Sick hen behaving egg-bound (but maybe not)

[LucyBW]

Having chickens is a wonderful new experience for me. I have 4 and LOVE them. They started laying 3 or 4 months ago.

One of them is an Americauna and for the last couple of days she has been spending most of her time in a nesting box, even late in the afternoon and early evening. Which is very unusual for my hens. She will leave the nesting box for a little while (say half an hour) and then get back in. She just hangs out there, but isnt laying. No loud laying noises. Doesnt sound like shes in pain. But she's spending all her time there. She looks normal but behaving quiet. Her comb and wattle look normal red, not pale.
And for the last couple of days I've been getting only 3 eggs from my 4 birds.

Anyway, I started getting worried about her being egg-bound and read the (really useful) article on this site: "Egg Binding: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention". The first step is to determine if she is egg-bound by doing an internal exam. This was a new experience for me, but I did it. I lubed up my finger and inserted it carefully about 2 inches into her and felt around. There was no egg.
So what now?
By her behavior, I really thought she might be egg-bound, but now I don't know.

The other 3 hens all seem fine and laying as usual.
I feed them Layena pellets, but they also get daily table scraps. They have access to the compost pile and an area of about 20X20 feet to scratch for insects etc.
Lately I've been giving them a couple of handfuls a day of oat seed, which they LOVE. But after reading up on egg-binding I realize that too many treats can mess up their nutritional balance, so I will stop doing that.

One other thing... my sick hen is one of 2 Americaunas. One of them sometimes lays an oversized egg that has 2 fully-formed yolks in it(!) Not sure which hen it is, but we get a double-yolk egg every week or two.

Does anyone have any suggestions of what I should do next? What should I look out for?
I appreciate any pointers.
Lucy

 

[pallas]

If there are no clear problems she's probably broody (trying to hach eggs). She doesn't need eggs underneath her to do this and it does stop her laying as well. I can't say for sure, and until you figure it out she should be quarantined, but there are countless articles that do a very good job of explaining and give great advice on broody hens. Good luck and p.s some chickens just do lay double yokes its not super common but it does happen I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[pallas]

Oh and I almost forgot congratulations on the chickens and

 

[OwO]

I would agree with possibly being broody if she otherwise doesn't seem ill. If this is the case you could probably just wait a couple weeks and she will be normal, though there are methods of helping stop the process. (I still wouldn't completely draw out egg bound - it's uncommon but still possible)

A good way of telling if they're broody is if they fluff up when you open the egg box and put your hand in, does she do this?

Also just to make sure, you are feeding her layer feed as her main diet right? It may come in either pellets, crumbles, or mash

 

[pallas]

That is the best test

 

[LucyBW]

Oh, that's so interesting! Never thought of that - that she might be broody.
Mind you, everything they do is SO interesting, and their behaviors and dynamics are constantly evolving
Its true, she is fluffed up. Even when she's walking around, she's fluffed up and her head settled down into her body. Whereas normally their heads are reaching up and out, more alert...
Good to know that "being broody" might last as long as a couple of weeks. Who'd of thought!

thanks so much - I feel so relieved.

 

[pallas]

When you figure it out if she is Brody and decide that you want to stop the brooding I have gotten the best results with putting the hen in a wire dog cage (it's not as mean as it sounds) give them food and water and maybe some fruit and let her hang out there for a day or so . But you do need a cage without a solid bottom and this method is not always necessary. But I highly recommend not letting her stay broody for to long because some broody hens (especially those who go broody on nothing) may not stop after two or three weeks and some hens will neglect to get enough food and water when brooding. Of course a broody hen can also be a blessing if you want to raise chicks. She will do all the work and protect the baby's. good luck

 

[LucyBW]

Oh and I almost forgot congratulations on the chickens and

thanks!

 

[pallas]

 

[LucyBW]

When you figure it out if she is Brody and decide that you want to stop the brooding I have gotten the best results with putting the hen in a wire dog cage (it's not as mean as it sounds) give them food and water and maybe some fruit and let her hang out there for a day or so . But you do need a cage without a solid bottom and this method is not always necessary. But I highly recommend not letting her stay broody for to long because some broody hens (especially those who go broody on nothing) may not stop after two or three weeks and some hens will neglect to get enough food and water when brooding. Of course a broody hen can also be a blessing if you want to raise chicks. She will do all the work and protect the baby's. good luck

Wow - ok...
I was thinking "fine, if she wants to be broody, I'll just let her be broody".
But if she keeps going too long and doesn't seem to be eating, I'll try getting her out of it. I have a good cage for that...
Thanks!