Photo: Strange Behavior and possibly sick- please help!

[khd]

My Easter Egger has been staying in the nesting box for a few days, and is acting strange. She seems uncomfortable and has her tail feathers all raised in the air. She often makes a chortling sort of noise-- it's quiet, but throaty sounding. She has been doing this for a few days. She is still laying eggs- but only about every other day rather than every day. I have been able to coax her out for a few minutes each day and she eats a tiny bit and drinks a tiny bit, but she heads back. The noises and her posture worry me. She does seem to have a bit of diarrhea-- very small bits of green-brown poo without the white edges. I have been taking little cups of water into the nesting box to encourage her to drink. She doesn't appear to do much drinking but I leave the cup next to her.

She sometimes makes a louder noise and stands with her butt up in the air, all puffed up. Then she will lower down a bit but is still up high.

I would be inclined to think she is egg bound, but she still lays just not every day as she has been. The eggs have been her normal petite size. And even after she lays, she tends to stay this way, in her nesting box day and night.

She is 7 months old and has been laying for at least two months.

This photos hows the normal nesting box posture (silver laced wyandotte) and then hers.

Thanks for any help.

 

[journey11]

If she's laying, then she's probably not egg-bound. My egg-bound hen stopped laying entirely. They will also walk like a penguin if they are egg-bound and will look sickly.

Sounds like she might be going broody.

 

[khd]

Thank you so much for the reply. Would broody behavior include her raising her rear up high like this?

I should add that I have seen her do this a few weeks ago, and she got over it. So that would point to broodiness. BUT the noises and posture concern me.

Thank you!

 

[sonew123]

IDK..but she sure looks broody to me? I have one hen that goes back and forth-broody on for 1-2 weeks and off for a month or so...Yes her tail being up is what says BROODY to me. Thats what they do when you come near and they aren't happy about it!

 

[journey11]

Yes, the posture looks broody. If you touch her or try to pick her up, does she flatten down over the nest like she's determined to stay?

 

[EweSheep]

Or pecking at your hand from getting to the eggs?

From what I see and the signs, yep, broody!

 

[khd]

Thanks for the replies. If it's just broodiness, that is great. We have had broody hens before but never this posture. She seems in pain when she does this.

If I try to remove her from the box, she does sink down and try to refuse being moved. She does not peck or get aggressive, though. And I do take all eggs away as soon as I find them, so she's basically doing this without a single egg to sit on. When she comes out for about two minutes per day, she does make the chortling noise, which I read can be a sign of broodiness.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Higins00]

Sounds like she is nesting and getting ready to go broody. I wouldn't worry about it. If she is still laying she is not egg bound.