not laying/?ulcer inside vent.

[Anonymous]

Hi there ,I am new to your site and wondered if you could advise me.I have five exbatts,2 I got last November and the other 3 I got at Easter.Two weeks ago the 2 I got last year stopped laying.I put this down to the annual moult,but then 1 in particular started going in the nest box and and sitting for ages.Then she comes out and carries on as normal.I was worried about her being eggbound but could feel nothing.On closer examination of her vent I could see what could only described as an ulcerative area.I then looked at the other one and she had it but not quite as big.The others are laying as normal and don't appear to have this.Please could someone shine alight on this.Thanks.

 

[Tim]

Hi Chickenlickin,

A couple of my birds have started moult. It's approaching that time. Production has started to slow in my flock. Ex-Bats should be quite fast to get through it although it takes longer as they age. Look for feathers around the run if it's not obvious from your girls and look for feather 'stubs' - new feathers growing on your girls to see if they are moulting. They sometimes do stop for a rest a bit before the moult but generally high production strains like your ex-bats spend most of the year in lay to be able to produce the 250 - 300 odd eggs per year.

Sometimes birds can go and sit but not lay - usually when they are about to come into lay but I suppose could do the same before stopping I guess.

I would check for any signs of lice around the vent, this is a popular area for infestation but other than than, I don't really know what the ulceration could be.

If she is wormed and lice / mite free I can't really think of what could cause this. Remember since chickens carry their sex organs here too there are about 25 (I think from memory) different 'patterns' you can see - (this is how chick sexers try to decide on male / females although there are lots of patterns for both and it's notoriously hard to do) so you will see differences between your hens.

Tim