Why has she stopped laying?

[Chooksaway]

Help! I am a new chicken mum. We have just got 3 chickens to go with 3 we already had for a couple of months, 6 in total. We have had the new 3 for about two weeks and one of my girls started laying within 2 days, since then she has laid an egg every day to every two days. All of a sudden it’s stopped, nothing for about a week. Two days ago she seemed unwell and had poop hanging out. I thought she might be egg bound so gave her a warm bath! She is now a lot happier but still no eggs. Any ideas?

 

[littlefarmgirl9]

Crop issues or peritonitis come to mind with watery poop. Is she lethargic at all, or still drinking and eating? I would try examining her crop first thing in the morning for fullness—squishy crop is a sour crop, and a hard mass in crop is impacted. Not sure how these would affect egg production, though, but crop problems could be a symptom of peritonitis or other reproductive problems.
Good job taking the step to treat egg boundness! Although being egg bound is pretty common, it’s still potentially fatal, so quick action is needed.
If the crop examination proves unhelpful, you might have to actually feel around in there to see what’s going on. Put on some rubber gloves and be prepared for some resistance. This can work, though—I once had a chicken showing the same symptoms as above, and when I felt around inside her vent with a finger, I found a cracked egg that she should have laid hours before. If this is the case, pull out the shell and as much of the yolk as possible—egg yolk is a breeding ground for peritonitis bacteria.

 

[Chooksaway]

Crop issues or peritonitis come to mind with watery poop. Is she lethargic at all, or still drinking and eating? I would try examining her crop first thing in the morning for fullness—squishy crop is a sour crop, and a hard mass in crop is impacted. Not sure how these would affect egg production, though, but crop problems could be a symptom of peritonitis or other reproductive problems.
Good job taking the step to treat egg boundness! Although being egg bound is pretty common, it’s still potentially fatal, so quick action is needed.
If the crop examination proves unhelpful, you might have to actually feel around in there to see what’s going on. Put on some rubber gloves and be prepared for some resistance. This can work, though—I once had a chicken showing the same symptoms as above, and when I felt around inside her vent with a finger, I found a cracked egg that she should have laid hours before. If this is the case, pull out the shell and as much of the yolk as possible—egg yolk is a breeding ground for peritonitis bacteria.

Thank you, I’ll have a look at her crop in the morning. She wasn’t eating much on Monday but since her bath is eating and drinking fine and no more hanging poop....but still no eggs.

 

[aart]

Two days ago she seemed unwell and had poop hanging out.

Poop hanging out.... or an egg?

What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Oh, and.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.

 

[Nanoo Logoo]

We had similar symptoms from one of the 3 inherited Americuanas (when a friend moved) added to our flock of three mixed hens. We thought one of the new hens was egg bound from stress of moving (3 blocks) but the vet found a tumor. She extracted green fluid, indicating a liver, not ovary, tumor. Fatal, but unknown how imminent. Two nights later she couldn’t walk. I gave her CBD oil to get her through the night and left VM for vet I would bring in for euthanasia. Next day, she was up and running around like. Spring chicken. That lasted for a month. Unknown to me roommate missed a dose (every 3 days) while I was gone and she died behind a shade bush. No sounds of pain. Vets in Calif. are prohibited from discussing CBD oil, but she is allowed to hear our info and couldn’t believe CurliJo was enjoying life a month after our visit.

 

[Chooksaway]

Poop hanging out.... or an egg?

What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Oh, and.....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.

Definitely poop. I’m in England. It’s summer and hot at the moment although they’re coop and run is in the shade. They are being fed layers pellets and poultry corn with a little bit of scraps too.

 

[Chooksaway]

We had similar symptoms from one of the 3 inherited Americuanas (when a friend moved) added to our flock of three mixed hens. We thought one of the new hens was egg bound from stress of moving (3 blocks) but the vet found a tumor. She extracted green fluid, indicating a liver, not ovary, tumor. Fatal, but unknown how imminent. Two nights later she couldn’t walk. I gave her CBD oil to get her through the night and left VM for vet I would bring in for euthanasia. Next day, she was up and running around like. Spring chicken. That lasted for a month. Unknown to me roommate missed a dose (every 3 days) while I was gone and she died behind a shade bush. No sounds of pain. Vets in Calif. are prohibited from discussing CBD oil, but she is allowed to hear our info and couldn’t believe CurliJo was enjoying life a month after our visit.

Sorry to hear that. I hope that’s not what our girl has

 

[Kiki]

Stop all treats (the corn and scraps) and only feed the layer feed.

What does her poop look like?


Did you deworm the new birds?
The new birds could have brought in a new coccidia to your older birds too so keep and out out for signs of coccidiosis.

 

[aart]

Stop all treats (the corn and scraps) and only feed the layer feed.

What does her poop look like?

Ditto Dat^^^
Odd to have poop hanging out of the vent...unless there was something in there like long pieces of grass or string.

 

[Kiki]

I'm wondering if maybe it was a prolapse hanging out.