Hello lovely chicken friends! My EE, Beatrix, has been a bit off the past few days. Here’s the story:
1.) Found her in the nesting box Friday evening (not like her to be in there). I sensed something was off, but couldn’t pinpoint it. She has laid soft eggs in the past, and my RIR, Eloise recently had an egg issue that an epsom salt bath cured.
2.) The next day she seemed a little more lethargic, so gave her an epsom salt bath, took her out, put her back in. Didn’t seem to get her passing anything. I couldn’t feel an egg stuck in her.
3.). Let her stay inside overnight. She seemed better the next morning so I let her back out in the coop/run. She was a little low key all day - standing in the corner, not moving around much (she’s always been mellow), but she did eat a little of the grapes and watermelon I put out there. No one appeared to be bugging her (but my other EE did go stand next to her for a while).
4.) Planned to bring her in again that night, but she was up on the perch so left her alone.
5.) This morning I went out and she was in the corner and had her head tucked back under her wing.
6.) Brought her back in to observe. She doesn’t seem to be getting worse - her eyes are clear and she’s alert (just not overly so - but again, she’s always been calm).
7.) She isn’t pooping much and it’s mostly/all the white, chalky droppings. I gave her water with Corid in it, just in case, but then switched it out for water with electrolytes. I also fed her some scrambled egg with olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic powder. She ate some of the egg. I also squirted three half eyedroppers of diluted molasses in her mouth. Her crop doesn’t feel like she has sour crop - just a tiny bit squishy with some granules in there - like she ate watermelon and pellets/scratch.
8.). Right now I’m just waiting to see if the molasses helps and tonight I plan to give her another epsom salt bath and maybe get a latex glove and some Vaseline to see if she needs more ‘help’...
SO, any thoughts on this? She isn’t acting super sick, just a little off from her normal calm self and not pooping much and keeping to herself in the corner when in the coop (she may have laid an egg this morning before I brought her in - found a crushed shell in the nesting box in a light shade of blue, but it also could have been my other EE’s egg. Thanks!
1.) Found her in the nesting box Friday evening (not like her to be in there). I sensed something was off, but couldn’t pinpoint it. She has laid soft eggs in the past, and my RIR, Eloise recently had an egg issue that an epsom salt bath cured.
2.) The next day she seemed a little more lethargic, so gave her an epsom salt bath, took her out, put her back in. Didn’t seem to get her passing anything. I couldn’t feel an egg stuck in her.
3.). Let her stay inside overnight. She seemed better the next morning so I let her back out in the coop/run. She was a little low key all day - standing in the corner, not moving around much (she’s always been mellow), but she did eat a little of the grapes and watermelon I put out there. No one appeared to be bugging her (but my other EE did go stand next to her for a while).
4.) Planned to bring her in again that night, but she was up on the perch so left her alone.
5.) This morning I went out and she was in the corner and had her head tucked back under her wing.
6.) Brought her back in to observe. She doesn’t seem to be getting worse - her eyes are clear and she’s alert (just not overly so - but again, she’s always been calm).
7.) She isn’t pooping much and it’s mostly/all the white, chalky droppings. I gave her water with Corid in it, just in case, but then switched it out for water with electrolytes. I also fed her some scrambled egg with olive oil and a sprinkle of garlic powder. She ate some of the egg. I also squirted three half eyedroppers of diluted molasses in her mouth. Her crop doesn’t feel like she has sour crop - just a tiny bit squishy with some granules in there - like she ate watermelon and pellets/scratch.
8.). Right now I’m just waiting to see if the molasses helps and tonight I plan to give her another epsom salt bath and maybe get a latex glove and some Vaseline to see if she needs more ‘help’...
SO, any thoughts on this? She isn’t acting super sick, just a little off from her normal calm self and not pooping much and keeping to herself in the corner when in the coop (she may have laid an egg this morning before I brought her in - found a crushed shell in the nesting box in a light shade of blue, but it also could have been my other EE’s egg. Thanks!
. She is doing fine now. Not sure what it was, but at some point I just let her reincorporate with the flock. Truth be told, I have had a flurry of chicken issues of late 
. Then, another hen, who had been laying soft eggs, was acting ill and I worried she might have egg peritonitis, so I brought her in to treat her ... In the end, I decided that MAYBE a roundworm infestation was causing all these issues, so I just got done worming everyone. Here's to hoping it worked and everyone will be returning back to normal soon. Thanks for checking in!
