Mathilda our ex batt is unwell. She's been a little off colour for a week or so but today it was more noticeable. She's sitting a lot and closes her eyes. I did a bit of research and wondered if she was egg bound. I brought her in and her underneath feels quite firm - certainly firmer than my other girls and it could be egg shaped but I'm not really sure (didn't want to press too hard).
I gave her a warm bath which she seemed to enjoy - I didn't expect her to willingly sit down in it! Then I wrapped her in a warm towel and put her in the dog crate. She is drinking and I saw her eat some sweetcorn this morning but if she's eaten any since then I haven't noticed. She did a poo which was watery with some white and some brown bits which looked quite gelatinous (sorry TMI!).
I'm not sure what else to do. I can't really get her to a vet before Monday and to be honest I'm not sure how good they are with chickens anyway!
She does have mites so (so I discovered today when one crawled up my awm!) so I've powdered her (and she lost some in the bath she had anyway! LOL). d**n things sneaked in when we weren't looking as we're good at looking for them and scrubbing the house! The house has been thoroughly cleaned, fried with a flame gun and powdered today! I'm kind of assuming that the mites aren't the issue as her comb is still red (though a bit floppy but it's always floppyish anyway since it got ripped last year). The other chickens are all as lively as ever so the mites aren't an issue for them.
I don't know how well or even if she's laying. One of the 4 does lay pretty soft eggs and I don't think we've ever (maybe once or twice) got 4 eggs in a day. 2 or 3 are the norm - but of course we don't know which chickens they come from and if one is not laying..... There were 3 eggs there this morning which seems pretty normal - so in one respect I'd be surprised if she was egg bound as if she'd laid normally today wouldn't I have had 4 eggs? If so as mentioned before that isn't normal for us.
Edited to add: she's also pecking the toe on her left foot. When I checked her feet the left seemed slightly less responsive than the right (I moved the right toe and she curled it under, when I did that with the left she did not.). I can't see any reason for her to peck it but she keeps doing it.
Any advice, recommendations etc?
Thanks!
It seems that Mathilda had a tumour. I suspect she's had it since we got her as an ex batt but it's only now made it's presence felt. She's gone now but she had a happy life with us and that is the main thing.
Sorry to here that Smiley. At least you were able to notice there was something wrong. It probably wouldn't have been picked up if she was still a battery hen.
So sorry, but as you said you gave her a good life....
So sorry to hear that. I was touched to read your post and what you did for her, you did your best and gave her a good life.