Hen won't squat. Does this mean she will stop laying?

[shandiane78]

I only have one hen that is laying, but she didn't lay an egg today and I've noticed that her squat went away. I tried to catch her today because the feathers under her vent look dirty and I wanted to clean and check for problems. I figured she'd be easy to catch now that she squats down and lets me pet her, but NO! She doesn't do this anymore. I have noticed her lying around a bit more than usual, and then the dirty feathers, which she never had before. Do you think she has some kind of problem that might cause her to stop laying? Is losing the squat an indication that she won't lay?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BarkerChickens]

The lying around and dirty feathers is probably from dirt baths. But, I'd still grab her and check her out...or at least keep an eye on her. I have one that usually squats for us and lets us hold, but occasionally she gets a feather up her butt and runs if we try to touch her. She's a great layer, so we figure she probably wants to dirt bathe or eat bugs more than being pet.

Also, if she is starting to go into a molt, she may not want to be touched. Mine HATE being touched during a molt (I am sure it's not comfortable). They don't lay while molting either. Also, hens don't necessarily lay every day. Some breeds lay 2-3 eggs a week, others 5 eggs a week. So, she might be taking a day off.

 

[shandiane78]

Thanks so much! I do need to catch her and check her out. Because it looks like some poo dried on the feathers under her vent. BUT! I did discover why she was running away from me and wouldn't let me pick her up. She needed to lay an egg!

After I tried to catch her, she went into the nest box and laid. Once she came out, she was squatting again when I'd try to pet her. That makes 8 eggs in the past 8 days (which is how long she's been laying)!

So I hope she's in good health, and was just being a little inactive because she was getting ready to lay. But I definitely will catch her later and take a look at those dirty feathers to make sure it's not lice or something icky like that.

Thanks again!