Hen not acting herself and being lethargic.

Harun

Songster
Apr 10, 2021
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One of my older hens (Momo) I realized has been acting strange. She's not making any noise, and that's quite unusual because she's usually very talkative, and she's acting super mellow. Kind of just stands there and doesn't really forage. Could it be the weather? She looks fine otherwise. I just noticed today so maybe it's nothing to worry about but I'm a little concerned since she's not acting herself.
Momo looks pretty healthy to me, I'm pretty sure she finished molting, as she has most of her feathers back.
She literally just pooped as I was typing this.
Update: she pooped again and it was like water. Literally 99% water. Now she's sitting in the egg basket.
Here's a picture of it:
 

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Is she in a laying nest? Did she head there on her own? Has she been laying? Have any of the eggs been soft or thin shelled?

The straight watery poop can signal an obstruction in the oviduct. To be safe, give her a calcium supplement such as calcium citrate or even a Tums. Do it immediately. This will hurry up her contractions so she can expel the obstructed material.

It could be an egg. It could be two eggs close together, which happens more than people think. Or it could be tissue sloughed from the oviduct. Chances are she will pass an egg in just an hour or so.

If this goes on past the time you normally go to bed, I advise bringing her inside and setting her up in a pet crate on warm towels to soak up any fluids she may be expelling. You also want to see what come out. If it's an egg, and the egg dribbles out broken, then she will probably need an oral antibiotic.

She will need access to plenty of water to drink to keep hydrated and replace the fluids she's losing, so make that happen for her. And she should be kept warm and comfortable.
 
Is she in a laying nest? Did she head there on her own? Has she been laying? Have any of the eggs been soft or thin shelled?

The straight watery poop can signal an obstruction in the oviduct. To be safe, give her a calcium supplement such as calcium citrate or even a Tums. Do it immediately. This will hurry up her contractions so she can expel the obstructed material.

It could be an egg. It could be two eggs close together, which happens more than people think. Or it could be tissue sloughed from the oviduct. Chances are she will pass an egg in just an hour or so.

If this goes on past the time you normally go to bed, I advise bringing her inside and setting her up in a pet crate on warm towels to soak up any fluids she may be expelling. You also want to see what come out. If it's an egg, and the egg dribbles out broken, then she will probably need an oral antibiotic.

She will need access to plenty of water to drink to keep hydrated and replace the fluids she's losing, so make that happen for her. And she should be kept warm and comfortable.
Thank you for the detailed advice. Though, she's acting herself now: eating well, drinking, foraging and being loud. Perhaps it was something she ate that wasn't making her feel well. Yesterday, she laid a large turd. Today, I found her alone with a frog in her mouth. Girl doesn't know what's good and what's bad for her. If this happens again, I'll make sure to abide by your advice.
Thanks again.
 

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