Got home from work this afternoon to discover that "Piggy" one of our favorite hens, a 7mo Easter Egger, was seemingly vomiting/regurgitating slimy water. I watched her doing this for a few moments and was shocked to see her "projectile poop" what looked to me like straight water. I went to investigate her "poop", but could not find any trace since it's been raining here recently.
I gave her a quick hands-on exam...looking for a hard crop, foul smell, nasty vent & checking for runny eyes or nose. Nothing seems amiss, other than her beard directly underneath her beak is wet and her crop feels squishy, like a lot of water is in there. She also looks a bit more fluffed up than normal. She is bright-eyed and foraging with the other girls. She does seem to pass on layer pellets when offered which is unlike her (her name is Piggy for a reason), but continues to forage normally.
After checking her out, I continued to watch her and she went to the water bucket and spent some time drinking. Then she pooped again...this time I was on it and found it was a large amount of water with a few bits of normal colored poo in the center. At the time I was investigating this, I spied one of her eggs tucked up close to the water bucket on the ground and covered in a small amount of dried clear slime. She has only been laying for a couple of weeks, but she has consistently laid in a nesting box in the coop and I have never seen any slime on any of her beautiful blue eggs.
Everyone else seems happy and healthy. The weather here is chilly 50-60 degrees and damp. Should I be worried and seek treatment or should I just wait it out to see if she gets better? Thanks so much for your thoughts and advice!!!
I gave her a quick hands-on exam...looking for a hard crop, foul smell, nasty vent & checking for runny eyes or nose. Nothing seems amiss, other than her beard directly underneath her beak is wet and her crop feels squishy, like a lot of water is in there. She also looks a bit more fluffed up than normal. She is bright-eyed and foraging with the other girls. She does seem to pass on layer pellets when offered which is unlike her (her name is Piggy for a reason), but continues to forage normally.
After checking her out, I continued to watch her and she went to the water bucket and spent some time drinking. Then she pooped again...this time I was on it and found it was a large amount of water with a few bits of normal colored poo in the center. At the time I was investigating this, I spied one of her eggs tucked up close to the water bucket on the ground and covered in a small amount of dried clear slime. She has only been laying for a couple of weeks, but she has consistently laid in a nesting box in the coop and I have never seen any slime on any of her beautiful blue eggs.
Everyone else seems happy and healthy. The weather here is chilly 50-60 degrees and damp. Should I be worried and seek treatment or should I just wait it out to see if she gets better? Thanks so much for your thoughts and advice!!!
