Just when I thought that everything had settled down with the flock it looks like Salmon has a problem.
A few days ago we noticed Salmon was in the hunched position that usually means an egg laying problem. We wondered if she was heading for a soft shelled egg. Yesterday Salmon sat in a nest box for about an hour and I hoped that she would manage to get an egg laid but she left the nest box without laying.
Today Salmon has looked miserable.
Salmon started laying a month ago and had been laying about every three days. She last laid five days ago.
Salmon laid soft shelled eggs the year before last but last year it was if she was fixed and she laid normally all year. This year she has been laying fine until now.
I just don’t understand how they suddenly start having a problem laying. After Marmite it is so frustrating to be back here again.
I picked Salmon up to have a look and she had a very mucky bottom. Salmon often lays her eggs with a bit of poop on them so I suspect there is something not quite right with her.
I decided to bring Salmon in and give her a warm bath. I thought it would get rid of the muck and might relax her vent so that she could get her egg laid. I bathed her in warm water and then gently towel dried her then finished her off with the hairdryer on a low setting.
I kept Salmon in the cat box in the bathroom until she was completely dry then returned her to the run. I knew she would be happier out in the run. Salmon seemed to perk up a bit when back in the run but she soon returned to looking hunched again.
I am so upset to have this problem again so soon. I am afraid that she is going the same way as Marmite and if she can’t get an egg laid soon then we are going to lose her. This is so sad.
In other news Smoke has come through her broody spell. She has been out in the run for the last couple of days. We had our first, six egg day, at the end of last month when Ebony started laying again and only Spangle missed laying that day.
Ebony laid for two weeks then stopped again and we have only been getting one egg a day for the last four days. Two of these days were Shadow and one was Spangle and then today Ebony laid again after a weeks break.
I am steeling myself for not having a good outcome for Salmon and am feeling a bit disheartened at the moment. I feel we will know over the next few days and I will update with any further news.
Click here to see the history of my flock.
Oh Carol I am so sorry! I do hope it is just a blip.
Sophie xx
I kept hoping so too over the last few days but now I can see it happening all over again. She still looks miserable. I can’t see this ending well. xx
I’ve had two very poorly chickens in the last 10 days. First my 8yr old Wyandotte had a prolapse and then my 1yr old araucana bantam had a massive swelling around her throat just under her beak that made her feel really poorly. I thought we were going to lose them both but actually they’ve now both made it back to full health.
Anyway – it’s awful when they’re not right and I always fear the worst too – to be honest because usually the worst does seem to happen – so I’m really sorry to hear about Salmon because I know how rubbish it feels and I just hope there is a good outcome.
It is so good to hear from someone that totally gets this. You are so right that usually the outcome isn’t good which is why I am trying to ready myself but I also can’t yet give up all hope. I am so glad that you have just got your two poorly girls back to health. The only thing giving me a little bit of hope right now is that Salmon still has a red comb whereas Marmite’s comb went very pale which I knew was a really bad sign that things were not good with her. Looking at these photos Salmon’s comb is still red. I can only wait and see what the next few days bring.
So sorry to hear this, Carol; I think you’ve had poor luck with this sort of problem, even going back to the days of Amber. I do hope that it sorts itself, but I think you are being realistic in contemplating worst-case scenario. Hopefully, Salmon makes it: she is a little beauty. I lost another of mine yesterday, MidSil, my second-last silver-pencilled wyandotte, but she was 7 years old, so had had a good innings ands it was 3 years since she laid.
I always feel it’s the beautiful girls that we lose but maybe that’s just because I think they are all beautiful. I have always thought Salmon was particularly beautiful. I do feel that I have been beset with this problem and we discussed earlier that it may be a serama problem as they are small and delicate but then we also referred back to Amber who was our first with this problem and was a vorwerk so not related to current girls. Sorry for your loss but a good age which always makes us feel better. I just have to see what the next few days bring. Should be used to this by now but somehow it never gets any easier. I can’t help clinging to a bit of hope but I know that it’s a very little bit if at all. If there was anything I could do to save her I would do it but I know that I have to be realistic and be prepared.
So sorry to hear this bad news again. I hope she will pull through, as you said, this has happened before.It all must be so sad for you, three girls all so close together. xx
There may be a glimmer of hope. I am going to blog later but I will say it here too. After I gave Salmon her bath and returned her to the run I later picked her up to inspect her vent and saw what looked like clear liquid coming from her vent. I wondered if it was egg white from an egg broken inside her. I have read that if treated straight away with antibiotic you can sometimes stop an infection setting in and they may be able to pass the egg. I checked my store and still have some tylan which is in date. Straight away I put tylan in the water and in some mash and we put some in Salmon’s beak with a syringe. This morning Salmon looks perkier and was eating the tylan mash. I then noticed a snotty string from her vent. I am keeping everything crossed that she can pass this. She still has a red comb too which is a good sign.