I am posting this message in hopes of getting some ideas what might be going on with my Buff Orpington hen. She is about 3 years old and is one of 4 hens. About 10 days ago she stopped laying eggs. Then her behavior has changed. She is usually extremely friendly and easy to handle. She has become listless and runs away when I approach her. Her comb is not quite as bright as usual but not as pale as it gets when she is molting. She has not lost any feathers.
She is also making a new noise that sounds almost like a panting/hoot type of sound. She is walking a bit stiff legged.
Yesterday I soaked her in a warm bath and massaged her abdomen. I thought I felt a small hard mass high up on her right side and it felt smaller than an egg. I then got bold and (without either of us having a drink) I felt inside her vent for a possible egg. I did not go in too far as I was concerned about injury and from what I had read I thought if an egg was stuck it wouldn't be too far in. I did not feel anything and there was no poop either.
I then dried her off and put her back outside. The other chickens are doing fine and they are free ranged during the day and locked up at night. She still goes in and out of the coop to roost and does move around the yard but not as much. Her legs look find -no pushed out scales or injury.
They are eating layer feed pellets and food scraps including strawberries, tomatoes, and bread. The roosting area of the coop has pine shavings and the rest is dirt floor with some sand and a little straw.
Does anyone have any other ideas. I am not working right now and can't afford the $100 to take her the vet but she is my first and favorite hen. Thanks!
She is also making a new noise that sounds almost like a panting/hoot type of sound. She is walking a bit stiff legged.
Yesterday I soaked her in a warm bath and massaged her abdomen. I thought I felt a small hard mass high up on her right side and it felt smaller than an egg. I then got bold and (without either of us having a drink) I felt inside her vent for a possible egg. I did not go in too far as I was concerned about injury and from what I had read I thought if an egg was stuck it wouldn't be too far in. I did not feel anything and there was no poop either.
I then dried her off and put her back outside. The other chickens are doing fine and they are free ranged during the day and locked up at night. She still goes in and out of the coop to roost and does move around the yard but not as much. Her legs look find -no pushed out scales or injury.
They are eating layer feed pellets and food scraps including strawberries, tomatoes, and bread. The roosting area of the coop has pine shavings and the rest is dirt floor with some sand and a little straw.
Does anyone have any other ideas. I am not working right now and can't afford the $100 to take her the vet but she is my first and favorite hen. Thanks!
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