We were worried about Amber last night. She'd been fine up to six o'clock or so, and earlier she had been jumping up on top of the run and jumped up and pecked my finger trying to get some lettuce. After dinner I noticed she was just standing there looking like she was in a day dream. The other two were busily pecking and scratching, but she was just stood there looking subdued. Her undercarriage looked lower than the others' too. When we put her back in her run she decided to have a drink, again she was slower than the other two, but eventually she was drinking more quickly and ended up drinking more than her sisters. She managed to get up to bed OK, though.
I wasn't sure what I'd find when I let them down this morning, but Amber was as eager to tuck into her mash as the other two and looked absolutely fine. When I looked in the roosting area, however, I found not one, but two, soft shelled eggs amongst the droppings under where Amber had slept. Not surprisingly she didn't lay today. We just had two normal, large eggs from Robin and Betsy, which fit nicely in the egg compartment.
Hens can look very miserable when soft shell eggs are on route. One of ours kept passing 2 soft shellers each day for about 2 weeks which was not good for her at all.
ReplyDeleteI believe that excessive drinking is a hens way of self medicating, to cool herself down. Keep an eye on her which im sure you will :)
That's interesting. Maybe they could do with a bit more shade when it's sunny. We have a shadier spot in mind for them, but it's not ready yet.
ReplyDeleteI also read they pass soft shells if they've had a shock, and getting wet counts as a shock, so I have rigged up a waterproof awning, that will probably count as a sunshade. I'll try and a photo soon.