Hen acting constipated? Maybe?

Jul 29, 2022
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I noticed a few months ago that my hen, Noogie, was doing a weird little dance at times. She will squat, with neck outstretched and then turn furiously in a circle. It happens very quickly and then it's over, which makes it hard for me to catch a photo. She is an older hen, over 6 years old now, and a Bantam mix. I hoped it would go away, she seems otherwise quite healthy. Healthy enough that she went broody a while back and I let her hatch a batch of chicks. I hadn't seen her doing it for a while but just today I saw it again when she was walking with the chicks. She's not turning in a circle anymore, but she still does the straining squatting thing and afterwards as she walks away she'll stretch out her neck and open her beak. I saw her do that quite a few times. I wonder if she is constipated somehow and that is what it's about? She is free range, has access to all the grit she could want and exercise. And I have seen her poop so I know it's not like she can't poop. She seems ok but she is my favorite hen so if there is something I can do for her I would like to know. I tried to draw what it looks like when she does it. The other picture is just to show what she looks like, her and her chicks.
 

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If she's pooping and her crop is not full and lumpy, she isn't constipated. But she could be struggling to lay an egg.

These older hens can sometimes have egg glitches, thin shell or shell-less eggs or even tissue blockages in the oviduct. Give her a calcium tablet straight into her beak. It can further aid the situation by placing her somewhere quiet and dim to keep her stress low. Provide food and water. The calcium will encourage contractions to help her push out the obstruction. If she still hasn't passed it, give another calcium tablet the next day.
 
If she's pooping and her crop is not full and lumpy, she isn't constipated. But she could be struggling to lay an egg.

These older hens can sometimes have egg glitches, thin shell or shell-less eggs or even tissue blockages in the oviduct. Give her a calcium tablet straight into her beak. It can further aid the situation by placing her somewhere quiet and dim to keep her stress low. Provide food and water. The calcium will encourage contractions to help her push out the obstruction. If she still hasn't passed it, give another calcium tablet the next day.
She's got the little chicks, so she won't be laying till a month from now, at least. So I don't think it has anything to do with eggs, her body isn't making eggs rn.
I am thinking of de-worming her tho, just because I can. Maybe I will do the calcium as well, just because I can.
 

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