no egg, acting funny

[pittsbirder]

well ive been reading many articles here and still have some concerns on my hen who is no laying and acting funny. they were all egg laying machines and 2 weeks ago one stopped laying one day and the 3 girls have only produced 2 eggs since. i wasnt sure which one it was but tonight one seems plumper than the others and was just standing in the yard..i assume she may be egg bound..i felt her but nothing seems obvious, i bathed her and seperated her tonight..any thoughts here? the food and water has been the same. she is a year old and as far as i can tell they never molted

 

[nbenevento]

Does she have poopy butt? What does her poop look like? Does she have any discharge from her eyes or anywhere else? Is there any unusual odor?

 

[pittsbirder]

her butt looked cleaner than the rest..her eyes look clear, her comb bright red...i did not notice any odor at all..i finally seperated her tonight just to see if the other 2 are laying the eggs. i have not confired its her not laying, she just looked off tonight in the yard, her abdomen felt fine but im not a chicken dr. by any means.

 

[pittsbirder]

this am she had a poo hanging...it was covered in a whitish slime but was semi solid but hanging there so i tried to pull it with a stick and out came about a 10 inch long clump of matted grass...it was so matted it looked like string but it was grass..is this normal? i noticed one of these last week also. there is some hay inthe run under the coop keeping the area clean,

 

[realsis]

how is she behaving now that you removed the grass plug? is she better? please update on how she's doing . best wishes

 

[pittsbirder]

after that she seemed to start moving more freely and started scratching around the yard and lookin for more grass..I had to go to work tho so she is cooped up with the other girls..her butt looked real clear after that removal and there seemed to be some feathers missing from that area but nothing bloody. as for no eggs, still not sure why, my neighbor called her vet for her dog and just asked about the chicken and the vet said that without a rooster a hen wouldnt lay after 6 months..tell that to the other girls who are laying. maybe she is taking a break, I picked up some crushed oyster shell this am for them. thanks for all your concerns

 

[nbenevento]

A vet seriously that? Lol...ummm, don't go to that vet!

 

[pittsbirder]

yeah a vet said that...no wonder i bather her and massaged her on my own..you expect real answers when you contact a professional..anyways the great news.....she laid an egg today! it was pale brown and thin so it was cracked but she laid an egg..i put some crushed oyster shell in the cage today so hopefully as is headed in the right direction and my neigbors think im crazy as they saw me bathing my chicken in a bucket and rubbing her tummy

 

[Sandstorm495]

I was thinking she might be eggbound, but because she layed an egg, i don't think it is anymore.. Hope she gets better soon!

 

[nbenevento]

That's awesome you got it figured out! Good for you. Do they free range in an area of high grass? If so, I wonder if that's what caused it.