Egg bound or molting?

The Welch Chickens

Crowing
Premium Feather Member
Mar 18, 2023
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Our hen has been listless and inactive for three days.
The first day, she was slow looking during afternoon free range time (she actually went into the run and sat down), and I was worried that she was egg bound (she’s been egg bound once before). I took her inside to a sick cage and tried to feed her calcium, but she just looked anxious to get back outside. I put her back in the coop and she looked fine after that.
Yesterday she started to molt on her neck area and looked a tiny bit sluggish.
Today she is standing with her tail down, but her eyes still don’t have an egg bound look…if that makes sense. I’ve dealt with egg binding a lot and I’m pretty sure she just has “the molting blues”, but I want to be positive. Thoughts?

 
It won’t hurt to give her a human calcium tablet with vitamin D once, in case she is egg bound. Offer some egg and watery feed. But molting hens will stop laying eggs eventually in a few days. What is her age? Most will molt around 18 months and then once a year. Look her over for a poopy vent, and lice or mites on her skin. Is her crop empty of full, firm or squishy?
 
Does it look like someone had a pillow fight in the coop? How old is the hen?
It is rather normal for them to feel like crap when molting?
They also won't lay then so likely not egg bound. I didn't see any behavior that looked like an egg bound hen either.
 

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