First egg laid but hen not happy

have you examined her botty for any tiny tears Paul ? 

Sometimes the first egg can throw them a bit, see how she is tommorrow. Did the egg have a normal shell?

Hello Paulclifton, it does sounds like she may be a bit chesty, there seems to be a lot of it around at the mo. When a pullet comes into lay it can put their immune system under strain so she may have had an infection brewing. Have a close listen to a "well" chicken,   observe her beak opening and closing slightly? Does it look like they are panting? pop the bird close to your ear, can you any crackling, wheezing?Check her abdomen ad compare to the other birds, is it the same? Or does it feel tighter or fuller?

By your description it sounds like a chest infection and a course of antibiotics  from the vet asap should sort her out, and wont be to expensive £20 -£30. Give the house a thourough clean with disinfectant and replace bedding so its nice and dry. Applc cider vinegar in the water 25ml per litre will help too. Good luck!

Thanks for all your replies, but in the imortal words of 'Allo 'Allo "we 'ave a dead hen"
Daisey, my daughters chicken, died last night ready for her birthday today!

So my new question is, what do people do with their dead chickens?