Please Help runny poo

patti · Regular Member Joined: Jan 10, 2006 Posts: 20

Hi All
Sorry to be a nuisance but I am concerned.

She is alone and has laid 15 eggs in 32 days and as instructed by other members have left 6 eggs in which she has been sitting on now constantly for a few days--today her poo is green with clear water!! I will gladly take her to the vet if necessary but my concern is the journey is quite long--will this cause her too much stress while she is sitting on her eggs.
Poor little mite is doing everything right with them but there will be no babies--will she just stop sitting on them when she's ready.
Please any help and advice regarding her poo is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
patti

p.s will try to check for worms as suggested by steptoe unless you feel a visit to vet is first priority--it's Saturday here so won't find one open until Monday

Kaka-riki · Site Admin Joined: May 30, 2005 Posts: 363

Patti,
I hope this advice is not too late. Hens will often drop runny and rather large deposits when incubating eggs. The main reason for this is that they consume larger quantities of food during incubation and of course most of this food is fed by the cock bird. If you observe the birds you should also note that they drink a lot of water during feeding times which will contribute to the slightly runnier than normal droppings. Hens also go through quite a bit of trauma when laying eggs so some change in droppings is considered normal.

My advice would be NOT to treat the hen for any ailments unless you are certain there is a problem. Worming a hen during the incubation process is fraught with dangers. The hen will still be vulnerable from the egg laying process and quite weak compared to normal healthy birds. Observe the hen for a period of time and make sure that she is eating and drinking on her trips out of the nest box. Ignore the droppings for the time being. If the hen is doing everything right I would sit tight and let her go for now.

Orange · Snr Member Joined: Apr 17, 2006 Posts: 154

Just out of a matter of interest...does anyone know if it is very stressful for a hen to lay eggs and not end up with any babies? My hen kakariki will I guess do a bit of laying in the future but has no mate....I don't particularly want to breed kaks but I don't want her to become ill because she has no mate to feed her while she is sitting on her unfertile eggs. Whats the general consensus? Do they give up on their eggs hatching quite merrily after a while and just ignore them?

I want at some point in the near future to get her a cage buddy, as her acge is so big and I don't want her to be lonely but slightly concerned about getting another hen as I can imagine that they might become hostile towards each other if they are both laying.... but like I say I don't necessarily want to breed so maybe I would be better off getting a male tiel or something??
Sorry...maybe I should post this as a seperate question but seeing as it's about the same kind of thing I wasn't sure if I should!

Tatters · Snr Member Joined: Mar 08, 2006 Posts: 62

i have two hens orange and they have both laid eggs i did let them sit on the eggs to see if they would stop laying after about 30 days i removed them because they were useless i don't think they were impressed with my action but they did not get stressed, as for getting another bird 2 females are fine but my 2 try and mate with each other i have introduced a young male but they show no interest in him and continue to do there own thing and i have read somewhere that they may never take to him because they have formed a bond with each other. Pray

Orange · Snr Member Joined: Apr 17, 2006 Posts: 154

Oh...groovy! Do they lay even if they have no nesting box or should I give her one?

Sorry Patti, didn't mean to take over your thread! Maybe Steps could move mine to its own thread?

Tatters · Snr Member Joined: Mar 08, 2006 Posts: 62

yes they will lay without a nest box, mine have laid in the food bowl on the floor of the cage and even sat on there perch and just let the egg go.