chicks-with-chicks
Chirping
- Jul 14, 2022
- 12
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Hi! Hoping to someone may be able to offer some advice with what may be going on with our 8 month old Speckled Sussex hen, Brownie. And if not, any leads for a reputable online poultry veterinarian would certainly help as well.
Monday afternoon, I noticed she was acting strange after leaving the nesting box. She was breathing through her mouth, not a heavy pant like when she is hot, but more labored and slow. She was also walking very slowly in a weird stance (almost hunched over) with her wings slightly out. I felt her crop and it was a bit mushy, so thought she may have an upset stomach and gave her yogurt and scrambled eggs. She has access to grit and sand throughout the day, but I added an extra bowl to the coop just in case. She stayed this way overnight and stood on her roosting bar as opposed to sitting like normal.
Right before the sun came up on Tuesday, we checked her crop and it was empty and she had stopped the labored breathing and seemed to be back to her normal self throughout the morning.
I checked on her again around lunchtime, while she was in the yard foraging and she appeared to be ill again with the same symptoms (mouth open, lethargic, weird stance). She had not yet laid an egg, so I started to wonder if egg binding was to blame. I had doubts initially because she was still pooing and I thought she laid on Monday (we have 3 hens that lay the same color eggs so it’s hard for me to say with 100% certainty if one of them belonged to her). Her poo had been a bit different though with some normal poos and watery diarrhea in between. So I checked for egg binding after some guidance from YouTube and I believe I felt what could be an egg, it was hard and felt cylindrical, but being my first time doing this and having chickens in general, I’m not 100% sure what I felt. Either way, I’ve read egg binding can become life threatening super fast, so I started treating her asap to be safe. I gave her some Tums, olive oil around her vent and closed off the nesting box area with her and her bff in the hopes she would pass the egg in peace. By Tuesday evening there was still no egg, so we opted for the warm towel, massage and bath treatment. She pooed several times during this, however no egg was passed during this process. She seemed to be stressed so we dried her and put her back in the coop with her flock mates overnight. This morning she was back to her normal self again. Started the day with an empty crop, normal movement, tail up, no weird stance or panting and we had 2 brown eggs in the nesting box, so I was hopeful she had finally passed the egg and problem solved. That was until this afternoon when I found her outside with the same symptoms. I feel so bad for her and I’m not sure what else to try. I don’t have the resources right now to take her into a vet and I’m afraid the stress of the trip will do more harm than good, so I’m hoping someone may have some advice as to what we can try next or what could be going on.
Edit to add: she has been eating and drinking as normal
Monday afternoon, I noticed she was acting strange after leaving the nesting box. She was breathing through her mouth, not a heavy pant like when she is hot, but more labored and slow. She was also walking very slowly in a weird stance (almost hunched over) with her wings slightly out. I felt her crop and it was a bit mushy, so thought she may have an upset stomach and gave her yogurt and scrambled eggs. She has access to grit and sand throughout the day, but I added an extra bowl to the coop just in case. She stayed this way overnight and stood on her roosting bar as opposed to sitting like normal.
Right before the sun came up on Tuesday, we checked her crop and it was empty and she had stopped the labored breathing and seemed to be back to her normal self throughout the morning.
I checked on her again around lunchtime, while she was in the yard foraging and she appeared to be ill again with the same symptoms (mouth open, lethargic, weird stance). She had not yet laid an egg, so I started to wonder if egg binding was to blame. I had doubts initially because she was still pooing and I thought she laid on Monday (we have 3 hens that lay the same color eggs so it’s hard for me to say with 100% certainty if one of them belonged to her). Her poo had been a bit different though with some normal poos and watery diarrhea in between. So I checked for egg binding after some guidance from YouTube and I believe I felt what could be an egg, it was hard and felt cylindrical, but being my first time doing this and having chickens in general, I’m not 100% sure what I felt. Either way, I’ve read egg binding can become life threatening super fast, so I started treating her asap to be safe. I gave her some Tums, olive oil around her vent and closed off the nesting box area with her and her bff in the hopes she would pass the egg in peace. By Tuesday evening there was still no egg, so we opted for the warm towel, massage and bath treatment. She pooed several times during this, however no egg was passed during this process. She seemed to be stressed so we dried her and put her back in the coop with her flock mates overnight. This morning she was back to her normal self again. Started the day with an empty crop, normal movement, tail up, no weird stance or panting and we had 2 brown eggs in the nesting box, so I was hopeful she had finally passed the egg and problem solved. That was until this afternoon when I found her outside with the same symptoms. I feel so bad for her and I’m not sure what else to try. I don’t have the resources right now to take her into a vet and I’m afraid the stress of the trip will do more harm than good, so I’m hoping someone may have some advice as to what we can try next or what could be going on.
Edit to add: she has been eating and drinking as normal
