Help!!!One Chicken been Moping about today

[taffy1970]

Only for today, hunched up and shutting her eyes, she has been eating and drinking but has not been her normal self, could she be egg bound and if she is do i put her in a sink of warm soapy water, im a newbie to all this, tryed looking at her vent etc, but dont know what to look for!!! many thanks :-)

[fishpond]

Bit late to bathe her now, see what she is like tomorrow morning when she comes out of the coop.
The chances are she will be as bright as a button tomorrow.

[taffy1970]

Oops i just did, she can stay in here the night, its ok nice and warm in here!!

[fishpond]

[LisaB]

Try using a hair dryer on the lowest setting to dry her off - it's not nice for them to sleep when wet :)

When bathing the water needs to be warm but not hot (not soapy!) and make sure it's covering her vent and let her relax for 10-20 minutes

If she's no better tomorrow check her crop too, first thing (before she's eaten or drank) and see if it feels normal.

she'll be fine.

[taffy1970]

done all that thanks, shes in a box now, its so worrying when they are not right

[LisaB]

done all that thanks, shes in a box now, its so worrying when they are not right

That's good :)
They are a worry aren't they, having ex-batts it's a problem that I'm often faced with

[taffy1970]

Well so far so good, my four must be happy as they have gone from one for the first week or so, then two eggs( 1 being soft) for a few weeks, To the Jackpot of Three Hardcore Eggs today!!!! so no more softies either!! all good stuff, so and so's are still refusing to eat LAYERS PELLETS OR CORN!!!!!

[Linda S]

Try damping the pellets with water to make a mash if they are ex batt girls they might not be used to them whole. Also make sure youre not giving them to many treats or they will fill up on those corn is usually given at teatime treat.Someone who knows alot more will be along very soon and they are all great with us learners good luck Linda

[taffy1970]

Yes and thanks ive tryed this also, but they are free ranging around my garden in the day so i suppose they just eat what they find!!! i dont give them treats till the afternoon, i suppose if they were REALLY hungry they would eat the corn, instead they have raided my herb patch, flowers etc and lots of slugs etc, far too much choice x

[LisaB]

As you probably know Layers really are the best for your girls, is it possible for you to keep them in their run all morning and let them out in the afternoon to make sure they've filled up on pellets?

[wendy]

Have a look to see if she is pushing. That is ften a sign they are egg bound.
If mine are a little off colour.
ie: moping around, falling asleep on one leg. No neck. Aimlessly pecking, but not really eating. I give them equal parts of olive oil and live yogurt. About 10 mls 3/4 times a day. Via a syringe into the side of the beak, if they won't eat it.
A day or so, provided they are just under the weather they perk up.

If she is egg bound.


Treatment for egg bound hens.

A hen is said to be egg bound, when she fails to lay her egg. This is a common condition, and may result from inflammation of the oviduct, malformed or double yolker, or too large egg in a young pullet.
The bird seems very restless,
She will drink little and eat little,
She will tend to stand all hunched up
She visits the nest regularly in an attempt to lay her egg
Her oviduct may end up protruded due to excessive pushing by her to eject the egg and the bird may die.
She may smell badly
Her vent will look red and protrude.
She may have faecal matter that has built up behind the egg, if you see white liquid, that will be her urates trying to pass [urine in chickens]

Sit her in a tub of warm, soapy water
Make sure the vent is submerged for about 30 minutes, this may seem like a long. But you have to relax the vent area and make it supple for the egg to pass through. It really does help the hen, 85% of the time this will be all that you will need to do for her, and the egg will pass out with a little push from her.

You can rub some lubricant around the vent area if you think that will help to. KY jelly, petroleum jelly, Vaselene or olive oil all work fine.
Make sure you isolate her from the others, as they will peck at her vent causing more damage.

Put her into an isolation cage, put plenty of news paper down first and then heated towels, they will act like a heated pad for her. No draughts when she is wet or she will catch a chill.. You can heat the towels, in a microwave it works a treat.
Leave her for a while to see if she passes the egg, if not try again.

Some people just use the heated pad, this sometimes relaxes the muscles enough and allows the egg to slip out.

If this doesn’t work, you may have to resort to removing the egg yourself. Not a nice task and she will complain bitterly at what you are doing. You will need two people for this.

Using KY jelly or similar, insert your finger in the vent. With your other hand you can gently press on her abdomen moving the egg down the oviduct towards the cloaca .
Once you can see the egg, if it won’t pass. Then rupture the egg and gently remove all the shell.The shell of the egg will be very sharp when broken and could cause the hen internal injuries.
Once you have broken the egg, make sure you remove every particle of shell carefully.

The cloaca should then be washed with a weak solution of warm salt water. This is to make sure all the egg contents and shell has been removed from inside the hen. If it isn’t then it could cause bacteria to start growing inside her. That is then a bigger problem.
There may be another egg backed up in her system, especially if she lays every day.If it has ruptures inside her, you should look for small pieces of shell or evidence of cuts around her vent. Just remember while you are looking and sticking your fingers in places she would rather you didn’t, shells can be quite sharp and can cut you or her.
If you find any cuts around her cloaca rinse with hydrogen peroxide/ water solution.
Watch for listlessness, dull eyes and signs of fever, infection can come on very quick.
Keep a close eye on her as this can happen again and she will need immediate action to fix the problem.

How to help prevent the hen from laying any more eggs.
If there is a small prolapse gently push it back into the chicken with your fingers.
The chicken should then be put on a maintenance diet of wheat and water and put in a dark cage.
Leave the hen for a week.

However it is important to restrict the chickens diet to maintenance only for possibly a couple of months. This does work !! Alternative to maintenance diet is feeding chickens enough to keep alive, moving and keeping warm, plus enough extra feed to produce eggs.

You may find that by reducing feed it brings on a forced moult.

By reducing intake so the bird has enough to keep alive, moving and warm you are feeding maintenance diet only. The chicken has the best chance of recovery.

[taffy1970]

WoW thanks for all the info, ill check in the morning as she is sleeping now by the radiator in a box, she looks very settled, i did look at the vent and it was contracting, not sure wether this would usually happen??? but thanks everyone xxx

[wendy]

I am afraid their vents do contract a lot of the time. But you should be able to tell that she is pushing, her body will move and I am sure if you feel her you would feel the pushing.

[taffy1970]

No i dont think she is pushing then, tut i hope she will be ok she is a beauty of a hen !