Hen Experts - please help !

[Bestdogdash]

Hello my avian loving friends !

My hitherto very healthy Buff Orpington is in a bad way.

Yesterday, she went off to lay her egg as usual. She settled on the nest and then simply didn't move all day. Having referred to my Chicken Bible I concluded that she was probably egg bound (although there was no walking about looking uncomfortable, she simply didn't move and was straining). I tried gentle steaming, luberication with olive oil etc. I moved her away from the other girls, into a quite stable under a heatlamp. All night she didn't move or change position. I got her into the vet first thing. When I picked her up to take her. I saw she had laid an egg, but there was no change to her behaviour so took her to vet anyway. She (hen, not vet) had a huge amount of dung compacted inside (she hadnt passed any droppings) which the vet excavated (that was worth the £30!) and gave her a shot of calcium. I replaced her in the quite warm place when we got back, but she hasn't perked up at all. She isn't eating or drinking anything. Any experience of anything like this ? Anything else I can do for her ?

Any suggestions gratefully received

 

[Clodagh]

Did the vet feel that they got all the compaction out? Chickens 'bits' are really very badly designed. I would make sure she is hydrated, you can use a dropper or syringe to get some tepid water in her if she isn't drinking. As it would be best if she stopped laying keep her in a dim area and feed low protein food. Perhaps syringe some oil down her aswell to give everything a grease up. Mealworms are yummy (to hens) asnd pretty well pure fat, perhaps a meal worm soup if you can stand it? You can use dried ones, they don't have to wriggle. They like sweetcorn as well, maybe sloppy mashed sweetcorn. (Make sure no salt).

Make sure you syringe liquids very slowly as otherwise it goes into their lungs.

 

[touchstone]

She hasn't just gone broody has she? Ours will sit like statues when they do and they frequently 'bottle up' droppings and just do the odd humungous one now and again. They do still eat and drink if it's provided though usually.

 

[NeverSayNever]

i was gonna say - is she not just broody mine dont eat or drink when they are, silly birds. I always kick them out of the nest box into the run so they find a drink and peck at some food. If I didnt theyd stay put for days!

 

[Bestdogdash]

Hi All

Never thought about broody as she only laid one egg ? But all sounds like it is possible. She is making a 'crooner' sort of noise if I go near her - like a hen Frank Sinatra? Does that sound like a broody hen ? Sorry - but I am new at all this ! Never expected to love the hens so much though.

 

[Bestdogdash]

Did the vet feel that they got all the compaction out? Chickens 'bits' are really very badly designed. I would make sure she is hydrated, you can use a dropper or syringe to get some tepid water in her if she isn't drinking. As it would be best if she stopped laying keep her in a dim area and feed low protein food. Perhaps syringe some oil down her aswell to give everything a grease up. Mealworms are yummy (to hens) asnd pretty well pure fat, perhaps a meal worm soup if you can stand it? You can use dried ones, they don't have to wriggle. They like sweetcorn as well, maybe sloppy mashed sweetcorn. (Make sure no salt).

Make sure you syringe liquids very slowly as otherwise it goes into their lungs.

Tried mealworms - she would normally walk over hot coals for them - but not interested. She is attacking the syringe !

 

[Bestdogdash]

Just tried taking off the bed of straw and I can't get her to even stand, so thinking broody is not the answer as presumably I could chase her away ...

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

Sounds like she is broody, the 'clock, clock, clock' noise is typical, as is the sprawling like a pancake, ignoring food and doing one huge stinky Broody pooh each day. Either get some fertile eggs for her to sit on or lock her out of the nest box. Or pop her into a puppy crate put up onto bricks to cool her down.

 

[YasandCrystal]

sounds like a broody hen to me. Everything including pooping slows down when they go broody and once they have hatched their brood and start moving and eating again - boy does their poop stink pungent where they have been so inactive - really really rank and lots of it!

 

[touchstone]

Hi All

Never thought about broody as she only laid one egg ? But all sounds like it is possible. She is making a 'crooner' sort of noise if I go near her - like a hen Frank Sinatra? Does that sound like a broody hen ? Sorry - but I am new at all this ! Never expected to love the hens so much though.

Yep she sounds like a broody to me - mine will sit with no eggs at all under them.

 

[Clodagh]

I don't think it is broody as although they clog up poos they do then do them when they stand up. If you pick her up and waft her up and down a few times then drop her from sort of waist height if she is broody she will come too a bit. Make sure it is a soft landing in case she isn't though!

 

[Bestdogdash]

Thanks so much everyone. Turns out she was indeed broody. I have been turfing her out every hour for the past couple of days, and she seems back to normal.

Feel such a fool - I really thought she was about to peg it !

One more beginners question - the vet did give her a calcium shot, how long before we can eat her eggs again?

 

[Alexart]

When I kept orps they were always going broody and some would rather fowl the nest box than get up - no pun intended! So poop stuck to their bum was not uncommon, the do make good broodies, aren't the best layers but are useful with any type of birds, I used mine for turkeys and ducklings!!
The calcium shot I wouldn't have thought would have an egg withold - asl your vet if in doubt!

 

[millimoo]

For Broody hens, as a previous poster said, we use a dog crate propped off the floor so its the wire bottom they stand on.
They are kept alone in our feed room with corn and water. Usually takes 2-3 days to get rid of the broodiness. We call it the sin bin

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

For Broody hens, as a previous poster said, we use a dog crate propped off the floor so its the wire bottom they stand on.
They are kept alone in our feed room with corn and water. Usually takes 2-3 days to get rid of the broodiness. We call it the sin bin

Yup, good idea. I've heard of putting a hen on a marble slab to sit on when she's broody; the idea being to give them a cold bum to get them out of it. So anything which is basically cold underneath, which is why the dog crate would work, get air & cold under neath!

 

[Jobi-Wan Kenobi]

If it's just a calcium jab you should be fine to eat the eggs now.