New to site....this is fun!!

[Smithville Farm]

Hi! I have 6 hens (Dorothy, Blanche & Rose are my barred rock. Lucy & Ethel are my buff orph.) & 1 rooster (Cornelius...buff orph), and we are first time chicken owners! We just started getting eggs from 2 of our girls last week, so the kids are very excited!

However, one of my buff girls is acting funny today. Very lathargic, waddling, seems off balance. She's eating and drinking, but she isn't acting normal. Is she getting ready to start laying?

 

[thebanthams]

no she could be sick, I wish I knew whats wrong,

 

[Kevin565]

. Yes it sounds more like a illness.

 

[J-Sanders]

If she hasn't layed her first egg yet, she may be having a little trouble passing it. If you can pick her up, feel along her bottom around the vent and see if you can feel a lump/egg. If you feel the egg then try a bit of olive oil on your finger and lube her vent or you might try to set her in warm water and see if that will relax the muscles and move the egg.

Jim

P.S. the way to tell if she has layed or not is to look at the vent. If it is oval then she has most likely layed at least one. If it is still round and smallish then she hasn't layed.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

Howdy Smithville Farm! You might want to post your health related question in the
Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures section. Here is the link below. Best of luck and here's wishing her a speedy recovery.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures

 

[TallChickMagnet]

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas and

! Hope you find the cause and cure of what's ailing your ill buff. Good luck to you!

 

[liz9910]

from California, I hope your hen gets better soon.

 

[jbirds2012]

i hpoe she gets better soon.

 

[weimarmama]

& from Alabama. Glad you joined us.