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SCRAMBLED-EGGS

Cuckoo Moran suddenly less alert than other hens

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My 5 chickens are all the same age, bought at point-of-lay from the same farm, which I visited before purchasing my girls and know was very clean and the birds vaccinated and well tended.  I've had them for just over 3 weeks now and until 2 days ago, all were alert, fast moving and responsive.  Now one of my cuckoo morans (the fattest, fluffiest one) has almost stopped eating.  She has clear eyes and a clear rear and otherwise looks fine.  But she's not running after the titbits I take to them all as the others are.  She loses any battle over nice food items because the others are so much faster.  I do not know if she has laid an egg yet, but to be honest she looks as if she is having trouble walking, so I was wondering what the symptoms are for being egg bound?  And what I should do about it?  Yesterday she had happy moments sitting in the sun but I am worried in case I let go symptoms I should be chasing.

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TBH, it's hard to tell - those symptoms could be pretty much anything; I would just treat what you see - lay out extra feed and water stations and add a good poultry tonic to their water - Vit Boost or Life-Guard are good. Keep an eye on her and see what develops.  Chickens are very good at hiding any ailments, so it's often hard to tell what's going on.

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I've only ever had one egg bound hen and in her case, she walked around with her tail feathers bent down, almost like she was trying to tuck them under herself - and she moved more slowly and she tended to waddle closer to the ground.

In her case, I picked her up and inspected her vent, just to double-check nothing was trying to come out or infected, and then I sat her in some warm water for 5 minutes - not hot, just warm. I towelled her off, and then massaged her underside around the vent area for a few minutes quite gently (I could feel the lump of the egg). She then finally produced the egg while I was putting her down. An hour later, she was all perked up and running round like nothing had happened. I gave her some mealworms and that was that.

But as DM says above, it can be hard to know. It might not even be that.

You could try adding some ACV to their water to help - incase it's something slightly parasitic or she's a little under the weather.

 

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