1chip2chicks3cheeks
Songster
Hello all,
One of my dear hens, Chippy, suddenly started acting weak/lethargic this evening. I believe she was acting fine earlier today, but wasn’t really paying enough attention. We were all cleaning the coop out, and none of us noticed her acting strange earlier. This evening while the rest of the girls and rooster were scratching outside of the run, I saw her laying off to the side looking very sad. I thought she was dead!
When I went to check on her and got her to stand up she went on to scratch and peck at the ground, until the rooster tried mating with her and then she just stayed laying down afterwards in the same spot.
Someone decided it was a good idea to close the nesting box access doors for the last half of the day (facepalm) to stop the broody girl from going in until we got her set up in her own area, so we thought maybe she didn’t get to lay her egg today and could be egg bound. Looked up egg bound symptoms and she seemed to match them (sitting, looking a tad penguinish and walking slow, weak, not moving). We put her in a warm epsom salt bath and tried to stimulate her, but nothing came out. We felt inside her vent but didn’t feel any egg. She’s sleeping in the garage now in a makeshift nesting box, which she seems to prefer standing up in rather than laying. Which leads me to believe she still may have an egg stuck in her? I’ve never seen any of my hens lay their eggs while laying down, they always do a little squat. I tried taking her out to give her some food and water, she didn’t eat or drink, but walked back to the nesting box on her own. She was moving her head around and puffed her feathers a bit, so she’s not totally unwilling to move, but still not perky like normal.
I hadn’t thought to feel her crop, but will do so tomorrow. I also haven’t seen her poop since this started. She doesn’t appear to have any other obvious issues going on, no injuries that I am aware of, comb and wattles look fine, eyes and nose look fine. They do have lice which we are working on getting rid of, but the other chickens are all acting okay, it’s just her.
I’m very worried about her and not sure what to do besides keep her comfortable. Will probably know more in the morning when she wakes up.
One of my dear hens, Chippy, suddenly started acting weak/lethargic this evening. I believe she was acting fine earlier today, but wasn’t really paying enough attention. We were all cleaning the coop out, and none of us noticed her acting strange earlier. This evening while the rest of the girls and rooster were scratching outside of the run, I saw her laying off to the side looking very sad. I thought she was dead!
When I went to check on her and got her to stand up she went on to scratch and peck at the ground, until the rooster tried mating with her and then she just stayed laying down afterwards in the same spot.Someone decided it was a good idea to close the nesting box access doors for the last half of the day (facepalm) to stop the broody girl from going in until we got her set up in her own area, so we thought maybe she didn’t get to lay her egg today and could be egg bound. Looked up egg bound symptoms and she seemed to match them (sitting, looking a tad penguinish and walking slow, weak, not moving). We put her in a warm epsom salt bath and tried to stimulate her, but nothing came out. We felt inside her vent but didn’t feel any egg. She’s sleeping in the garage now in a makeshift nesting box, which she seems to prefer standing up in rather than laying. Which leads me to believe she still may have an egg stuck in her? I’ve never seen any of my hens lay their eggs while laying down, they always do a little squat. I tried taking her out to give her some food and water, she didn’t eat or drink, but walked back to the nesting box on her own. She was moving her head around and puffed her feathers a bit, so she’s not totally unwilling to move, but still not perky like normal.
I hadn’t thought to feel her crop, but will do so tomorrow. I also haven’t seen her poop since this started. She doesn’t appear to have any other obvious issues going on, no injuries that I am aware of, comb and wattles look fine, eyes and nose look fine. They do have lice which we are working on getting rid of, but the other chickens are all acting okay, it’s just her.
I’m very worried about her and not sure what to do besides keep her comfortable. Will probably know more in the morning when she wakes up.
