Single hen

[Griffin]

I noticed this afternoon that Valerie was holding one of her wings oddly. She had it held slightly outwards and hanging down. She was very good and let me poke and prod it about, she has a full range of movement in it, no sign of any injury and she didn't seem in pain. As soon as I put her back down on the ground she stuck the wing out again. Do chickens suffer from muscle strains? Or is there something more sinister going on?

 

The reason I'm so worried is that she's been laying weird eggs. I started this thread a few weeks ago http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=40306 and it's definitely her laying these eggs. She's back on the A&P pellets and while the eggs are now whole again they still have a rough sandpapery end to them and they now have a white coating.

 

Something is not right but I don't know what it is

[Plum]

Hi, I'm not sure about holding her wing out. I think it is a symptom of a specific disease if you contact Egluntine or Claret they will know. The eggs may go with that.

I have just had a run of eggs like yours and wormed them and put them on limestone flour and codliver oil and they are back to normal.

I'll have a look for you.

[Plum]

The one I was thinking of was Newcastle Disease but I'll contact Claret for you.

[The Dogmother]

Thanks for the call Plum.

 

A drooping wing is a fairly common sign of a poorly chicken; sometimes they use it to steady themselves if they are unsure on their feet. Or it can be a symptom of a couple of poultry diseases, or sometimes they are just too weak to keep their wings in place.

 

Odd eggs can be the symptom of an underlying disease, and infections like Mycoplasma can affect egg quality and production. But it can jsut as easily mean that they just have wonky egg tackle. How old is she?

 

Not easy to judge what is wrong with your girl without examining her, but can you list the symptoms?

 

Comb colour, crop full or empty, lice, diarrhoea, unsteady on legs, not eating.

 

All you can do at this stage is to treat the symptoms; bring her in where you can keep an eye on her and keep her warm. Isolation of a sick bird is always good, but TBH if she had anything communicable, she'd have given it to the others by now.

 

Make sure that she is hydrated, syringe feeding if necessary and try to get some food down her.

 

Can you get back to us in the morning and let us know how she is and what symptoms she has?

 

Fingers crossed

[Griffin]

Wing back to normal today thankfully. Eggs still not right. She seems fine in herself, eating well, hasn't lost weight, normal poo, no lice/mites/worms, isn't snuffly, still looks a picture of health really.

 

She's about a year old, I bought her as POL from Cotswold Chickens last August which would make her birthday fall around March.

 

I'm watching her like a hawk!

[The Dogmother]

Hmm, may end up being one of those unexplained things that you never get to the bottom of.

 

Most flocks have a few diseases hovering in the background and they only really show any symptoms when a hen is under the weather and it surfaces. Hopefully she will shake it off.

 

Some hens never lay 'proper' eggs - I had one like that.

 

Good to hear that you're watchful; knowing your flock is half the battle.

[Plum]

Glad to hear her wing is back to normal.