Tired hen or sick hen?

[aShMaNv]

This morning I went out to feed the chickens like usual and i noticed one of my Rhode Island Red hens (who usually is constantly up foraging) was laying down with her eyes closed. I was worried so i went over to her and checked her eyes and nostrils and and everything looked fine. Also listened to her breath. She wasn't wheezing or anything. So I put her back down and she acts fine just sleepy. Then I saw her yawn a couple times. Is it possible that shes fine but just tired? Or is that a sign of sickness? Other than seeming tired she was perfectly normal.
Also she has been laying but has not laid the past two days if that helps.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

I've never heard of a hen acting "tired". They rest but that kind of behavior sounds like the hen is sick. She may be egg bound or like one of my hens that acted lethargic, had an egg break inside her. Pick her up and see if her abdomen is hard. Sometimes you can actually feel an egg that needs to come out. There are things you can do if you find that that is the problem. Good luck!

 

[Nostalchic]

I'm sorry, but that is probably a sick hen - brief rests are not unusual as I'm sure you know, but a hen that is not active, eyes closed, during the day is probably in trouble. They don't moan or in any other way indicate that they are in pain, but this is a good indicator. I couldn't speculate on what the problem is, but I would provide her a safe place (you don't want the other hens noticing this and picking on her, that can be truly awful) and keep a close watch on her.

 

[aShMaNv]

OK time for a update. I checked her to see if i could feel an egg and i couldn't. However like said, an egg could have broke. How would i treat this? Earlier I noticed she had very runny poop stuck to her rear. It was very white thought. Could it be the remains of an egg that broke? That may explain why she hasn't laid the past couple days. I just went to check on her and she seems to be doing a little better. She has her eyes open and is moving around, but is still somewhat sluggish. I gave her a small shot of vitamin B12 and mixed up a small dosage of electrolytes and vitamins in some water and put it in her cage. (I separated her from the flock) She drank a little bit and I saw her poop and it wasn't runny so I figure those are somewhat good signs. I will be able to stay home today so I will keep a really close eye on her.

 

[Backyard Hencam]

Oh, glad I came in from gardening to check on you. I recently went through the broken egg thing. I knew it was a broken egg because there was yolk coming out along with the membrane of the egg. You can see my plea for help on my post: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=378605. People were helpful and supportive. I also wrote two post on my Backyard Hencam site under Hen Talk Blog http://www.backyardhencam.com/hen-blog-2/. The camera on the hens is covered right now as we are doing some clean up this morning but you can see the blog where I describe what I did for the broken egg. I wouldn't advise you to go through all this if you are not sure. Daisy loved the warm bath and it helped her to pass the membrane so is a good thing if she can pass an egg or membrane.

I think you are doing the right thing. Electrolites and separating her for the time being to observe her are good starts. I'll check in this afternoon to see how she is doing.

 

[aShMaNv]

Thanks for all the help

This is the first chicken I have ever had that has ever been "sick". Idk if its because of the electrolytes and vitamins, but when I just checked on her she seems somewhat like her normal self. When I mentioned the white stuff I didn't see any egg shell or membrane so idk for sure. I guess I will just really try to keep an eye on her. Do you think giving her a warm bath is a good idea regardless of whether im sure if she is having trouble passing a egg or not?

P.S. I looked at the pictures of your hen. It didn't look anything like your hen in the pics. So I guess I will just wait and see what happens.

 

[katiebmw]

What ended up happening? I had the same thing happen to my Wyandotte hen today. She was just laying the yard sleeping. Sometimes would stand then lay back down. Kind of like she was consitipated in a way. I don't see any sign of a broken egg, no wheezing, no coughing, not running nose. She just isn't acting like herself and is acting very tired. She is in a large dog cage in the garage right now isolated from the other hens. What vitamins and type of electrolytes did you give her to help? I'm not sure what to go buy.

 

[Sarah Jones]

Did we ever find out anything? I have a hen doing the same thing as above.

 

[6henslvr]

Hi guys! I don't know exactly whats going on with your hens but i have a suggestion. They could be broody. when i first heard of broodiness i thought it was just a hen obsessed with laying on her eggs, but then i found out that when they are acting broody they will constantly sit and not walk around it is a psychological AND physical thing. So i don't know if this helps but you may want to look into broody hens! and if you want to give them electrolytes and vitamins, someone at tractor supply suggested for me to get durvet vitamins and electrolytes (which i did) it comes in a yellow 8oz. package. I hope they will get well soon!

 

[NZ chickens]

My chicken doesn't seem broody or egg bound. What else could she have?