4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[clucky chicken]

Hi - can anyone give me any advice please - we put Polly out to free range today with her friends - but I just went down to check on them a few minutes ago and she is looking very sorry for herself.

She is hunched, tail feathers down and looking very sad. I have brought her indoors now and she seems to be sitting down a lot, no eating either - do you think she has a cold or something?

Have checked her vent which seems to be very watery, and she just passed- what I can only describe as a very watery poo .... what should I do?

[Egluntyne]

Keep her warm and encourage her to drink. Sounds as if she might be trying to pass a soft egg.

[clucky chicken]

Hello again all - Polly has just passed a softie - and seems fine again now - she came out of the cat box we had her in and demanded to go back out with the others. Is there something else I should do? All the chickens get a varied diet of layers pellets, corn and a few greens each day - should I just keep an eye on her now and is it ok to put her back in the run with the others?

[Egluntyne]

I'd put her back with the others and just observe her.

 

A calcium supplement might be a good idea of it happens again.

[clucky chicken]

Oh dear - is it catching - now Maud is displaying the same symptoms - have I done something wrong? I'm so worried now - I'm relatively new to chicken keeping and never come across this before.......

Please help - I feel so guilty!

[Egluntyne]

It isn't usually catching. Don't worry. It is a fairly common event.

 

Perhaps a calcium supplement would be a good idea anyway.

[clucky chicken]

Thank you all of you for your advice, what would I do without you!

Maud also laid a softie - so think I might have to get some calcium supplement - and maybe stop feeding them treats and let them eat just the pellets instead.

 

Just one other question though, If it's a calcium deficiency - what is the grit that we give them every day for? I thought that grit was supposed to help with the shells - do you think it could be because they've been eating too many treats and they've been hanging out for these each day?

 

Thanks again to all of you!

[Chook n Boo Mum]

The grit, if it is just flint, is to grind the chooks food in their gizzards as they don't have teeth to break the food up as they eat.......if it contains oyster shell that is soluble & aids the shell density.

 

I found that my girls pop out softies sometimes, so add limestone flour to their food.........if this doesn't cure the problem, then adding some cod liver oil to the mix has worked

 

You can also buy a calcium supplement which is added to the water...zol-cal?? Egluntyne knows it's name

 

Strip their diet back to the essentials...pellets & greens if they don't have access to grass, this often helps. I found with my gannets that they view a bowl of pellets, soaked with warm water & limestone flour/garlic powder/cod liver oil/poultry spice or whatever the chosen supplements of the moment are, as a a treat.........occasionally I added a handful of corn, sultanas, dried mealworms but not all the time. This is a good thing to give them in the winter at tea time (hour before bed) as they fill up & stay warm in the long, cold night.......my minxes came & knocked for theirs last winter

 

Good luck ,

 

Sha x

[Egluntyne]

Zolcal D.

 

Keeping them in the run for a few days , so that they eat up their pellets is a good idea too.

[Jools]

When I had a couple of hybrids, I found they had a tendency to lay softies at this time of year too. Maybe they use more of the goodness in their food for themselves once the weather turns? Or of course, it could just have been a coincidence lol.