I offered her some corn and she ate it although not as enthusiastically as normal. I washed her vent and separated her from the rest of the flock for a while with some food and water and corn and she ate the corn and drank some water.
I checked on her a few hours later and she seemed a bit brighter so I put her back in the coop to roost with the other girls for the night. I will see how she is in the morning but I am a little worried about the yellow/white sticky substance from her vent in case it indicates something that could cause infection or peritonitis. Is this something to be worried about and is there anything I should be doing to help prevent this? I am lucky and have a vet that is great with chickens very nearby, but i can't see them tomorrow as it is Sunday and they are closed.
I think the cause of the unusual eggs was stress as a few days ago she suddenly seemed a lot more scared of me than usual and also of one other hen in particular, so I suspect they had a bit of a fight over the pecking order which stressed her out a bit, but this seemed to have gone back to normal.
Apart from this she has had no other issues, her crop is always empty in the mornings and full in the evenings and she hasn't lost any weight so has been eating normally.
I checked on her a few hours later and she seemed a bit brighter so I put her back in the coop to roost with the other girls for the night. I will see how she is in the morning but I am a little worried about the yellow/white sticky substance from her vent in case it indicates something that could cause infection or peritonitis. Is this something to be worried about and is there anything I should be doing to help prevent this? I am lucky and have a vet that is great with chickens very nearby, but i can't see them tomorrow as it is Sunday and they are closed.
I think the cause of the unusual eggs was stress as a few days ago she suddenly seemed a lot more scared of me than usual and also of one other hen in particular, so I suspect they had a bit of a fight over the pecking order which stressed her out a bit, but this seemed to have gone back to normal.
Apart from this she has had no other issues, her crop is always empty in the mornings and full in the evenings and she hasn't lost any weight so has been eating normally.
