My hen is sick-HALP!

[scootergrrrl]

ok thx. she has been sitting in warm water for about 45 minutes now with nothing. she doesn't look like she is even trying to lay an egg. i've been reading threads but there are a lot of horror stories! i don't know why they breed these hens to lay such huge eggs.

 

[Kittymomma]

A lot of the time it's a shell less egg that causes the problem and not a large one. Most of mine lay reg. large eggs, but once in awhile I'll get a monster. It's almost always from one of the old ladies or a just started laying pullet. Anyhow, I hope you get a happy ending with yours.

 

[scootergrrrl]

after her long blow dry (which she loved) joanie the hen slept in the cat carrier in the basement. this morning she ate a little crumbles mixed with vanilla yogurt. her poops seem normal. i guess she must be eating a little. i can feel the enormous egg in her abdomen. this morning i'm going to give her another warm water sit and another blow dry. i was thinking of putting her back with the others so she can move around. i'd rather she laid the egg on her own because i may do more harm than good trying to extract it at this point.

 

[jjthink]

A crushed Tums mixed with a bit of water and dribbled along her beak line with a dropper so she swallows on her own and doesn't choke is sometimes given to try to help hens pass an egg. I would do this immediately.

If she is eggbound, she can and will die if she doesn't get it out - a week is a very long time for her to be under the weather. If the help of a vet is possible I would get her there without further delay.
JJ

 

[scootergrrrl]

i gave her the tums though i ended up wearing a good bit of it. the trick is to make a little drop on the tip of the beak and wait for her to swallow...or shake it off. i called my vet and they do not do chickens.

 

[jjthink]

Yes, I usually wear most of any med I try to give them! You might have to give her another, wear half of it and then you'll both be well dosed!

My cat vets don't do birds either. I searched and found avian vets and kept the info handy for times like these. You can google avian vets and see what you get. Poultry clubs, feed stores, etc. may also know of one. They are not plentiful unfortunately.

I have to head on a 2 hour drive to a long meeting but am sending lots of good wishes for your feather-girl..

JJ

 

[scootergrrrl]

i've called a number of vets now including one that said that they did farm animals and no one deals with chickens. weird. joanie has eaten a little today and is sitting under the heat lamp. i'll give her another warm bath later. and another tums since the first was only a partial tab.

 

[AmyBella]

Come on, Joanie! You can do it!

 

[scootergrrrl]

still no egg laying but she did eat two scrambled eggs today. can they eat too many? the recent one was with cheddar cheese which she appreciated.

 

[Kittymomma]

It will be ok for awhile. I'd get her some grit though so you don't end up with crop issues too.