New member from Essex England feeling slightly out of her depth!!!!

[Cindyjoy]

Hello everyone, I have 6 hens, 4 ex batts, one speckled maran and one light Sussex.

We originally rescued 5 ex battery girls, unfortunately we lost one after two weeks and my darling husband bought me home Molly (our light Sussex) as I was so upset. We then discovered the "pecking order" and decided that she was so isolated by the others that I would go back to the farm the next day and collect her sister. When I arrived she had gone, hence Kitty's' arrival ( the maran).

We introduced them at night and we have harmony.

Today Gladys one of the ex batts was looking under the weather and I immediately thought that perhaps it was an impacted crop, so have massaged this area and given her warm water with olive oil through a syringe. She's not interested in any food, but is drinking. I have put her in our guinea pigs indoor cage and she is currently residing on our dining room table' much to our 2 boys delight!
Sorry for the essay, but could she be broody? I don't know the symptoms but she was sitting on two eggs in the nesting box before I bought her in and now she's moving straw around her in the indoor cage?

Again I apologise for the lengthy post but they are almost as dear to me as my children and I'm not sure quite what action to take.
Many thanks
Cindy

 

[Percheron chick]

Battery hens are bred to not be broody. Not wanting to get off and doing interior decorating on the nest however is or could be. Was her crop full and foul smelling? Is she otherwise bright and alert?

 

[Cindyjoy]

Thank you for your reply.
Oh I didn't realise that.
With out meaning to be daft but I felt where I thought the crop was and it felt soft and a bit spongy. No her breath was fine and yes she is fairly alert, just not her usual self, a bit subdued I would say. When she's sitting she appears to be keeping her bottom slightly raised.

 

[stasichick]

Hey There!!! I am not too much help in this matter as I am a newbie and my girlies are only 3 weeks old.... (today actually!!!) but it sounds quite possible that her instincts are kicking in... did she give you a lot of trouble when you took her out of the lay box area??? I have heard quite a few ways to break this... some seem easy some seem a little intense.... maybe keep babying her in the guinea pig cage for a bit more... (I know I will be babying my little nuggets until I am forced to put them outside.) lol I am sure there are many people that will respond / bombard you with ideas / feedback... you might want to post in the Emergency/ Diseases forum.. There are some very experienced people in there!! (just incase she is sick and not going broody-- better safe than sorry!)

 

[Cindyjoy]

Thank you very much. She's drinking loads so I'm kinda hopeful that it's a good sign. I'm going to keep her in over night and see if her crop is empty in the morning. The poo seems to be obtaining some blackness now too

 

[stasichick]

good I am sure she will be just fine!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Hi Glad you joined the flock. Sorry to hear your hen off colour. Yes she could be broody or do you think she was in the nest box trying to lay and could be egg bound? This tends to happen to young or older birds. If you stop by the learning centre there is loads of info on ailments chickens could have. https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/maintaining-a-healthy-flock. Hope she feeling better soon

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You might want to post in the Emergencies forum about your girl https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures As the other posters said, commercial birds very very seldom go broody, when older they tend to have a lot of reproductive problems also. Do you know if she is laying/ when the last time she laid an egg is? She could also have a soft egg, (not unusual for older hens or those coming into or out of lay), they sometimes will act funny trying to lay those.

 

[BrendaJ]

Hello from Oregon & welcome to BYC - there are lots of forums on here to help like mentioned above. Best of luck

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

The best time to check a crop is first thing in the morning because that is the only time it should be empty. Any other time and crops can feel funky all day long. If it is full first thing in the morning, there is a problem. Oil is NOT good for a crop no matter what is ailing it. Oil is very hard to digest and certain foods tend to harden into a ball when oil is added. Water water and more water is always the best thing for a crop that is hard and impacted. Soft squishy ones are slow or soured and require lots of probiotics and soft foods only for a few to several days. And if some cases of slow or sour crop, vomitings are needed as well.

Definitely post in the emergency section if she gets any worse. I hope you can get her back to good health soon.