Laid one egg and none since....

[Ducks4us]

My red star pullet laid her first egg at 16 1/2 weeks.. This was last friday.. Around 2:30
The next day saturday around 3:30 she all of the sudden was acting sick/ lethargic --- sitting with back hunched, tail down and eyes closed , not caring if the youngers girls were close by( she usually chases them off)
And not eating/ drinking. She acted like this untill 7:00 when i left. I came home at 9, and she had made it too the coop and up on her roost
Sunday morning: ran out of the coop acting normal with everyone else.
And no more eggs since
Has been acting totally fine ever since sunday. Eating, drinking... Etc. just no more eggs...
Is this normal?

 

[Monkeybean415]

Not sure about the lethargy but yes for the egg. It can take a little while for eggs to come regularly. She'll start laying more soon

 

[Ducks4us]

Okay thank you! Good to know

 

[Ducks4us]

More strange behavior from myrtle
The day i put up this first post she laid an egg later that afternoon.
Then we were gone for a few days.. When i came home yesterday i found 3 spots under the roost with broken egg/ yolk material. I assumed they kicked them out of the nest box and they broke and then maybe they ate them?
Last night she started that same weird lethargic behavior.. Sitting with eyes closed.. Tail down, back hunched. Walking in super slow motion like it hurt.
She made it back to the run by herself but around 9 was still out by herself so i picked her up and sat her in the coop. And watched her jump up to the roost by herself
Then this morning she came out feeling like her good normal self
When i looked in the coop tho there is 2 broken eggs directly under where she was roosting
So why would she have laid 2?
Why would she have laid while roosting?
I know it wasnt the girls around her cause they are much younger and are no where near laying..

 

[mmmyyykkkeee]

Looks like egg bound. She is having difficulty laying her eggs.

 

[mmmyyykkkeee]

Did she look like the pic below? (note: photo is not mine)

 

[Ducks4us]

Kinda, not quite so squatty looking . I will post a pic of last night

 

[Ducks4us]

Did she look like the pic below? (note: photo is not mine)

Not uploading my pic for some reason..
But wouldnt she be trying to lay in her nest box of she was bound?
She spent all day out running around and then all of the sudden acts like that.
She doesnt even go in her nest box like she was trying
And now this morning she keeps sitting in her nest box and acting like she is gonna lay...
I have watched her lay a couple eggs in her box so i know she knows where to go.
Is being egg bound something they grow out of? Or always a problem ?

 

[mmmyyykkkeee]

Even if she goes in her nesting box if the egg won't go out it will be no use. Based from your description, i think it is eggbound. There are quick fixes for it.
1. Try to soak her in a luke warm water so her muscles can relax. 30-45 minutes
2. Try to massage her vent gently to help her push out the egg
3. Others feed their chickens some olive oil or put some lubricant on the vent to the egg can go out.

Best of luck!

 

[mmmyyykkkeee]

I grabbed this photo in google (credit to the owner of the photo). The chicken is eggbound so she is soaked in warm water. Make ure the water is not too hot. She might get burn, loss her feather, or lay a hard boiled egg (kidding)