Sick pullet

[Elitefarm]

I have a girl who has been laying about a month, today I found her sitting in the nesting box and thought nothing of it but now it’s a few hours later and she’s still in there, she is standing in it, doesn’t feel egg bound, no mites, but she does have a slightly poopy butt and in the box is runny poop. She is a bit puffed up but not bad, I took her out of the box to see if she would walk around or if she was injured, she walked around for about 30 minutes eating and drinking so I went inside, came back out and she’s back in the same nesting box just standing there. What’s wrong with her? No runny eyes, no raspy breathing, no sores on her feet.

 

[PioneerChicks]

To me it just sounds like she's eggbound. Maybe the egg is extra small and hard to feel? Sorry I don't have any good advice for you. Good luck!

 

[Elitefarm]

To me it just sounds like she's eggbound. Maybe the egg is extra small and hard to feel? Sorry I don't have any good advice for you. Good luck!

I considered that but she’s walking around completely normal, I hope that’s all it is cause if I can’t feel it than it should be an easy one for her to pass she’s one of my favorite so I hope it’s nothing too serious

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

I’m sorry about your pullet. Maybe @aart or @Eggcessive can help?

 

[PioneerChicks]

I considered that but she’s walking around completely normal, I hope that’s all it is cause if I can’t feel it than it should be an easy one for her to pass she’s one of my favorite so I hope it’s nothing too serious

 

[aart]

I wonder if she's trying to pass a soft shelled egg.
They can act pretty weird at that time.
Some extra calcium might help move things along.
@azygous is good with what and how to give.


When I have a bird acting 'off I isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so I can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling. Check for external parasites or any other abnormalities.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[Elitefarm]

She’s eating a bit not a lot but she had an empty crop this morning and it’s quite a bit larger so she has been eating, her crop and stomach feel fine no swelling or hardness. No external parasites and they were all wormed in December so it shouldn’t be that.
It seems like she is getting weaker. She has been drinking but goes right back into the nesting box but is not acting broody by any means. I have seen her poop and it is quite runny and almost clear similar to egg whites (but clearly poop not egg whites)

 

[azygous]

I agree with @aart that she very likely has an egg stuck. Since egg anomalies aren't uncommon in new layers, it could be a soft egg hung up. She's standing in the nest because that's the position that's most conducive to expelling an egg.

Have you given her the calcium tablet yet? If not, do it now. This will strengthen her contractions and help her get the egg out.

I would also set up a crate that's tall enough for her to stand up in indoors with a heating pad on the medium setting and place a warm, moist towel, well wrung out in the washer spin cycle on top of the heating pad. Then install your little layer on top of this moist heated towel.

Together with the calcium, she should squirt the egg out in just a couple hours. If not, leave her there over night. Be sure she has water to drink at all times.

If the egg comes out in pieces where you can see the yolk has broken, she will need additional time in this crate to be sure she expels all the egg material. I also suggest an oral antibiotic in this case to head off a possible infection in her reproductive tract caused by the irritation and the yolk incubating bacteria.

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you insert a gloved finger inside her vent 1-2 inches to feel for an egg? As @aart said it could be a shell-less egg stuck. The
dose of extra calcium could help her pass the egg if she is eggbound. Also get her drinking some water if she hasn’t been.

 

[Lizzy733]

If she's not broody, then it very likely is eggbinding. Can be tricky to diagnose if you still have girls coming into lay and can't spot a missing egg.
First step is calcium; follow the above advice for that.
Another thing that can help is a warm Epsom salt soak - this helps relax the muscles so she can pass the egg - likely it will come out in the bath. Just make sure to submerge her vent and give her tail feathers a good wash while you're at it.
Dry her thoroughly afterwards with a towel or hairdryer on low - this part can take a while.

This sort of thing can crop up with new layers, but generally stems from a lack of calcium, so make sure they have enough available at all times, preferably mixed in the food and offered on the side. If you're worried about her calcium intake, keep offering additional daily for a few days till you're sure she's laying normally again.