My alpha chicken, Penny a hefty 4-5 year old Easter Egger, is feeling poorly. I didn't notice anything wrong until last night, instead of going to roost in the coop, she went into a nest box I keep on the floor in my back mud room and stayed there, initially standing up for a while, but eventually sitting down, so we let her be. Before I went to bed late last night, I picked her up and she had passed what seems to be an shell-less egg, definitely yolk and albumin, but not even any membranes... she drank a fair amount of water and ate some yogurt and seemed to be doing better, and I put her back in the box.
I'll add that a couple of weeks ago, she laid an egg while on the stairs to my deck, instead of the nest box! It was really odd, like it caught her by surprise. Then a couple of days later she expelled a partially formed egg with membranes and a little shell, so I was suspecting it could be an egg laying issue since she hadn't laid an egg since Sunday (I think). I'll also add that I gave my 3 girls a couple of sardines since I expect they will be molting soon, and they gobbled them up, but there was a big splat of poop in the coop this morning from one of the hens that didn't look very good - but that one and the other have been fine all day.
As for Penny, this morning she seemed a little bit worse and didn't want to even stand up. I picked her up to check her out, and she had been leaking a thin clear liquid from her vent... and I had to change the paper towels under her a few times. The leaking eventually stopped this afternoon. I also have palpated her abdomen a few times but can't feel anything but liquid (although not a lot, as there was with a chicken I had to drain a number of time... although I suppose this could be the beginning of the same.)
About 2pm, I took the box outside so she could be in the sun a little, and she passed a lot of mostly clear liquid and yellow tinged white stuff (it didn’t look like the yolk from last night, maybe urea?) and a little green. See photo #1 it is on the paper towel I had in the box. After that she drank a ton of water but then wanted to go back to the box, so I put her back in.
I brought her out again around 3 and she drank a lot of water again (with a little ACV and electrolytes) and offered her egg yolk and yogurt a few greens etc. but she didn’t want any... although she did eat one live meal worm - but not a second one...
I took her out again about 6, and she again drank a lot of water and then passed more liquid like the last one, but a little less white substance -see photo #2. She refused any egg, rice, yogurt, but did eat about 10 meal worms! I hope that wasn't too much. I think she would have continued if I'd offered them, but I was afraid she might have over done it. I did check her vent and it didn't seem inflamed, and I'd recently trimmed the feathers around the area, so mostly they'd just gotten wet from the liquid she passed.
I’d like to know what you all think might be going on. What you make of her poop and what other food I might offer her....
I may sit her in some warm water tomorrow and maybe put a gloved finger inside her vent to see if I feel any shell in there, depending on what all of you suggest.
Thanks in advance.
I'll add that a couple of weeks ago, she laid an egg while on the stairs to my deck, instead of the nest box! It was really odd, like it caught her by surprise. Then a couple of days later she expelled a partially formed egg with membranes and a little shell, so I was suspecting it could be an egg laying issue since she hadn't laid an egg since Sunday (I think). I'll also add that I gave my 3 girls a couple of sardines since I expect they will be molting soon, and they gobbled them up, but there was a big splat of poop in the coop this morning from one of the hens that didn't look very good - but that one and the other have been fine all day.
As for Penny, this morning she seemed a little bit worse and didn't want to even stand up. I picked her up to check her out, and she had been leaking a thin clear liquid from her vent... and I had to change the paper towels under her a few times. The leaking eventually stopped this afternoon. I also have palpated her abdomen a few times but can't feel anything but liquid (although not a lot, as there was with a chicken I had to drain a number of time... although I suppose this could be the beginning of the same.)
About 2pm, I took the box outside so she could be in the sun a little, and she passed a lot of mostly clear liquid and yellow tinged white stuff (it didn’t look like the yolk from last night, maybe urea?) and a little green. See photo #1 it is on the paper towel I had in the box. After that she drank a ton of water but then wanted to go back to the box, so I put her back in.
I brought her out again around 3 and she drank a lot of water again (with a little ACV and electrolytes) and offered her egg yolk and yogurt a few greens etc. but she didn’t want any... although she did eat one live meal worm - but not a second one...
I took her out again about 6, and she again drank a lot of water and then passed more liquid like the last one, but a little less white substance -see photo #2. She refused any egg, rice, yogurt, but did eat about 10 meal worms! I hope that wasn't too much. I think she would have continued if I'd offered them, but I was afraid she might have over done it. I did check her vent and it didn't seem inflamed, and I'd recently trimmed the feathers around the area, so mostly they'd just gotten wet from the liquid she passed.
I’d like to know what you all think might be going on. What you make of her poop and what other food I might offer her....
I may sit her in some warm water tomorrow and maybe put a gloved finger inside her vent to see if I feel any shell in there, depending on what all of you suggest.
Thanks in advance.
