lindsayrussell
Chirping
- Aug 30, 2020
- 32
- 11
- 69
Hi everyone,
Our chicken named Peppers is not roosting and is sitting on the floor breathing very hard. She seemed perfectly fine a few hours ago before they went to bed.
She is apart of our second group of chickens that were hatched from our flock about 2 years ago. We have 6 hens and one rooster, with one of the broody hens hatching eggs right now (2 chicks just hatched yesterday). We are in Washington state where it did reach 80 degrees today. They have a large coop and are in an enclosed run with shade)
These are the possibilities that I thought could be happening:
- Internal illness (Illnesses seem pretty complex so I don’t really know. She didn’t have any mucus or discharge around her eyes or nose. No sneezing happening. Maybe when there is built up fluid that needs drained?)
- Egg bound (After a long ordeal we were able to hold her and get a look at her rear when we discovered that the area under her butt is very inflamed, red and missing tons of feathers. When trying to pick her up she got very talkative and almost sounded like she was in pain - almost like a drawn out “yelp”. We were able to feel inside of her butt and didn’t feel anything obstructed. We also rubbed around with some oil to help. In general she seems pretty rough around the edges and must be taking a beating from the rooster)
This is very concerning because we have lost 3 chickens in the last 4 years and they were all pretty slow deaths that didn’t have a probable cause. They just laid down in the run and after separating from the flock didn’t make any improvement.
I attached some images and videos ***they are graphic***
Luckily I have a vet appointment for my cat tomorrow and will ask them about it as well. Also - I think it’s time we let the rooster out and free range because our hens have had enough (he’s been around for 2/3 years)
1. How long do most roosters stay apart of the flock?
2. Will it mess with the pecking order? We would want to make sure we plan accordingly on if we want more chicks but other than that I don’t see a need for him.
Thank you
Anything helps! 
Our chicken named Peppers is not roosting and is sitting on the floor breathing very hard. She seemed perfectly fine a few hours ago before they went to bed.
She is apart of our second group of chickens that were hatched from our flock about 2 years ago. We have 6 hens and one rooster, with one of the broody hens hatching eggs right now (2 chicks just hatched yesterday). We are in Washington state where it did reach 80 degrees today. They have a large coop and are in an enclosed run with shade)
These are the possibilities that I thought could be happening:
- Internal illness (Illnesses seem pretty complex so I don’t really know. She didn’t have any mucus or discharge around her eyes or nose. No sneezing happening. Maybe when there is built up fluid that needs drained?)
- Egg bound (After a long ordeal we were able to hold her and get a look at her rear when we discovered that the area under her butt is very inflamed, red and missing tons of feathers. When trying to pick her up she got very talkative and almost sounded like she was in pain - almost like a drawn out “yelp”. We were able to feel inside of her butt and didn’t feel anything obstructed. We also rubbed around with some oil to help. In general she seems pretty rough around the edges and must be taking a beating from the rooster)
This is very concerning because we have lost 3 chickens in the last 4 years and they were all pretty slow deaths that didn’t have a probable cause. They just laid down in the run and after separating from the flock didn’t make any improvement.
I attached some images and videos ***they are graphic***
Luckily I have a vet appointment for my cat tomorrow and will ask them about it as well. Also - I think it’s time we let the rooster out and free range because our hens have had enough (he’s been around for 2/3 years)
1. How long do most roosters stay apart of the flock?
2. Will it mess with the pecking order? We would want to make sure we plan accordingly on if we want more chicks but other than that I don’t see a need for him.
Thank you
Anything helps! 
