The Amazing World of chickens

Pepper

Hey sorry I haven't been updating recently, but there is a reason. I haven't been writing because one of my chickens, Pepper, recently passed away. So as you can imagine I've been a little too sad to write about chickens. We did get two more chickens, not that they could ever replace Pepper. We named the chooks Marmalade and Chutney they are only very young and don't lay yet. So anyway Pepper was egg bound and that's what killed her. We buried her in her favourite spot under the lemon tree and she is resting happily. Because of the sad event I thought I'd do this chapter about egg binding so that if your chickens get it they don't die.

Egg binding is caused when a chicken can't and/or won't lay their egg. Here are some things that may cause this;

. Lack of calcium and nutritional foods. Obesity can also cause it.

. The chicken lays large or oddly shaped eggs.( Pepper laid huge eggs. )

. Some kind of infection.

. The hen is too young to lay.

. If there is no comfy place to lay the chicken simply will refuse to lay.

If your hen has none of those things then she is most likely safe. But she could still get it so you should look out for these symptoms;

. Your hen isn't eating or drinking much.

. She is walking oddly.

. She is sluggish and is always sitting down.

. Hen is shaking

. She isn't pooping or she is doing liquid poos

If you are noticing any of these symptoms your chook most likely is egg bound. To make sure, you can feel her bottom to see if there is an egg. If there is then do the following;

. Feed something nutritious to the hen like rice or outs.

. Give her a warm ( not too hot ) 15-20 minute bath each hour as well as massage her bum hole afterwards.

. Give her a dark, comfy, quiet and calm place to lay her egg.

. If she does not pass the egg contact a vet.

If you do not wish for your hens to get egg bound then here are some simple ways to prevent it.

. Make sure that if your hen is not ready to lay yet you do not expose it to artificial ( not natural ) light as this may encourage them to lay eggs early.

. Make sure your hens are eating healthy, that means not too many treats.

. Make sure your chook pen is comfortable and fairly large giving them a nice and private place to lay.

Ok so that was it, I'm not a vet or anything, I got this info from the internet but I'm like 99 percent sure it's accurate. I'm thinking of writing a book on raising chooks so if I ever actually do that it will have more things like this. Don't forget to vote and comment. See ya.