Hi all
I have a poorly chook. Not sure if she is egg bound. She's just standing about all puffed up looking v sorry for herself with tail down.
She did come over when went out to her. She is the most inquisitive of my flock. She is eating though not much.
Brought her in last night to keep her warm. Just given her warm bath and put some oil round her cloaca. She feels very thin. Hardly any weight on her breast so not sure if there is some other problem.
Took her out the water after about 15 mins and wrapped her in a towl and gave her a cuddle for 10 mins. Just put her back in the cage inside the house. She is sorting her feathers and eating a bit.
Any ideas would be great. I don't want to lose her!
Thanks and sorry if there is a lot of waffle!
Poorly Chook. Any ideas please?
It's possible she is egg bound. Is her poop normal? We had one that was pooping yellow (like yolk) and black. We discovered she had a broken egg. She sat around with her tail down and only ate a little. She drank a lot of water though. She is now doing well.
What about her comb and wattles? Are they red or pale? Are her eyes normal or do they look pale or sickly?
Try giving her some oats and see if she eats that. You can also put cayenne pepper in her water. If she is sickly it will help and it can't hurt.
Also does she tend to growl? Sometimes when chickens go broody they look like they are sick because they will hold their tail down and puff up their feathers and sometimes growl when another chicken or human comes near them.
Hope it's nothing serious.
Possibly egg bound not really sure!
Poop looks kinda ok as poop goes! She is only drinking and eating v little. She seems to be more interested in bread than in her normal food. Don't kgive them too much normally but if she's eating it surely that's good!
Comb etc is a little pale. Eyes son't look too bad just a little bewildered with new surroundings. Dogs are being good with her though.
She deffo not broody. Seen that plenty of times she acting v different.
Will try the oats wne I go home for lunch.
Poor little thing she looks v sorry for herself. Thanks for the reply.
She may be egg bound. Keep trying the warm bath, it may help her pass it.
Eating is a good sign. Try whatever you can to keep her eating. Ours wouldn't eat bread but chowed down on the oats and ate a little strawberry.
Thanks so much.
She has eaten some of the oats mixed with a little milk and water. Still doesn't look great though. Will give her another bath this eve. Poor thing!
We gently massage their tummies when they appear egg bound. I was told to use veg oil but we just warmed a towel in the micro 15 sec and held that to her tummy and rubbed gently in circles and gradually worked downward. She laid a healthy sized egg the next morning...larger than usual but in tack and was more active. Anything is worth a try with our ladies... good luck...
That's a good idea jcomy.
Hey people.
She wasn't getting any better. Took her to the vet............... She hasn't come home!
Very sad didn't want to do it but he thinks it was something else. Says she was not egg bound. She had lumps but it wasn't an egg. She had lost lots of weight despite still eating a little. She was just too ill.
Gutted!
RIP Poppet
Thanks for trying to help
Mooky I am so sorry to hear that you lost your little chook...I always get so attached to the base "families" and to lose one would be devastating. We only hoped to help.
Mooky--so sorry for your loss. Could she have been laying internally? I was just reading a book by Stomberg that said it was quite a common disorder. They just gradually fill up internally with shell-less eggs. It was good of you to try to so hard to help her and to do the right thing to end her suffering. Best wishes.
Oh how awful. Poor thing. And I feel so bad for you. That had to be so hard for you to do. So sorry to hear it.
Thanks for kind words all.
Absolutely no idea what the problem with her was.
Still she is no longer suffering.
Thanks again