Advice please

[HilierWard]

hi all

Does anyone know what is wrong if they are pulsing their vent continuously.

This morning Texas was doing that. She lays daily - Ive seen her poo today and that is fine, her vent was looking perfectly normal. but Texas started doing it this morning and she is still doing it this lunchtime.

[KarenE]

Is she looking quite miserable as well - standing about a lot, tail down, hunched? It could be a sign that she has an egg she is struggling to lay, usually sign of a softie. If you think it's this, try giving her a belly bath - warm water, and make sure her belly and vent is covered, and try and keep her in it for as long as you can. The warmth helps the muscles relax and help her pass the egg, perhaps overnight. If you can't get her in a bath, try a warm hot water bottle in a nestbox. Usually with softies their poos go runny though.

Alternatively - is she breathing harder than usual? I've noticed mine sometimes look like their vents are pulsing when they've been breathing harder and are sitting down, esp when they have a respiratory infection.

[HilierWard]

thanks Karen

She has laid today - and that egg was perfect, as usual.

She isn't standing still, she is active, her tail is up and she is behaving as normal including pecking the others. The only thing I can say is, she is not tearing the grass out with gusto - still eating it/treats/pellets and everything else.

[KarenE]

Might be nothing. Might still be a softie in the works today after she'd laid. See what she's like tomorrow, and keep an eye out for her breathing as well in case it's that.

Interestingly enough, after I'd posted to you about the softie, one of mine started squatting down and looking very uncomfortable, then popped out a softie after a fair bit of straining! Possibly she'd read my post

What's her poo like? Has she been wormed recently?

[HilierWard]

As it happened, it was nothing - nothing at all! Right as rain the next day!

Interesting - I noticed green tinged poo around abit. Flew into a major panic, fraught with worry!

BF suggested stopping giving them blueberries - hey presto the funny looking poo disappeared!

Such a roller coaster of emotions.

[KarenE]

Good to hear she's okay

It's possible she did lay a softie somewhere and it was eaten. Sometimes I think there's going to be a softie laid overnight if one of my girls is looking a bit off colour, and then often there's a smidge of damp on their straw and if I'm really lucky, a tell-tale whisper of yolk on a beak (or on their feathers more like!)

Or perhaps they just like keeping us on our toes. That's probably what it is!