I checked the poultry/health threads but didn't see this one ever get any coverage. I have a hen who started displaying the following: Tailed tucked, walks like she's squating, and oftens breathes with her beak open. She also makes a little sneeze/cough sound occassionally. We cleaned up her vent area, as there was some poop stuck there. She's missing a lot of feathers here also. The only thing I could find on the Web that has similar sympthoms is "Egg-binding". Has anyone ever encountered this, and what did you do for the Hen? Seems it's very difficult to pull the egg out without breaking it and killing her. Also - do these symphtoms match something else that perhaps I missed diagnosed? We've moved to her to a separate pen, and added a lamp. We also feed her some Olive oil in case she was constipated. Any thing else? Thanks much for the advice!

-- Michelle in NM (naychurs_way@hotmail.com), February 17, 2002

Answers

Michelle, post your question on The Poultry Connection, poultry forum (www.poultryconnection.com ) I know you will get some good responses here but the links on The Poultry Connection will take you to a Poultry Vet and that might help also. Hope your hen is OK, that sounds scary. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 17, 2002.

Oops, forgot, here's another poultry forum with some good people on it, http://www.the-coop.org/. Hope this helps. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 17, 2002.

You might even try applying olive oil directly to her cloaca (where the egg comes out). I'd massage it around there gently, and maybe even try to squirt some up there with a needle-less syringe or eyedropper.

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), February 17, 2002.