Lara and Frey Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Beetroot just laid her first egg yesterday and today has been to the nest box a few times but has not sat. My other girls have both laid today and every other day. She seemed fine most of the day but from about 3pm seemed a little less like herself and over the last hour or 2 she keeps shutting her eyes. She's not sat down when she does it, she's kind of in a braced standing position with her tail pointing up at a 45 degree angle. She does sometimes look like she's straining a bit when she shuts her eyes. I've seen her do a poo recently so she's not constipated. After reading the information on here I've put some oyster shell grit in (not that she seemed interested although the other 2 did). I also put some sunflower hearts in which she did peck away at. I've only had them a week so she's not picking up tame yet so do you recommend me trying to catch her (she's in an eglu classic run at the moment so should be fun climbing in that with them) or will the stress just make her worse? Does it sound like egg bound to you? If she is and she's no better tomorrow I'll have to see about going to the vets with her just obviously if there's anything I can do to help I'll try that in the meantime to try and get her back to her old self. If it doesn't sound like she's egg bound any other ideas? They have the Omlet layers food, access to grit all day, they're on grass so have that, dandelions in the lawn and any worms, slugs, beetles etc. that happen to stray into the run. They also get some meal worms (not many) between about 2pm and 5pm (usually nearer to 5pm) so they eat their proper food first. They have been having Bokashi in with their feed for the last 3 or 4 days and I've been putting Orego-stim in their water at the recommended dose for 2 or 3 days. They all get the same and the other 2 seem fine. Sorry for their weekly menu but just thought the more information the better. Should I separate her tonight? Any advice would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 If the chook has just laid her first egg it could be that she is brewing a soft egg, these leave them pretty under the weather for a couple of days and they can find them tricky to lay. Of course it could be as you suspect an egg stuck Dioralyte (as mentioned on your other thread) has too high a sodium content for chickens so shouldnt be given - I'm not 100% sure of the logic that an electrolyte would work full stop Liquid calcium is usually given to start the contractions needed to push the egg out but in the absence of being able to get hold of that quickly (you can buy it to add to water or get the vet to give an injection) I would suggest that a deep warm bath is probably the 'home remedy' most likely to produce results The water needs to be chest height and the bird kept in it for at least ten minutes or so, If the water is deep they are unlikely to struggle. dry the bird with a towel after and either use a hairdryer or leave her inside in a dark box till she is dry. More often than not the next egg in the system will rectify things as it comes down the chute Once this has passed dont change anything in her life, this is common at the start of laying. Some people panic and add more calcium to the diet but that causes more problems than it solves usually Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Spot on Redwing, you can be too quick to add calcium. Even if it helps one temporarily it can mess up the others. How is she today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara and Frey Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 Thanks for the advice. I didn't see how electrolytes would make any difference either. You read all sorts though don't you lol. She's been separated from the others but they can still see each other. I'm just running her a bath now. I tried in a washing up basin thinking she'd squat in it but she now only has very clean feet and legs as it wasn't deep enough. Thanks for the tip off that she could be brewing a softie. Time will tell as to what exactly is the problem but I'm going to give her her bath for 20 mins and if after an hour she's the same I'll try one more bath then if still no egg or change by 10.30 I'll give the vet a ring. Hopefully the bath will help though. She's still the same as she was, pecking around now and then and then sat lethargic and looking like she's straining. She maybe seems normal about half of the time. I just hope she's better soon. We may only have had her a week but we love her to bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara and Frey Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 She's had her bath. Took her out after about 25 minutes so we'll see if it helps. Fingers crossed it'll help her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara and Frey Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 Well still no egg yet after her bath but she's back in the run with the others and so far seems back to her usual self. She's been eating her food, pecking around, preening etc. and she seems more energetic than yesterday afternoon. She's not been straining or shutting her eyes and hasn't been going off by herself. I'll see how she seems later but fingers crossed she's on the mend whatever was the problem. Thanks again for the advice. You could be right about the softie thing as I would imagine if she'd had a proper hard egg ready from yesterday I imagine she'd seem like she was in some sort of discomfort but she seems ok at the minute so maybe the bath just made her relax a bit and hopefully she'll lay it later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara and Frey Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 Good news Beetroot was egg bound and the bath obviously helped. She's just come out of the nest box and there was a slightly larger than average light coloured rough egg. So pleased that's all over and hopefully no more dramas now atleast for a while lol. Hopefully she'll not have any more problems with laying bless her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egghead68 Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 I'm glad she's better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara and Frey Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 Cheers. It's a weight off my mind. I'm just so happy she's back to normal now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Good job you did with the bath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
