My oldest hen, Fanny, is acting a bit off these past few days. She should have been culled last year due to not laying steadily but she's such a hoot that I put it off. Then I was going to cull her when I did Toby, but she got out of her ropes and I took that as a sign it wasn't her time yet.
She's been standing off by herself and not running for food like the rest of the thundering herd...she is usually at the front of that~actually, she is usually on the back porch steps telling me when it's time to feed. I herded her up to the coop yesterday and she ate some when she got there but not like my ol' Fanny. She's shiny, red comb, well conditioned but somethings not right with her.
Today was the same...off by herself, tail in the air a little. I've never had an eggbound hen and it's most likely because I cull for nonlaying on a usual basis. This sentimentality is not a good thing for flock management, so now a good old bird may be suffering. My fault entirely and I need to get back to my strict no pets rule if I want my birds to have happy, healthy lives and a good, quick and painless death.
My method is not to take a hen in and soak her butt...it's run her around a little to see if something can work it's way out naturally. So, I ran her around the coop a little and then let her come in...when she came in the coop she cocked her head up at the nests and checked for resident chickens.
At that point I'm thinking she might have been the one that laid that triple yolker a few weeks back..typical of an older hen. So, I caught her to see if she was holding onto an egg....just the fact that I could catch her tells me something is wrong...she gave me a good run for my money but I did get her. She fought to get away, which is a good sign. I palpated her crop..nothing remarkable. I palpated her lower abdomen, nothing there. I palpated higher up, could feel some small, firm mass but nothing big and nothing weird.
Went up a little bit ago and found a lone BA egg looking an awful lot like one of hers, small, and perfectly formed. Nothing unusual. All the other eggs had already been gathered, so this lone egg came later than all the rest...I'm thinking it was hers. She's still slow and standing off but I did see her joining in with the flock just a little and trying to forage. If she's worse acting tomorrow, I'll cull her before this can go any further. If not, she will still be culled in next month's annual cull for nonlaying and other issues.
Sentimentality in farming is something no one can truly afford if they want their animals to have a good life and a good death.
