Lethargic pullet, newby is panicked

[Rocketlamb]

Hi all,
I have 6 hens, all about the same age, 41/2 - 5 months old. The Americuanas and the Oprpingtons are laying while the little Dominiques are a somewhat behind. This afternoon my favorite, Big Ert, seems a little lethargic and her tail looks a little puffy. She wants to just sit around in the run, not interested too much in food and has drank a little water. She just started laying this week. Her first egg was a nice blue with a few soft spots. Her next egg, a bout 3 days ago, was a nice hard shelled one, a little small but nicely shaped. Yesterday, someone laid one with no shell so I couldn't tell who's it was. Is there a shell stuck in therew or something?

Is she sick or just needing to lay and egg? Thanks for any advice.

 

[TwoCrows]

How is she today? Sometimes pullets do lay shell less eggs, small, double yolked and generally funky eggs till they get their egg laying machines in gear.

I doubt the shell from this shell less egg is still inside her. Generally a shell less, or just a yolk never had a shell on to begin with. She may be struggling with another egg that has just a membrane on it.

Give her a feel on the outside of her body. Start at the vent to see if you feel any stuck eggs at the vent. Push on it and see if you feel anything. Then feel up from her vent to between her legs, (again on the outside of her body) to see if you can feel an egg coming down the oviduct. Sometimes you can feel them stuck here.

If this is the case, if it is close enough to the vent, you can apply some ky jelly to the vent or even put on a latex glove, with ky jelly on the index finger and go inside the vent to see if the egg needs to be turned in the right direction. You can also soak her lower half in warm water for about 15 mins. This will usually get an egg to pass.

Always be sure to offer oyster shell and get everybody on layer feed now. Even the ones that are not laying can handle it at this age. They need the calcium for these eggs to flow out the vent properly. Good luck!

 

[Rocketlamb]

She was back to her frisky self yesterday and laid a rather large egg (for a beginner), at least I think it was her. All of her eggs up to now have been blue. My other Amerisuana lays green so I can tell who's laying what egg. She was fine this morning and now this afternoon, she's back to being all depressed. She tends to stay in a corner, has her tail sort of tucked down and it looks kinda "puffy" . I felt around her vent and all but didn't feel anything like an egg. Of course, as a newby I really don't know what I'm feeling for, I assume a lump of some kind. I was a little hesitant because I'm not sure how much pressure they can take.
All of my other hens are fine so I don't think it's their food but just in case, I gave them all some yogurt yesterday. I'm going to go out and just hang with them for awhile until I see her poop to see if it is unusual in any way.
Thank you for your help, this is my favorite chicken by far and I would be crushed to lose her.

 

[TwoCrows]

You might try separating her for tonight so you can monitor her poop. See how much she is pooping and it's consistency. Check her crop tonight to see if it is full as in she has been eating and then check it tomorrow morning. The crop should be empty. (in case you do not know where the crop is, it is on the right side of the birds breast. Run your hand down a healthy chickens breast tonight to see what a full one feels like) The poop output and the crop filling and emptying will tell you a few things for now and we can at least see if she is eating and what might be going on inside her body.