Laying Stopped!

[juanita fajita]

I have a small flock of two Americana hens. They have, for the past couple of months, produced beautiful blue and green eggs once each every 30 hours or so. For a little over a week, one of them has not produced. She seems fine, ranges and scratches in the back yard, eats from her trough, responds to treats, etc... She doesn't pant or act dehydrated... It's very hot in Texas, but she doesn't seem to have heat stroke. Poops are normal. I have noticed several larger feathers, but she doesn't have the appearance of a molting bird. I thought she might be laying under the deck, but my husband crawled under there and found no eggs. He also closed off the area where they were getting under.
Several days ago we noticed her eye was swollen shut. There is no mucus, pus or drainage. There does appear to be a deepish scratch underneath the eye and I have been cleaning it daily with warm water and neosporin. Could this injury be the reason she stopped laying? I didn't see the scratch until several days after she stopped laying, but she could have had it for a while. I feel terrible, but I've been busy with work and rushed in the morning. They are usually in bed when I get home. . Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[WillowChick]

Could it be an eye worm?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/508526/eye-worm

If it is, that would definitely explain not laying.

If it's not, she may need some antibiotics if the scratch is bad enough for her eye to be swollen. (which would also explain not laying)

Willow

 

[juanita fajita]

Gross. Worm in the eye contracted from cockroach eating. I cannot imagine anything more horrible. My husband and I will try flushing the eye and I will contact this online vet rx immediately. I am glad to know that there are online chicken vets. I live in freaking Dallas, Texas and cannot find someone that will see my bird. Thank you so much.

 

[Eggcessive]

Vet Rx is a brand name product. In the link to eyeworm, I would go by what Dawg53 recommends--Valbazen wormer in water applied to the eye. Before you do that though, you really need to examine the eye and look for any tiny worm or white gunk because eyeworm is really kind of rare. They tend to scratch their eyes a lot. It comes from eating a certain cockroach. You may just be dealing with a scratch that has caused swelling. Or you may have a respiratory disease. Look into the eye for any bubbles, drainage, or a bad smell. Gurgles or wheezes when breathing and nasal drainage are other symptoms.

 

[juanita fajita]

Thanks, Eggcessive. I don't think it is eye worm. There is no eye gunk and I havent seen a worm. None of the symptoms of respiratory illness are present. Her eye looks much better today. She can open it a little and the swelling is gone. I am going to continue my warm water and neosporin treatment.
There were a ton of feathers in the coop this morning. I guess she is starting to molt and that is why she hasn't layed an egg. All of this has coincided with Dallas going into the mid 100s around 2 weeks ago. I think she scratched her eye because she was uncomfortable with the heat and started to molt. Although, I still don't think she looks all scraggly and molt-y. Please correct me if this sounds wrong!,
Thanks again!

 

[gibsterl]

Any chance she might have been stressed by a predator-that can certainly cause a change in laying patterns? Do they free range and perhaps a predator caused an injury under her eye?

 

[juanita fajita]

I seriously doubt it was a predator. I have a small dog and cat, but everyone gets along peacefully. The dog is almost never outside, pampered pooch that he is, and the cat loves the birds. There aren't any raccoons in my area, I guess. The dog goes ape every once in a while over an opossum that hangs in the back, but, I don't think that would be it...

 

[MrsBachbach]

I would get rid of that oppossum. I'm not so sure a hungry one won't try to attact your chickens. They very likely would go for the head first. They are also egg eaters and they climb quite well. I hope your chickens are locked up tight at night.