Matilda poorly

[new2chooks]

Matilda our almost year old sablepoot has been on her nest for what seems like hours today. I think that she is too young to be broody & seems to be straining to lay her egg. She lay two days ago with no problem as far as I know that is. The other girls have been sitting with her for support. Her comb isn't as bright as normal, but isn'tpale either.

Our girls free range in the garden & have an organic diet of layers pellets supplemented with their night time treat of some corn. My son has fed them some fruit bread yesterday which they absolutely adore. The other girls are ok & showing none of the signs that Matilda is.

I'm not sure if she is egg bound. Suggestions would be welcome.

One concerned Mummy.

[Annie]

My silkies went broody in their 1 st year but they are known to be a broody breed are sablepoots, I dont know about this breed.
If you think it is a troublesome egg she is trying to pass then the best way of helping her would be to give her a warm belly bath, that is to relax her muscles and her her pass the egg. Some hens don't take to that at all so another thing to try is a warm hot water bottle wrapped in a towel for her to sit on , does the same thing relaxes the muscles.
Make sure if you try the warm water treatment thatshe is thoroughly dry before putting her back out again, use a cool set on the hairdryer and keep at a distance from her (now most hens do enjoy this).
Even if the girls love fruit bread I would steer clear as a treat as all breads are quite difficult for birds to disgest, they do love a few sultanas though , maybe for a change?

[new2chooks]

Thank you for your reply.

I checked Matilda a little later only to discover her sitting on the day's egg collection! I was able to remover her & the eggs from the nest only to find a little while later, Henny one of our Millefleur pekins doing the same! I think we have a distinct case of broody hens. The straining seemed to stop.
We remove the eggs as soon as we can & hopefully this will help. A friend of mine is coming over in the next few days to show me what to do in the event of a stuck egg - ouch! Will keep you posted.

[Skeksis]

Glad it's sorted. X

Please don't feed bread pasta doughnuts (believe me some do) cake or anything like that to your hens. They are all pigs and will love it but it is just so so bad for them and you will end up with health problems believe me I have got the T Shirt.

I don't give mixed corn either as its hard for them to digest and sometimes stays unhealthily in the gizzard for days and can cause blockages. Only exception is a very small handful at bedtime in very very cold weather.

I give good quality pellets, tinned tomatoes once a week to keep the crop nicely acid, a very small quantity of fresh greens and sometimes a little fruit. This is all my hens get on a regular basis apart from the odd pouch of fish cat food for a protein boost. It's all they need and they will thrive on it xx

Just my opinion obviously but I find it works.

HTH