Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Saggy Belly?

Here is a recent pic of Mrs. Black. See her saggy belly and the down-molting? I was kinda worry about it.
Is it normal for an old hen to have saggy abdomen or losing a bit of her luscious down?
But she's not even old, she's only 2 years old (or a bit less)
My other 2 cemani hens are younger, so I don't have enough samples to compare their body shapes.

So, a few days ago, on one fine morning, I get her and feel her belly, it was not rock hard nor squishy soft. It was as firm as other part of her body, Good measure for normal muscle.
But then... at the afternoon, I found her laid an egg. I couldn't feel it in the morning! How could it be?

I end up googling the net for more references. It is scary, some said it's a sign of egg binding, sick hen, or water retention...

I had whole morning watching her today. She looked totally fine, doesn't seems to have walking/standing difficulties, still very active, feeding very well. But she did go up and down to nesting box.
So, I tried to get her again, and this time, I put my finger into her vent (that's what those people on net do for their sick hens!!!) And I could feel an egg. Yey!
I realised why I couldn't feel the egg before cos I was stroking her underbelly, but apparently the egg is a bit on top, near her vent.
And her vent looks very nice, no blockage. It is very clean looking.

After the "assessment" session, to apologize for all the discomfort that she might feel, I gave her more snacks, which she happily nibble. No hard feeling, k?
And not long after that, she went back to her nesting box, and laid another egg.

So, I guess it is just her body shape, eh? Just a post-natal figure in humans?
Am I worrying over nothing?
She is a heavy-layer, she usually produce 40+ eggs in a clutch. Her egg-laying pattern is a bit messed up, not everyday - she does it every alternate days, sometimes in the morning, sometime in the afternoon.
Maybe she's just having a hormone imbalance. As long as there's no harm to her.


Mr. Black Ayam Cemani - The Macho Man who attacked me
Oh, one more thing.
During the vent-assessment, she made panic sound, which is understandable. But, Mr.Black came and attacked me, a few times. Gosh, he is so furious. It kinda hurts when he attacked me. But it is a good thing to know that he is such an alpha-male that protect his ladies :) Nice huh?

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