[lucylou]

good morning!  i was a bit surprised to see my little maran was in her nest box this morning - and i think it was her that was making' ive laid an egg' noises - but there are no eggs and she hasnt laid one for about a month.  she came out of the nest box to free range with the others but since then has been stationary and hunched up under a bush.  i have checked her and there are no signs of anything wrong & her vent looks normal. i thought she was in good health - she was dust bathing etc yesterday. does the need to lay an egg ever make a hen go like this? ( i dont think she is egg bound) - i feel so sorry for her, she is usually so confident vocal and bossy. many thanks,lucylou

[grumpydad]

when they are hunched up there is usually something wrong, its trying to decide what is wrong.
check her crop to see if it is sour or compacted, then work through what it could be, generally off colour for a day is ok, but if it lasts then a trip to the vet for antibiotics may help.

has she been wormed etc, nothing in the coop, lice etc ?

is she sneezing ?

if everything else is ok, then she will need the vets

[beulah59]

A couple of my hens are hunched up against the cold, but are reacting normally to food etc and can still run full pelt down the garden for treats. Another hen hunches up around laying ... she's going into retirement, but occasionally lays a thin shelled egg or a softie ... but the rest of the time is fine. One hen hunched up for a day or two, but I bathed her and massaged her crop and she was fine - she didn't have any kind of temperature. The hen I lost was hunched up for two or three days, still eating and drinking but not much and not moving at all well. She was hot to touch, too.

So keep an eye on her ... check everything you can think of: crop, temperature (feel under her wing), belly (is it tight, can you feel an egg, is it hot), smell her breath, etc etc, but trust your instincts as to whether she needs attention or not.

Hope she's OK soon ...

[lucylou]

thankyou for your replies.  she didnt eat much during the day, had a couple of short episodes of looking a bit better but definately not well. her crop feels normal, although pretty empty tonite - and i did try to feel for an egg and she felt normal in that area also, im just hoping that she is having an off day. i will get her some meal worms tomorro and see how she is. thanks again, lucylou x