chaoticgoodcoop
In the Brooder
- Apr 14, 2023
- 8
- 17
- 29
Hello, I am a first time chicken owner and got my first 6 in March as chicks. They are all laying age and all but my Olive Egger are laying eggs. There was a time she seemed like she was going to; going up to the nesting boxes and rifling around, squatting, etc. Soon she started acting sick. She was all puffed up and dripping fluid and some blood from her vent. I took her to the vet and they did a sample and couldn't find anything wrong. Since then she has not laid any eggs. I live in a suburban area so they are in a large run and if I am home I let them run around my backyard. My olive egger paces by the run all day trying to get out, she even tries to dig, and then when I let her out she eats like she is absolutely starving. She has access to both Oyster shell and Kalmbach layer crumbles, but I have been monitoring her more closely lately and i don't ever see her eat either. Everyone says that chickens will eat if they're hungry, but I am worried she is starving herself. She seems lighter weight and her crop isn't full. I have brought her inside and made her some eggs and yogurt and added her feed into it and she will eat that. I noticed there was some blood in the coop this morning so I brought her in. Her bottom was looking very messy so I soaked her in warm water this morning and when I took her out, it looked like she was straining to lay an egg. She made this really said squawking noise like it was painful for her. I noticed blood oozing from her vent as well as white fluid. I read another thread where someone said a hen wasn't getting the nutrients she needed so she kept laying soft eggs internally and causing infections and I am worried that is what is happening. If she won't eat the accessible food, what should I do? Bring her in and feed her for a while? Or do you think this is something else?