Post by cowgirlup on Mar 3, 2015 10:24:47 GMT -7
I have narrowed it down to being egg bound or something called egg yolk peritonitis. For the first chicken I really thought she just had some internal problem. Her vision was off and you'd occasionally find her by herself sitting and staring off into space. When she died we thought she had some neurological problem. I didn't think she was egg bound because I thought she was one of the ones laying and I couldn't feel an egg stuck anywhere. After she died I realized she wasn't one of the girls laying.
With Bwaack (yes that was her name), I still couldn't feel an egg. I even gloved up and felt around just inside her vent a little which she didn't mind. Her crop seemed OK I gave her some poultry electrolyte solution with a baby med dropper and she drank a good bit of it. I was a little optimistic but she didn't pull through.
One thing I noticed is that both hens had been on an egg laying break and should have been starting to lay when they died.
The first one was when they were all getting back to business after a molt. This time they were coming out of their winter break. 2 of them started laying last Thursday.
She must have had some blockage because I found a little watery poop with fresh blood in it in the cage.
I did a lot of reading yesterday and I found a couple of websites that said the egg could be soft and not have a hard shell so you wouldn't feel it. I found one site that told how to massage her abdomen in that case to help move the egg along. I wish I had found those sooner. Nearly every site that talks about egg bound chickens seems to indicate you can feel the egg inside. So I didn't think that was the problem.
If it was the peritonitis there isn't much you can do for that.
Both times it seemed sudden but there were tiny signs that something was off. For the first chicken she was always the last one in the coop at night. Always waiting until the last minute to go in. The night before she got sick she was the first one on the roost pole. But when I went in she was lively and chatty so I just thought she wanted to claim a good spot for the night.
The night before the second one died I went out to close them up and she was on the roost pole fast asleep. Usually when I go out they are alert in case they think I'm going to grab one of them for some reason. She was out cold. Other chicken were walking over her and she barely stirred. But the next morning she was the first one out the door for breakfast and seemed fine. By the time I checked on them at 3:30 she couldn't even stand up.
I will probably still try to hatch out some chicks if one of the other girls goes broody. But the other two are not the best candidates. One hen is very docile and easy to work with but I'm not sure she will be protective enough. Although she puts the rooster in his place when she's had enough of him.
The other one is a battle axe. She nearly took my face off when I was trying to break her of her broodiness last year. She is the only one that will try to peck you if you handle her. As DH says "Nobody F###s with Norma." You never saw any other chicken try to take her food or yank a feather out of her. Now that Bwaack is gone she is #1 in the pecking order. She would be a good protective mom but hard to work with. I'll need better gloves and a facemask.
With Bwaack (yes that was her name), I still couldn't feel an egg. I even gloved up and felt around just inside her vent a little which she didn't mind. Her crop seemed OK I gave her some poultry electrolyte solution with a baby med dropper and she drank a good bit of it. I was a little optimistic but she didn't pull through.
One thing I noticed is that both hens had been on an egg laying break and should have been starting to lay when they died.
The first one was when they were all getting back to business after a molt. This time they were coming out of their winter break. 2 of them started laying last Thursday.
She must have had some blockage because I found a little watery poop with fresh blood in it in the cage.
I did a lot of reading yesterday and I found a couple of websites that said the egg could be soft and not have a hard shell so you wouldn't feel it. I found one site that told how to massage her abdomen in that case to help move the egg along. I wish I had found those sooner. Nearly every site that talks about egg bound chickens seems to indicate you can feel the egg inside. So I didn't think that was the problem.
If it was the peritonitis there isn't much you can do for that.
Both times it seemed sudden but there were tiny signs that something was off. For the first chicken she was always the last one in the coop at night. Always waiting until the last minute to go in. The night before she got sick she was the first one on the roost pole. But when I went in she was lively and chatty so I just thought she wanted to claim a good spot for the night.
The night before the second one died I went out to close them up and she was on the roost pole fast asleep. Usually when I go out they are alert in case they think I'm going to grab one of them for some reason. She was out cold. Other chicken were walking over her and she barely stirred. But the next morning she was the first one out the door for breakfast and seemed fine. By the time I checked on them at 3:30 she couldn't even stand up.
I will probably still try to hatch out some chicks if one of the other girls goes broody. But the other two are not the best candidates. One hen is very docile and easy to work with but I'm not sure she will be protective enough. Although she puts the rooster in his place when she's had enough of him.
The other one is a battle axe. She nearly took my face off when I was trying to break her of her broodiness last year. She is the only one that will try to peck you if you handle her. As DH says "Nobody F###s with Norma." You never saw any other chicken try to take her food or yank a feather out of her. Now that Bwaack is gone she is #1 in the pecking order. She would be a good protective mom but hard to work with. I'll need better gloves and a facemask.
She's a good sturdy chicken who always lays a perfect egg. She just doesn't want to be handled.
