Issue with crop or is she broody??

[Doodledoo4]

Went in there this morning. Good news is her crop felt normal so hopefully we are only dealing with one issue. The bedding she was laying on was quite wet, looked like some poop and some clear liquid. I tried quite hard to get a calcium pill in her but she as fighting me really hard (maybe a good thing?). I did get her to eat some oyster shells. Her beak felt pretty warm to the touch, could she be running a fever? I will continue to try with the calcium pills and oyster shells. Will also grab some electrolyte mix after work.

 

[azygous]

The fluids you saw in her bedding were from the obstruction. It's a big clue that's what's going on. If she fights you when you try to give her the pill, you need to wrap her in a towel to confine her wings and feet, pry open her beak, and shove that pill in. Close her beak and tilt her head back, and she will easily swallow it.

Oyster shell calcium works too slowly to be of any use in a reproductive crisis. She needs a concentrated form of calcium that will go to work immediately. The calcium citrate is such a calcium.

Losing fluids in large amounts will make her dehydrate quickly. The fluids need replacing. Being strong and fighting you indicates she is strong enough to drink on her own. Give her water that she can easily access. Electrolytes in it won't hurt.

I place my patient in a crate on thick towels to absorb the fluids and also so I can easily determine what comes out of her. You will want to know if an egg is coming out intact or broken. The latter will indicate that more material may have to be expelled, and if there's broken yolk in there, she will also need an antibiotic to head off bacterial infection which can ruin her egg laying career before she's even gotten started.

 

[Doodledoo4]

The fluids you saw in her bedding were from the obstruction. It's a big clue that's what's going on. If she fights you when you try to give her the pill, you need to wrap her in a towel to confine her wings and feet, pry open her beak, and shove that pill in. Close her beak and tilt her head back, and she will easily swallow it.

Oyster shell calcium works too slowly to be of any use in a reproductive crisis. She needs a concentrated form of calcium that will go to work immediately. The calcium citrate is such a calcium.

Losing fluids in large amounts will make her dehydrate quickly. The fluids need replacing. Being strong and fighting you indicates she is strong enough to drink on her own. Give her water that she can easily access. Electrolytes in it won't hurt.

I place my patient in a crate on thick towels to absorb the fluids and also so I can easily determine what comes out of her. You will want to know if an egg is coming out intact or broken. The latter will indicate that more material may have to be expelled, and if there's broken yolk in there, she will also need an antibiotic to head off bacterial infection which can ruin her egg laying career before she's even gotten started.

The towel method worked and I got the calcium in her. She’s out foraging with the others right now and seems ok. One of us will be home from work this afternoon and will work on setting up a crate for her so we can get a better idea what’s going on. When I looked in the coop “someone” laid an egg in her spot but I’m not sure who.

 

[azygous]

If she's out with her flock and is acting normally, then the egg you found was likely hers. If she hadn't passed the egg, she would still be behaving lethargically.

Continue with one calcium tablet again tomorrow morning. When you see for sure she is laying normal eggs in a normal regular pattern, then you can stop the calcium tablets and let her go back to just oyster shell for her calcium needs.

 

[Doodledoo4]

If she's out with her flock and is acting normally, then the egg you found was likely hers. If she hadn't passed the egg, she would still be behaving lethargically.

Continue with one calcium tablet again tomorrow morning. When you see for sure she is laying normal eggs in a normal regular pattern, then you can stop the calcium tablets and let her go back to just oyster shell for her calcium needs.

Thanks, unfortunately she’s looking a little lethargic again. Doing the sleeping standing up thing

 

[azygous]

Then she likely still has an unresolved condition. Get her confined to a crate as soon as you can. This is important. You need to be able to moniter her closely. Give her the electrolyte water with sugar in it. She may be becoming weak from fluid loss. Shock could follow. You could lose her unless you take control of this situation.

 

[Doodledoo4]

Then she likely still has an unresolved condition. Get her confined to a crate as soon as you can. This is important. You need to be able to moniter her closely. Give her the electrolyte water with sugar in it. She may be becoming weak from fluid loss. Shock could follow. You could lose her unless you take control of this situation.

Thank you. We will be getting home from work as soon as we can and getting her confined, we have a relative bringing over an old dog crate. Do you recommend leaving her confined in the coop/run area or bringing her into a separate place like the garage?

 

[azygous]

This is one instance where isolation is more beneficial than leaving her in proximity to flock activity. She needs calm and quiet so that stress doesn't aggravate her condition. It will also make it easier to monitor her if she's somewhere close to where you will be.

 

[Doodledoo4]

This is one instance where isolation is more beneficial than leaving her in proximity to flock activity. She needs calm and quiet so that stress doesn't aggravate her condition. It will also make it easier to monitor her if she's somewhere close to where you will be.

Was able to run home from work and get her isolated and she is drinking her electrolyte water. Is there anything else I should be doing for her? She’s right in the garage outside our kitchen door so we can keep a close eye on her. When I got home she was out with the flock but still lethargic. There were two more eggs in the coop but I’m not sure if they were hers, guessing not since she’s still not acting like herself.

 

[azygous]

Be sure she has plenty of water in easy reach.