Strange head and neck movement in French Marans hen

[ggbrit]

I have a 1 year old approx French Marans hen - she is one of three that I purchased together and they have been doing well. One of them I noticed last week and then again this week is making unusual neck and head movements. It looks almost as if she is trying to swallow hard or feels like she has something stuck - that would be the human equivalent ot my mind. She pushes her head up and forward and then waggles her head and neck from side to side. When she has done that she lowers herself to the ground with her eyes closed. i picked her up and massaged the front from her beak down to her chest to see if i could feel any lumps but couldn't find anything. She seemed better afterwards. I am wondering if i might have anything to do with her crop.

I don't know if she is laying as there are three of them and I am only getting about one egg a day at the moment.

Any insights or ideas would be much appreciated.

 

[Eggcessive]

She may be adjusting her crop which is normal. I would check her crop in the early morning to make sure that it is emptying during the night--it should be full in the evenings. The behavior that she is exhibiting is something I haven't seen before.