Two questions, not sure if they are related.
Question #1
My Easter Egger Flo had an illness a while back, up until that point she had started laying regularly. She had a collapsed egg and subsequently got sick. We treated her and she improved but shortly after she had crop problems which we again treated and were able to resolve. Since then, she has not laid any eggs. At first we thought she was just recuperating, then it was winter and we figured she would start laying again in spring but she hasn't. Our other chickens are all laying, She does go occasionally and sit in the egg box on other's eggs (she is our only blue egg layer). We don't really care if she lays but just want to be sure there is nothing to be concerned about. We read an article about internal layers, but she didn't have a lot of the symptoms they described.
Question #2
In the past week we started noticing that her crop was not empty first thing in the morning (before she has access to food/water). It is smaller than when she went to sleep but there is still some gritty stuff I can feel. Her behavior otherwise seems normal, she eats, drinks and poops (although they are smaller than usual). We have tried some messaging and gave her coconut oil once but it didn't seem to help. Is it okay if some chickens just aren't emptied in the am? I have reglan and a prescription lubricant from before. One to two doses worked last time. Would you recommend using it?
Thanks for your advice.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock
Question #1
My Easter Egger Flo had an illness a while back, up until that point she had started laying regularly. She had a collapsed egg and subsequently got sick. We treated her and she improved but shortly after she had crop problems which we again treated and were able to resolve. Since then, she has not laid any eggs. At first we thought she was just recuperating, then it was winter and we figured she would start laying again in spring but she hasn't. Our other chickens are all laying, She does go occasionally and sit in the egg box on other's eggs (she is our only blue egg layer). We don't really care if she lays but just want to be sure there is nothing to be concerned about. We read an article about internal layers, but she didn't have a lot of the symptoms they described.
Question #2
In the past week we started noticing that her crop was not empty first thing in the morning (before she has access to food/water). It is smaller than when she went to sleep but there is still some gritty stuff I can feel. Her behavior otherwise seems normal, she eats, drinks and poops (although they are smaller than usual). We have tried some messaging and gave her coconut oil once but it didn't seem to help. Is it okay if some chickens just aren't emptied in the am? I have reglan and a prescription lubricant from before. One to two doses worked last time. Would you recommend using it?
Thanks for your advice.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock