I don't know what to do with her. She get's these spells, and just puffs up, hangs over the water, doesn't move, and I noticed this afternoon that her comb had shrunk since this morning. The last time she acted like this a few weeks ago, I was holding her in my arms, and talking to my dh about taking her to the vet. Then she laid 2 shelless eggs, while I was still holding her, lol. After a little bit she started feeling better, thus cancelling the trip to the vet. But I had never noticed before that when this happens, her comb shrinks.
All advice will be appreciated. And even though it is below zero, they are in a very warm place.
Claire is sick again
I wonder if she is egg bound? How does her abdomen feel?
My abdomen feels fine thanks. :-)
I think the shrunken comb might be a sign of dehydration, if she is not drinking. I wonder if you can gently put your little finger in her egg duct to see if there is any blockage or anything that feels like a stuck egg. I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not. It just is something I might do. They do say that feeding some olive oil helps them with digestion, but not sure about the pushing of eggs.
Claire
I'll check that, because the last time she acted like that, she laid 2 shelless eggs, even though she had laid a big one in the morning. How do I tell if her abdomen is ok? And is that why her comb shrinks, that most of her blood supply is going to her eggs?
How is Claire doing?
She's doing much better now. She just laid the biggest egg, I've ever seen. It took her 4 hours, and she was panting, and both her comb and wattles were shrunken and pale. She's now eating salad, and running around. I don't know what to do about her laying such big eggs. It was about 3 times the size of a normal large egg. It would be like me giving birth to a 10 year old. She's recovering nicely. If it had come out of me, I would be in bed for a week.
I'm so glad to hear she's doing better. She has such a great name. :-)
I'm not sure what to suggest about the eggs. Poor girl, it must be quite painful for her. Sometimes when my hens begin laying again in February/March, I see a little blood on some of the eggshells and I wonder if it's because they are re-stretching their egg passage and get sort of egg hemorrhoids?
Poor thing, she lays a slightly bigger than large egg every day. But some days she just goes beserk, and lays these really big ones, and sometimes a large shelless one later in the day. I think her hormones have run amuck. I felt so sorry for her. If it had been me, I would have been in the emergency room, screaming for morphine. She's a big chicken, a New Hampshire Red, but still quite young. She eats the exact same thing as our other chicken, who lays a normal large egg every day, and they were from the same brood.
I do think all her "spells" are caused by her erratic laying.
I guess there are just physiological limits to how large an egg a chicken should lay....
I agree. I just don't know how to make her lay smaller eggs.
Since chickens have been bred and selected for their ability to lay large eggs it only makes sense that once in a while one comes along that lays too large eggs. You seem to have that one. Perhaps with time she will get better at it.
Tell her that over-achiever hens have short lives. :-)