Pullet not feeling well *UPDATE* She's broody!

[mom4morecritters]

My Buff Cochin Bantam pullet is 26 weeks old. She's been laying for 5 weeks now. I don't think she is egg bound. My Red Cochin pullet is the same age and hasn't started laying yet. I felt around the tummy and back end of both pullets for comparison and I don't believe there was any difference.

For several nights she's slept on the floor near the nest box (she doesn't lay IN the box because the box hasn't been there long enough for her to get use to it). The past two mornings, when I open the pop door, she is still laying on the floor in the same spot and she doesn't come out of the coop.

She is laying almost "flat" on the floor. She doesn't seem injured and when I scooted her out of the coop earlier she did walk around the run, but I don't think she ate or drank anything. She wasn't out long before she was right back in her spot again.

She puts her back end up in the air when I check on her, or when I am rubbing her back.

She has been the "mommy" to all my baby Bantams who are now 13 wks old. Several of them typically snuggle up next to her on the roost. Now she sleeps alone on the floor.

Any ideas as to what could be wrong with her? I plan to bring her in the house after I get my little ones to bed. Of all my chickens, she is my baby!

~Anne

 

[Pine Grove]

Just guessing, I'd say she is broody

 

[mom4morecritters]

***** UPDATE ****

She is in the house now. I have her in a pet taxi with towels on the bottom. I was able to get her to drink some water with electrolytes from a syringe, then from a little dish I have. After she drank some water she devoured most of the layer food I had put out for her.

She started getting acclimated to her environment and after hearing the bunny playing in her cage, and the automatic air freshener spray, she went bonkers clucking and clucking for quite a while! Even with me picking her up and talking to her she still had a lot to cluck about! My 12 yr old was ALMOST asleep until the clucking started!

She is just sitting in the pet taxi with her eyes open, listening to the sounds of this enormous chicken coop Mommy brought her to! I have a wireless camera on her, so I can watch her without disturbing her.

I am still really worried about her. I'm not sure what else to do. Any ideas?

Pine Grove, I thought when they went broody they sat on eggs? She hasn't laid an egg in 2 days (we get 4-5/wk from her) so there isn't anything to sit on, other than shavings! Could she still be broody?

 

[mom4morecritters]

Another update!

I managed to get her to eat and drink this morning. I also massaged her crop and abdomen, just in case. After an hour or so she left the pet taxi and I found 2 LARGE poops on the floor! She was squawking after that and roosting on top of something.

I just took her back out to the coop and let the rest out. She went right back to her spot on the floor!

I've done several searches through many threads for answers, but can't seem to find what is wrong with my baby.

What is wrong? She hasn't laid an egg in 3 days now. Can she be broody anyway? Does anyone have any advice or help for me???

Thanks in advance!

 

[peanutbutter421]

This sounds really similar to what my hen has been doing and we are in Mn as well. I have called 2 vets that don't have any anwers. Do you think there could be any relation to the weather turning cold? Our hen hasn't laid in about 5 days and she usually lays every day. She just lays in her nestbox and barely moves. I'll hope that somebody has some advice for both of us.

 

[Pine Grove]

She's broody, and yes they will sit on an empty nest..Put an egg in front of her near her breast and watch what she does with it.........

 

[mom4morecritters]

Quote:
Thanks, Pine Grove. After her behavior tonight I was leaning more toward broody... I guess I can fall on that side now!

I told her an hour ago that she was preparing for babies that aren't coming and NOT taking care of the ones that are already here!

I am so relieved that she is broody and not something life threatening!

~Anne

 

[mom4morecritters]

Quote:
We both need to kick our girls off their nests and tell them to go play with the others!

 

[peanutbutter421]

After being a nervous twit, talking to a vet and then finally talking with the wonderful lady we got the chickens from. . . yup she's broody. We decided to make use of it at she brought us 3 fertilized eggs this morning! I stuck them under her and now we'll wait. The joys of raising chickens