Internal Laying?

[Tiss]

I have an 18 mo old EE hen, Flag, who has never given me any trouble. She started acting Lethargic last Monday. She didn't want to leave the coop with the other girls and when I prodded her to get her out, she just wandered around slowly by herself.

Her comb looks red and normal. Her poops look normal though she does have some white residue on her feathers (but so does one of my BR). She doesn't have mites or lice. I've never wormed them but use DE around the coop and their bath and regularly inspect feces. I've not seen any evidence of worms. All my other hens are just fine.

She seemed a little better on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Flag laid a pretty egg and started acting normally again. She usually lays every other day and Wednesday's egg was the only one she's laid this week.

Today, she refused to leave the roost. I just brought her some yogurt and she ate 2 bites. I felt her abdomen and it feels like it has fluid in it. I just had to cull a BO I got at the same time as Flag for Egg Yolk Peritonitis. She hadn't laid an egg in 5 months.

My question is, is it possible for her to lay internally then lay normally like she did on Wednesday? I'd really hate to have to cull another bird.

I can't help but wonder what hatchery the feed store got their birds from. I bought 3 chicks from them last April. One died after 2 weeks, the other was the BO I just culled last weekend and now Flag.

 

[Tiss]

I officially have no clue what's wrong with her. I just found a pretty green egg and she's out acting normal and pecking with the others. Maybe she has decided lounging in the coop is fun? Maybe she's missing Buffy? Maybe she doesn't like the cooler weather? Who knows.

 

[chkn]

I've had one act like that because she was laying soft shelled eggs which don't pass very easily. Lay one day, look droopy the next (and I mean real droopy). I got real good with the olive oil and glove fishing out soft shells and soft shelled eggs whole. I can't say her abdomen was swollen more than any of the rest though.

I've had an internal egg layer I've brought back with Baytril and/or draining. There's some good threads here on draining, just make sure you drain on her right side only and never try more than one or two places any any one draining.

Have you bathed and checked inside your hen? If it's peritonitis, you'll never get a finger in because it'll be tight as a vice in there. Don't even try because you'll just hurt her. If that's the case, find some antibiotic for starters. If you don't see improvement in a few days, then you'll want to think about draining (if there is alot of fluid in there). In fact, if there is a lot of fluid in there (you can compare with the rest), it might be better to drain sooner rather than later.

 

[Tiss]

I haven't bathed her. I'm thinking she isn't laying internally since she laid another beautiful egg today. She's probably slowing down as the days get shorter. She just seems to be in a funk.

The bird that I just culled hadn't laid an egg in 5 months and had a hugely swollen abdomen. I didn't try draining her or anything, I"m afraid that is beyond my abilities.

I appreciate your input. I guess I'm just overly sensitive about my hens' moods.

 

[seminolewind]

Speckledhen would be the most helpful I know on internal laying. Not that others wouldn't be helpful. But I am most familiar with her posts about her internal layers.

 

[Tiss]

She helped a lot with the one I had to put down. I have had two jelly eggs in the nest in the past month, but I think my other EE was the culprit there.