Sick chicken!

[han-kirk126]

Hi guys, I only ever post when one of my chicks seems sick

, one of my girls has been laying jelly eggs for a while, now she doesn't lay at all! However she became broody & used to scream when the others eggs were taken away, we gave her a fake egg to sit on which she sat on for 2 weeks then gave up! Now she has runny poo and has a couple of hours where she likes to be on her own & sit down and snooze, has a bald bum (we keep giving her all the nutrients she could need , all the others are ok) When she is with the others she jump about, run, eat, drink, scratch around etc (she's currently snoozing in the woodshed!!

) doesn't feel thin, healthy comb and eyes are bright as a button - just cannot fathom what if anything is wrong (perhaps I'm being over protective!)

 

[CMV]

Is she still not laying? Any chance a molt is coming on? (I know, wrong time of year, but I had one who did this and then molted in the dead of summer...mine always was a prat who did things on her own terms.) Is her belly swollen? How does she feel across the keel? Sometimes you can be deluded about the weight of a bird because they have a swollen belly. The true test is how do they feel across the keel? If they are plump, but their keel is jutting out like the prow of a ship, then they are grossly underweight despite their bellies feeling full and thick.

 

[han-kirk126]

She went very quiet so I decided to give her a warm bath, just before as we were walking up the stairs she gave me a soft egg & the membrane of the egg nicely fell on my bath matt

! After I have her bath let her out again and she bolted off up the garden! her breast bone is protruding but she's always been like that since we've had her, her belly is not swollen neither is her bum so not really sure what's going on! Also her poop is solid now.

?????

 

[han-kirk126]

I'd like to add that they all hve unlimited food and water supply, grit & many tomotoes, veggies and fat balls (as a treat)

 

[CMV]

Soft shelled eggs are extremely difficult for hens to pass as there is no hard surface for the body to push against to expel the egg. Hopefully, this is what was gumming up the works and she will return to full health shortly.

Oh...and fat balls? Birds get fat enough over time. No need to fatten them up unless you plan on eating them or the temps are abysmally cold.

Good luck.