broody, ill or egg bound????

[tlck9]

Hiya me again

I was getting 3 eggs a day from my new chucks. omlet, who I reported seemed to be a bit down the other day, picked up next day

However my other one, souffle has been "down" for a couple of days now. She is still running out when I first open the hatch, but if we visit later in the day she is inside perching.

She seems off colour, but her comb is red, but she hasnt layed for a 3 days now. On Sunday she came out as normal so I though she was just fed up with the rain, but I gave her some water and she came out to eat.

Yesterday she seemed better but still quiet

We've gone down to 1/2 eggs a day now, so the others arent doing their normal 2 eggs

today she seems to have a yellow poo stain (piccy attached)


I spoke with the breeder today who said she could be egg bound, but just said check her for a lump there and if not consult a vet.... I'm going to search this on the forum to get some feedback on this subject but if anyone has any suggestions

I dont want to be over protective of them but I dont want them poorly

I've also attached some poo (as promised) what a promise eh?
trouble is I dont know which one this is from
Now I need to get a better picture as this looks red in the left side, but the only red bit was on the right side of the poop...lovely subject

[Nicos]

yikes..no idea- but... red=blood =??tear/cut ??
yellow= yolk or infection????

Is this the gal who has just started laying???

[Snadger]

They aren't piccies..............they're murals!

[tlck9]

I've been up again, she is still sitting perching in the ark, I've checked around her, checked her bum and she is clean. she is a little runny on the poop side, but some of it is firm, perhaps a little green if anything, certainly no blood or red in this one

she still seems a bit off coloour, but not sure if I should take her to the vets, or leave her be for a couple more days, I dont know if the weather effects hens but we've had lots of rain lately and a storm (although it has rained since we've had them all and they started to lay

She has only been laying for around two weeks since we got her, so yes a new layer

[RichmondHens]

Leave her be and see what comes out over the next day or so. Try not to feed any treats - if she is just on pellets you can expect no unusual colours/shapes coming out the other end.

[tlck9]

Leave her be and see what comes out over the next day or so. Try not to feed any treats - if she is just on pellets you can expect no unusual colours/shapes coming out the other end.

I think this is sound advice, she is drinking and eating a little, I will just keep an eye on her and see what the next couple of days brings

in this bad weather there is not telling that she just hasnt caught a chill or something

thanks again

[tlck9]

checking the poop this morning, no red bits (other than corn that is working through their system), bur souffle is still looking out of sorts

I checked for mites and when I cleaned I used a puffer spray in the house just in case


two of them arent perching? they seem to be bedding down cuddles together at the side of the nesting box? but not in it - is this normal behaviour

[lettucegrow!]

Mine get those reddish bits every now and then and they are fit and well but constant runny poo would need watching. As to the cuddling and not perching mine have always done that, admittedly in the nest box but I've come to the conclusion hens will do what they want maybe for no reason at all- they haven't read the books!!

[tlck9]

Okay still nothing from souffle, getting a little worried now:

its been 9 days and no eggs....from her. Her poop seems better apart form the odd runny one, which lokoing at some fo the others seems about right, as they are on grass, layers pellets and the odd corn treat, but in most I have stopped feeding anything green, or vegetable till I got them laying

I massaged her and cleaned her bottom area, she seemed quite happy from around Thursday last week, so I did expect her to start again

She is being her normal self, running scared and being just a little scatty.....while she was off colour, she would just let you pick her up

I've been told to get Nub lime for her, cod liver oil and to put a bit of garlic powder in her water.

She seems free from mites or anything, athough does seem to clean her feather more than the others

I've bathed her today back at the house and let her have some time in the kitchen while she got dry, gain gae her a massage, cant feel any lumps or eggs stuck and she's so small I'm sure I could tell

Anything else anyone can recommend? she was laying for about a weekbefore she stopped and seems quite alert now

Someone did add though, how can I tell she isnt laying? well she is the only one to lay white eggs, but then they told me that she could lay brown?????? I thought white earlobes meant white eggs, surely a chuck cant change the colour of the eggs

[Ashbylife]

When ours first started laying it was very common for them to suddenly become hunched up and have a few days of not doing much, not eating, not laying and spending lots of time up in the ark. Seems like laying can take quite a strain on them in the early days We always used to give ours a bit of warm, sloppy, mash with poultry spice in to to ensure that they were getting something into them and they'd then come out of it in a few days (you may need to shut the others out while she has time to become tempted and eat). Also the colour of eggs ours lay does vary a bit - they are marans so always brown eggs, but it can vary from very pale to the lovely deep brown that you'd expect and with or without spots. Hope she perks up.

[tlck9]

HI Ashbylife, dont suppose you live near cambrian way do you?

[TPeers]

It's a little difficult to tell by looking at your hens behind.... is she white all over as in leghorn/leghorn cross or does she show grey hackles at the neck, i.e. sussex or sussex cross?

If she is a leghorn, all white inc ear flaps with the only colour being her comb then yes, I would expect white eggs but if she is a hybrid it all becomes less clear.... she might present as a leghorn type but have sufficient mixed breeding to lay a tinted egg.

I have a speckeldy who lays a plain tinted - she should lay a brown with dark colour spots - it is all down to who did what, to whom, when and unto the umpty umpth generation.

As to 'she's not laying' - she is young, it can take a while for the egg factory to get going. You have already noted that she has had a time under the weather - like any human, it takes time to recover from being ill.

Hens rarely show if they are unwell, for any symptoms to show she would have been quite ill - your prompt treatment has probably helped and she will make a good recovery but you need to give her time.

Add some extra calcium to her diet - hens need an amazing amount, think of all those egg shells!

[tlck9]

I suspect I am being over protective of my new little babies!!!

But as you said they dont show being ill, and when your new, its difficult to know what to do for the best....

to be honest if she didnt lay again, I would not mind, but I would want to ensure she was okay!

she was originally laying white eggs, and only getting 2 brown and 1 white egg a day, we then went to 2 eggs a day out of the 4 chucks and now we're back to 3 again

so I though I'd best check if they can suddenly change the colour of the eggs they are laying, in case its one of the other ones thats not laying and never has and my little souffle has just chosen to start laying brown eggs

[TPeers]

While egg colour can slowly fade as hens age there should never be a radical colour change such as white to brown. So since you are not getting white eggs I would assume she is a leghorn or leghorn cross, should lay white eggs and is currently not laying.

As to why...... see all the above!

As long as she is eating well, drinking well, interested in scratching around and not being picked on by the others that I would assume she is ok, hens can go off lay for the most trivial of reasons - a thunderstorm, the cat looked at her... anything really!

[tlck9]

Thanks Tpeers

She is eating, drinking and being a normal chicken, just without the eggs

so I will see how she goes...


Any ideas on where to get:

Cod liver oil, liquid form,
Nub Lime????no one seems to know what this is