Something is going on with my young chick.. any advise will be appreciated

[EvaMSK]

Hi, my name is Eva and I am new here. I am also new to having backyard chickens.. I have encountered a problem with one of my young hens, a cream legbar mix. She is gaping and screaming, and seems very distressed. She also seems to limp. She has just started to lay eggs, and they are huge. I don’t know if she has gape worm (she is on medication for this now), or if an egg is stuck. I have isolated her, she eats, drinks and poops, but was very thin when I took her in. I have given her warm baths with epson salt, but no egg has come. She has been inside for 2 days, and has not laid any eggs. What can this be? I want to help her but I don’t know how.. I am grateful for any advice!!!

 

[azygous]

Hi Eva. Welcome to BYC. We'd love to help you but more information is necessary. Please answer these questions.

What is your location, generally, no need to draw a map to your house.

What is the temperature there?

Is this pullet acting normally, or is she very still and withdrawn?

Is her poop runny and coating her butt fluff?

Does she have trouble standing or walking? Does she stumble and seem off balance?

Does she "scream" at certain times of the day, or does this go on all day long? What is she doing when she is screaming?

Please don't skip any questions. Your answers will help to narrow down what is going on with this pullet, and then we can help you help her.

 

[EvaMSK]

Hi Eva. Welcome to BYC. We'd love to help you but more information is necessary. Please answer these questions.

What is your location, generally, no need to draw a map to your house.

What is the temperature there?

Is this pullet acting normally, or is she very still and withdrawn?

Is her poop runny and coating her butt fluff?

Does she have trouble standing or walking? Does she stumble and seem off balance?

Does she "scream" at certain times of the day, or does this go on all day long? What is she doing when she is screaming?

Please don't skip any questions. Your answers will help to narrow down what is going on with this pullet, and then we can help you help her.

Hi and thank you for the response!! I live in Norway, near Oslo. The temperature is about 20 degrees. I have 5 hens and 2 chickens- she is the only one acting like this. She is sometimes off balance - it seams like it is mainly her left leg that sometimes wobbles. She is quiet when she doesn’t gape and scream. She is about 6 months old. When she is screaming she gapes first, then she shakes her head and cries out with a stretched out neck. Her tail feathers are down, but sometimes when she seems to feel better, they stand up. She has not laid any eggs the last couple of days. She was very skinny when I took her into isolation, but she eats and poops now. The poop is sometimes normal and sometimes runny. Her behind is clean. She might have a bump in her abdomen on her left side, but I am not sure..

I just feel that she is in pain when she makes her loud noise, and am grateful for all help and advice!

 

[azygous]

Thank you for the information. It helps to rule out some things. It does seem she may be having trouble laying an egg, especially when you mentioned her eggs have been huge. Are they double yolks? If so, maybe we can calibrate her ovulation to ovulate single yolks and that might reduce the egg size.

Right now, let's try to treat her for egg binding. She needs calcium right away. Do you have any calcium supplement on hand that people in your house take for strong bones? She needs at least 350mg of calcium citrated or calcium carbonate, and it has to be concentrated, not just in oyster shell or limestone gravel. If you need to, send someone out to buy some.

Give her one tablet to equal 300 to 350mg directly into her beak. Next, place her on some thick towels with a heating pad or hot water bottle under the top towel. This will relax her muscles and help the egg to work itself out of her.

Be sure she has plenty of fresh water to drink. You can put a little sugar in it, and this will stabilize her and elevate her glucose. The proportion is one teaspoon to one cup water.

Then leave her in a quiet place and check on her frequently.

If there isn't an egg today, give her another calcium tomorrow morning.

 

[EvaMSK]

Thank you for the information. It helps to rule out some things. It does seem she may be having trouble laying an egg, especially when you mentioned her eggs have been huge. Are they double yolks? If so, maybe we can calibrate her ovulation to ovulate single yolks and that might reduce the egg size.

Right now, let's try to treat her for egg binding. She needs calcium right away. Do you have any calcium supplement on hand that people in your house take for strong bones? She needs at least 350mg of calcium citrated or calcium carbonate, and it has to be concentrated, not just in oyster shell or limestone gravel. If you need to, send someone out to buy some.

Give her one tablet to equal 300 to 350mg directly into her beak. Next, place her on some thick towels with a heating pad or hot water bottle under the top towel. This will relax her muscles and help the egg to work itself out of her.

Be sure she has plenty of fresh water to drink. You can put a little sugar in it, and this will stabilize her and elevate her glucose. The proportion is one teaspoon to one cup water.

Then leave her in a quiet place and check on her frequently.

If there isn't an egg today, give her another calcium tomorrow morning.

Thank you so much!! I will do this right away! And yes! Her eggs - almost double in size in comparison with the other hens- had double yolks!!

Thank you - I will run and see to it right away!!

 

[EvaMSK]

Hmmm. She calmed down a bit, but has not laid an egg yet.. she got another dose of calcium this morning. For how long should I wait? Should she get more? She is laying down as if she might lay an egg, but I don’t know..

 

[azygous]

Be patient. Those huge eggs can take time. You can also dampen the top towel so she gets moist heat on her posterior which can help soften her cloaca.

Have you picked her up to examine her vent to see if an egg is stuck in the opening? If it is, you can mix some warm water with dish detergent and load an oral syringe. Gently insert the tip a tiny way inside the rim of tissue and lubricate the opening.

Continue to provide sugar water so she doesn't become weak, which would further hurt her ability to push out the egg.