[kegs]

Hello
I love the information on this site and would be really grateful for some advice please. 
We have four hybrids which we bought on 20th April.  My favourite, the Rhode Rock, went in to the nest box to lay this morning and poohed in the box instead of laying.  She moved into the other box and two of the other chickens joined her, wouldn’t leave her alone and kept attempting to sit on top of her.  They also seemed intent on inspecting her rear end.  This behaviour seemed to calm down after a while and they eventually left her alone.  She proceeded to pooh again with what looked like runny yolk in it.  After searching this site I took her indoors for a bath. She stayed in the water for about 20mins and after taking her out of the water I put a towel over her head and put some Vaseline on her rear end.  When I finally stopped shaking, she produced an egg and I fainted  .  I dried her with the hair dryer and hoped for an immediate recovery which didn’t materialise.  For the rest of today she’s been listless, and lethargic.  She has gone to the water but not the layers pellets and I’ve cleared up some pooh from the garden which I think has yolk in it (not 100% sure).  I don’t know what else to do as we haven’t got a poultry vet nearby or any chicken experts.  To be honest this is really putting me off chicken keeping because we lost our Coucou chicken in the first week when she prolapsed and bled so badly that my hubby had to ‘do the deed’, our Hipswell Sussex has started laying soft eggs every other night which they are all eating (I’m going to buy some limestone flour) and now my favourite chicken is ill (and we’ve only had them for 44 days!).  Please tell me what I’m doing wrong? 

[joyfull]

I think you do need to get a vet as she probably needs some antibiotics before an internal infection sets in.

[joyfull]

where abouts in the country/world are you?

[PaulineM]

Hi
I'm no expert but perhaps you are doing nothing wrong, maybe your hens are not as healthy because of where you got them from  
It sounds like you will need expert help on the one that is having the most problems but I'm sure the experts will be along soon to help you.  
Do your girls free range? Are they eating enough of their layer pellets? Are their pellets good quality? Do they have access to grit and oyster shell at all times? Stop giving them any treats so they have to eat their layer pellets and see if there is any improvement.
Good luck  

[kegs]

Hi
We live in Bedfordshire.

We let them out into the garden in the morning and they go in at night.  They have Organic Layers Pellets available all day, fresh water, grit and oyster shell available, a small handful of corn late in the day and only the odd treat.  We bought them from a reputable Garden/Poultry Centre who say that they have the correct inoculations. Is there anything that I should be doing?

Thank you for the speedy replies.

[joyfull]

not sure where in Bedfordshire you are but there is a poultry friendly vet at Biggleswade:-

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=26140.0

[rachelr]

please dont get stressed some times it is just unfortunate that they bring diseases with them.

44 days would seem like it is not you but the person you got them from.

i had 12 day old chicks and after two weeks only had 5 left. I know i did nothing wrong so it had to be where they came from.

keep your chin up. Thinking of you

[kegs]

Thanks everyone.

Joyfull - that Vet is 35 miles away from us unfortunately.

Our Rhode does seem a bit perkier this morning and has even been eating but I'm still finding pooh with egg yellow in it.  So 2 questions in particular to any experts reading this: could this be from one of the other chickens because they are eating the soft shelled egg in the night (I've found another soft shell in the coop this morning)?  And is it possible for the Rhode to pass egg yolk with no shell but then a couple of hours later lay a perfect egg?
Thanks for your help.

[joyfull]

yes they can lay a soft shelled egg and then a perfect one a few hours later - soft shelled eggs take ages to be laid as there is nothing to push along inside the hen whereas a normal shelled egg  has the shell for the muscles to work on.
Chickens eating soft shelled eggs is perfectly normal but it then doesn't show up in their pooh.
Why not contact the garden centre where you got them from as to the locality of the vets they use?
You really do need a vet for things like antibiotics etc just like you do for a dog or cat. When chickens show signs of being unwell they are often very ill as they mask the signs of illness very well for as long as possible.

[kimmcb]

My three have been known to eat the shells of soft eggs - it all depends when they layed it and how long they had with it before I opened up the hen house in the morning. I've found all three before with bits of soft shell hanging out of their beaks and a faintly guilty look on their faces!