[newChickenMummy]

My little honey is poorly, she wouldn't come out of the coop this morning so I opened the side door and she jumped down but fell over and could hardly stand. She won't eat or drink anything apart from a few grains of wheat, I tried giving her some bio yogurt but she won't eat it.

I've separated her and she's just sitting there still, her eyes look fine, her crop feels fine (i think, it feels like a beanbag is this right?), I can't feel an egg stuck but not really sure how that feels anyway. Her vent looks ok but around it her feathers are quite dirty.

She's just started laying last week but no eggs from her for the last couple of days, she's about 27-28 weeks.

I just don't know what to do, I don't drive and my husband it working further afield today and I've been unable to get hold of him or I would take her straight to the vet.

Any ideas? 

[joyfull]

If she is new to laying she might be about to lay a soft shelled egg and this can sometimes take it out of the hen leaving them all out of sorts. If you do a search on here for soft shell you should be able to find out the best way to treat her. Sorry I have only ever had one hen lay a couple of soft shells which I found under her perch so not able to give you any practicle advice. Do your girls have free access to oyster shell or crushed baked egg shells? In the meantime just keep a close eye on her to see if any other symptoms arise. Joyxx

[newChickenMummy]

They all have access to grit and oyster shell. She took a little bio yogurt a little while ago but is still just laying there. She won't drink anything however and hasn't pooed since she got up this morning but thats probably because she hasn't really eaten.

I just felt her crop again and it does feel quite hard to the right like a golf ball size but not sure what it should feel like normally?   I massaged it a bit which she seemed to like and have put a little olive oil in the yogurt but she hasn't eaten any more. Could it be an impacted crop? I did give them a little bit of bread the other day which I've never given them before  

I have to go to work this afternoon, will it be ok to leave her on her own in the shed do you think? I didn't want to put her back in the with others as they are so boisterous and were trying to eat the yogurt I took in for her, also in case she has something they could catch.

Oh I forgot to say we've had an infestation of red mite but there only seems to be a few in there when I check the coop each morning and we've been cleaning it out each day. I checked her and she doesn't have any on her. Also they've all recently been wormed with flubenvet.

[Aunt Sally]

She could have a bunged up crop newChickenMummy.  If she's not eaten today her crop should be flat not golf ball sized. 

If you can drip a bit of olive oil into her mouth so that she swollows it (about a teaspoon full altogether then give har crop a gentle massage until it feels softer it the contents might then be able to pass on down. 

Leave her on her own when you go to work to ensure she doesn't get bullied.

[newChickenMummy]

Well she's a lot better  I gave her some bio yogurt with olive oil in it and kept massaging her crop which seems to have gone down a bit and her insides starting sort of gurgling so hopefully its shifting. She made a noise to be let out of the shed and although she's still a bit slow she's walking ok and scratching around in the garden with the others. She's even drinking again 

It must have been that bread I gave them on Saturday, I've never given them it before and won't again 

The other girls finished off the rest of her yogurt and now have it all over their combs and faces, greedy things!

What a way to spend a morning, massaging a chicken!! 

[Aunt Sally]

 

All good fun