My most valuable show bird is sick!
For the past two days she has been inactive, had no appetite, been huddling (I'm sure she's cold if she's not eating anything) and is straining to poop. Her poops are tiny.
This is a 5-month-old Araucana pullet. She still has some life in her as she hasn't been sick long, but she's already getting thin and increasingly listless. I examined her vent yesterday and did not feel any eggs in there. The vent is distended, however, and right inside the opening there is a bright pink/red part of her anatomy that is bulging and feels hard. The bulge is lumpy, not smooth like an eggshell.
Strangely, her face is bright red, like a healthy bird in lay. I'm not sure if she had begun laying before getting sick or not. I found a small, slightly bloody pullet egg on the floor of the coop around the time she got sick, but there's no way to tell if it's actually hers or not.
Is there anyone out there who has run into this problem before, or knows what it is, or if there's any fixing it? Any advice would be much appreciated, this is my best bird and I need her for my breeding program!!! I'm very upset that she's fallen ill.
For the past two days she has been inactive, had no appetite, been huddling (I'm sure she's cold if she's not eating anything) and is straining to poop. Her poops are tiny.
This is a 5-month-old Araucana pullet. She still has some life in her as she hasn't been sick long, but she's already getting thin and increasingly listless. I examined her vent yesterday and did not feel any eggs in there. The vent is distended, however, and right inside the opening there is a bright pink/red part of her anatomy that is bulging and feels hard. The bulge is lumpy, not smooth like an eggshell.
Strangely, her face is bright red, like a healthy bird in lay. I'm not sure if she had begun laying before getting sick or not. I found a small, slightly bloody pullet egg on the floor of the coop around the time she got sick, but there's no way to tell if it's actually hers or not.
Is there anyone out there who has run into this problem before, or knows what it is, or if there's any fixing it? Any advice would be much appreciated, this is my best bird and I need her for my breeding program!!! I'm very upset that she's fallen ill.
