Which is odd…usually if they get sick they fade fast, but this has gone on for three or four days.
I’ll come into the chicken house and find this one, #2, the smallest of the bunch, squeezed between the water bottle and the wall.
Every other time I’ve seen one hide herself like that, the others had turned on her for some reason. But she’s uninjured, not even missing any feathers. And when I chase her back into the flock they don’t pick on her at all, or chase her away from food.
But she’s hardly eating. She ate some sunflower seeds, but not with the usual single-minded greed of a healthy Brahma. The one time I saw a hen peck at her it was Agnes, and she just wanted #2 to move her ass off a pile of sunflower seeds if she wasn’t going to eat them.
So #2 seems sick, but not as sick as quickly as they usually get. It’s something new to me.
Is she hunched up as well. She could be eggbound which can be quite easily treated.
I’ve heard of that, wibble, but never saw a case. How do you give a chicken an egg enema? Bet you never thought of THAT, Joel, when you agreed to take care of the chickens. 🙂
Well, the internet is a marvelous thing. I found this website with all sorts of interesting advice on raising chickens. http://www.keepingchickensnewsletter.com/site/egg-bound-chicken-symptoms-and-treatment
It says:
A vet will probably be able to help the best, but if you want to try some ‘at home’ methods then you may be able to visually see a bulge, or feel that there is an egg there. If she is still walking about and relatively happy, then giving her some electrolytes will help hydrate and will also give calcium. Apply some lubricant to the area to help the egg exit easier and give her a nice warm area to relax for a while. If she is used to being handled and doesn’t find it too stressful then submerging her bottom area in warm water and gently massaging the area for about 30 minutes may help relax the muscles. An alternative to that would be a warm flannel held over the area. She needs to be kept warm and comfortable.
Maybe she’s getting broody. They act weird when they get the urge to sit on some eggs, and can also stop laying, but that usually happens in the laying box. If there aren’t enough boxes, then she might be just trying to get her own little brooding space.
When I had chickens and I’d get one acting broody, I’d just roust her out of her box every time I went out there. Eventually she’d get over it and get back to normal.
BTW, since I’m here, you mentioned a whilte back having Auracanas. What you actually had/have were/are most likely Ameraucanas or “Easter Eggers”. True Auracanas have no tail, no beards, and big ear tufts. They are very difficult to breed and not likely to be bought just for egg laying.
Mike in KY: It’s funny you should mention that about Auracanas, because just last weekend Landlady said out of the blue she was no longer sure that was what those cock birds were. We were busy with something else and I didn’t pursue the conversation, but wondered since then what she meant.
Here’s another link to a you-tube video on egg bound hen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6EhOuvQWnk
Sorry! I just wanted to post the link! Sigh!
I want to see it! What’s the problem?
So, what happened to the chicken, Joel? Was she egg bound or what? Which method did you use if so?