Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[clucky chicken]

Hi to all you chickeneers out there!

 

Can anyone tell me if I should be worried - one of my girls has been standing statue like and all fluffed up this morning while out free ranging. I've also noticed that she's a bit bald on her chest area, but can't see any feathers anywhere - she seems to be ok otherwise and when I approach her she seems to snap out of it.

 

She crouches like normal when I go near her and seems to be eating and drinking ok, but I'm not sure she's actually laying at the moment, as I only get three eggs each day at the moment, instead of the usual four although I'm not sure who lays which eggs so a little hard to tell who's not laying.

 

Thanks to anyone who can put my mind at rest!!

[tom123]

She does sound a bit under the weather. I would worm all of the flock with Flubenvent and maybe pop some poultry tonic in their water. Also, check the hen over for lice or mites.

 

Hope that helps and she's back to her normal self again soon

[Egluntyne]

Worming her would be my first action.

[Christian]

Same here

[clucky chicken]

Thanks all - I've also noticed that she has a rather large hard crop - am thinking she might be crop bound? I tried turning her upside down and also tried massaging the crop - all to no avail. Also I wormed all the chickens this afternoon just to be on the safe side.

 

I read somewhere that you can give live maggots - how does this work and how many should I give? Do I feed them to her or give straight into the gullet?

 

Will have another look at her in the morning to see if the crop has dispersed any - otherwise I think it might be a trip to the vet!

[Redwing]

Her crop will be full at this time of the day so it may be worth waiting til morning

 

Dont turn her upside down, thats for a case of sour crop not crop bound and could make things worse for your chook

 

A little warm oil (olive, vegetable, sunflower) administered with a syringe then a gentle massage may help rather than the massage on its own