Trefoilhens Posted May 29, 2008 Share Posted May 29, 2008 My gingernut had not laid an egg since February when she started to moult. I found at that time a strange rubbery deposit in the eglu. This last week I found more of this kind of deposit but with yellow watery poo. She had seemed better this week but this evening she greeted me in her usual way but was 'fluffed' up, and 3 minutes later I found her dead. As I picked her up she was omitting a rather nasty smell and her feathers on her undercarriage were caked in the yellow substance. Will my other hens catchanything from her? Does anyone know what has caused this? Before her moult we had a few shelless eggs . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzy Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 What a sad story but that sounds like peritinitus to me I am sad to say. Was she an old lady? The strange rubbery thing in the igloo was the soft egg shell I think and the yellow substance was egg yolk. You need to act very quickly in a situation like this because sadly the outcome will be death to the hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Poor girl. What a shame. Sounds as if something had gone drastically wrong with her egg laying apparatus, and that an infection had overwhelmed her, re the smell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Tilytinkle Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Hi, So sorry to read your tragic news. Thank you for sharing the symptoms, may i ask further about the smell. As oddly one of mine this morning had the most powerful smell, ive never smelt it before its as if she was surrounded by the smell .as she ran past ( the great escape) i thought wow what on earth is that smell, i thought it was the run, wet hemcore or something but it was this single chicken. She is laying okay & eating okay ... but have noticed sometimes there is an odd strong smell in the nesting box even though its checked daily & cleaned weekly. I thought it was with all of the awful weather . But naturally the symptoms are telling us something is wrong . .its just understanding them. Is the smell something to be cautious about, i will watch her carefully but am working today so wont be able to watch all day continuously. Is there anything i should be doing to check her over further. any thoughts most welcome, don't mean to hijack your thread . .it just may be linked & you sharing the info may prevent something that i was unaware of until now. Thoughts are with you Ms Tilyschickenswillnotbefreerangingtodayduetotheirnaughtyadventuresyesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 so sad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surferdog Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 So sorry to hear about your poor girl Mrs T - one of mine had a nasty smell when she had her brief broody smell. Absolutely vile - made me gag and then had to go and shower and change as was convinced I could still smell it It was gone next morning though so no idea what it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lydia Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Hello Trefoilhens Sorry to hear about your hen. My Gingernut went the same way - didn't lay all winter, then laid lots of "lash" (that was probably what the rubbery things were - more info here), then the yellow stuff. Sadly we weren't quick enough to recognise the symptoms and she died. She was just over 2. My Pepperpot nearly went the same way and I remember she had the most appalling smell, but we caught it quickly and she was treated successfully with antibiotics. It's very sad but, honestly, hens can go down very quickly. I would say if your other hen seems fine, she's probably not at risk. However, if she starts fluffing up, or just standing around or looking off, get her to a vet. Mrs Tily, no idea about the smell - when any of mine have smelt, they're very definitely ill looking, not running around. I would say keep an eye on her and take action if necessary. If she's running around, she's probably ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trefoilhens Posted May 31, 2008 Author Share Posted May 31, 2008 Thank you all for your responses. I will be replacing the hen today as my other hen misses her to the point she is not eating and is spending her time looking for her friend. I spent yesterday srubbing and disinfecting the eglu and run, just in case. (The dead hen was 2 years old). Regarding the smell- I only noticed it the day before the hen died. a sweet, prutride (similar to a rotton egg) smell. To be honest she only looked and behaved unwell the day she died, still was able to make the effort to greet me when I came home from work!!! Thank you all again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
