Lethargic, puffed up, white poop! Is this chicken going to make it?

[deacons]

I'm not sure how to stop a hen from laying. Sorry.

Thanks, Gita. I know it sounds like a ridiculous question!

I'm just feeling frustrated because she seems healthy except for this major egg laying glitch that really seems to be hurting her...

 

[Eggcessive]

When hens suffer a prolapsed vent, it is usually advised to stop the hen from laying eggs. That is accomplished by placing the hen in a dark room or covered cage for 16 hours a day (especially overnight.) Also you can reduce the amount of feed or protein in the diet temporarily to under 16%. There are also hormone implants or spaying that can accomplish that.

 

[deacons]

When hens suffer a prolapsed vent, it is usually advised to stop the hen from laying eggs. That is accomplished by placing the hen in a dark room or covered cage for 16 hours a day (especially overnight.) Also you can reduce the amount of feed or protein in the diet temporarily to under 16%. There are also hormone implants or spaying that can accomplish that.

Interesting, @Eggcessive . Taking the light away like that makes sense. For my girl though, where this is more of a chronic thing than a specific event like a prolapse that will heal, sounds pretty sad to live alone in a dark cage 16 hours a day

I'm not sure my country vet will have any thoughts on hormone implants but I suppose I can ask. (And may get laughed at!)

She was not hunched up this morning, but a step or two slower than the rest. We'll see how she is. It is brutally hot and humid today so I think they're all going to be a bit slow and uncomfortable. Lots of watermelon and grapes for everyone!

 

[deacons]

An excellent day for my little Golden girl today.

Her backside is clean, she was running around the yard chasing bugs, and I even saw her JUMP twice her height to snag a bug or berry in a bush. But the best part is that I finally see a few little pin feathers coming on her wings.

As my husband said, she's still trying to stay alive Hope more good days are to come for her.

 

[deacons]

All still seems to be going well with her. The feathers on her wings are starting to open and she seems a little grumpy about being touched as a result.

Not sure whats happening with her laying process. I think I found a lash egg in the coop this morning, but not clear as it was pretty well coated in sand. I was gone for work the past two mornings, so my lovely husband did chores for me. It's sweet that he offers, but let's just say he's not quite as thorough as me so I am not sure if that funky looking mass was from last night (in which case it was not under Goldie's spot on the roost) or previous nights. Even if it was her, her activity and appetite seem to be fine now, and she has no signs of broken eggs or other laying worries around her vent so who knows.

 

[deacons]

Checking in with another Goldie update. The last week or so, she's had 2 lash eggs. Depending on what you read, that means she's either on death's door or about to start up laying again- or anything in between. There are sure a lot of very strong and very different opinions out there about what this means. But, it certainly doesn't seem like a good thing.

She's looking a little thin again, and she's very ragged looking with lots of feather loss. She's got a messy bottom most days. But, her color is bright red, her appetite is good, she does have a lot of new feathers growing, and she is very active and perky.

It's been VERY hot here- about 90*F- so I'm keeping a close eye on the whole flock and doing lots of water refills and cold fruit/veggies throughout the day. That could be contributing to the messy bottom I suppose.

All in all, I think my mantra with her is going to be to let her just do her thing until she's showing that she's in pain or depressed. She was pretty clear about that several weeks ago when we did the course of antibiotics, and she's a world away from acting like that now. But when she takes another downturn, we certainly won't let her suffer. Just enjoying her little energetic personality as long as we have her here.

 

[deacons]

90% sure Goldie laid a normal egg yesterday

 

[chickenstar]

You can get her a suprelorin , desorelin implant, to stop her laying cycle and honestly I whould do it as soon as possible before she develops life threatening peritonitis , I have a hen that been getting thease for almost two years now and its saved her life, she used to lay an egg everyday and she's a polish hen so regardless of breed I belive any female birds that lays too many eggs to often is certainley at risk because there system just starts to malfunction, but she can be saved if you act fast, good luck to you both!

 

[deacons]

You can get her a suprelorin , desorelin implant, to stop her laying cycle and honestly I whould do it as soon as possible before she develops life threatening peritonitis , I have a hen that been getting thease for almost two years now and its saved her life, she used to lay an egg everyday and she's a polish hen so regardless of breed I belive any female birds that lays too many eggs to often is certainley at risk because there system just starts to malfunction, but she can be saved if you act fast, good luck to you both!

Thanks for chiming in @chickenstar. Can you describe this process for me- how did you find a vet that knew about this?

 

[deacons]

Goldie has been looking good, particularly in the feather re growth department. But, she did have a soft shelled egg from the roost last night. It was oddly timed-probably about 15 minutes after they went to roost, right as I was closing the door.