[basildog]

Oh dear two problems this morning.  One of my hens, Emily, a buff Leghorn, is unwell.  Hunched up with her feathers a bit ruffled, picking at food.  She is also a bit messy around her rear end.  Her droppings are not runny but are softish and and a bit green, perhaps from eating something?  If I am honest she has been a little off colour for a couple of days and I thought she may be agg bound, but she has laid this week.

Also having problems with one of the hens eating eggs and suspect Emily may be the culprit.  Does anyone have any thoughts on how to identify the hen that is eating the eggs and also put a stop to this?

Finally would like to say how very useful this site is.  I am lucky to have a good vet nearby but all a bit hit and miss with hens.

[joyfull]

How old are your hens? When did you last worm them and with what? As for stopping eating the eggs are they eating soft shelled or shell less ones? if so this is perfectly normal - they are trying to remove any evidence of them so predators don't come calling. If they are eating hard shelled eggs (and are you sure it is a hen doing this and not a magpie?) then you can either collect the eggs frequently during the day or invest or make a roll away nest box 

[basildog]

Many thanks for the info.  Half way through worming at the moment, Flubenvet.   They were last wormed 6 or 7 months ago.

Emily is around 4 years old, the others, Cream Legbars and Speckeldys, are much younger, around 2 years. There is also a bantam that lives with them. The eggs they are eating are hard shelled as there is sometimes shell left but occasionally has been a soft egg.  It always seems to be the Speckledy eggs that are eaten.  They are free range for most of the day but I have noticed that the shells this season are not as hard as they should be so have started to give them grit.  Difficult to check on them during the day.  The hen run is in a clearing in a wood, could it be squirrels?

[joyfull]

grit is to help grind their feed in their crop they need oyster shell for the calcium. Cut out all treats and just feed them layers, grit and oyster shell for a few weeks to see if it improves.

[basildog]

Many thanks for the advice.