Hello everyone,
My Barred Plymouth Rock hen started walking slowly last month. I noticed her abdomen area grew larger than normal and she had trouble laying eggs and passing any stool. The stool she did manage to pass was liquidy, greenish-white and stuck to the feathers around her vent. When she layed down I could see she was trying to pass something through her vent. I tried what I knew to do- soaked her in warm soapy water and with a clean gloved finger tried to gently see if anything was stuck near the vent. I found nothing so I just took about 10 minutes and massaged her abdomen in the warm water and cleared some of the dried stool from around her vent. My husband told me to wait a while to see if she got better and after a week she did. She NEVER looked to be in anything other than mild discomfort when walking. She continued to eat as well as drink water. After she started improving I was happy.
This past week I noticed she is doing the same thing. I tried the same interventions but she is not getting better this time. She can take only one step at a time now, resting on her abdomen after each step. She is still eating and drinking....and waddles out after the other chickens. Still seeming to be only uncomfortable as opposed to in pain...but I do not know what to do for her and it pains me to think she is suffering. My husband isn't sure she'll improve this time. Does anyone here have any insight or thoughts? My book on Chicken Health hasn't helped me pin down the problem...
[email protected] Thank you very much!
My Barred Plymouth Rock hen started walking slowly last month. I noticed her abdomen area grew larger than normal and she had trouble laying eggs and passing any stool. The stool she did manage to pass was liquidy, greenish-white and stuck to the feathers around her vent. When she layed down I could see she was trying to pass something through her vent. I tried what I knew to do- soaked her in warm soapy water and with a clean gloved finger tried to gently see if anything was stuck near the vent. I found nothing so I just took about 10 minutes and massaged her abdomen in the warm water and cleared some of the dried stool from around her vent. My husband told me to wait a while to see if she got better and after a week she did. She NEVER looked to be in anything other than mild discomfort when walking. She continued to eat as well as drink water. After she started improving I was happy.
This past week I noticed she is doing the same thing. I tried the same interventions but she is not getting better this time. She can take only one step at a time now, resting on her abdomen after each step. She is still eating and drinking....and waddles out after the other chickens. Still seeming to be only uncomfortable as opposed to in pain...but I do not know what to do for her and it pains me to think she is suffering. My husband isn't sure she'll improve this time. Does anyone here have any insight or thoughts? My book on Chicken Health hasn't helped me pin down the problem...
[email protected] Thank you very much!
