Life Sketches by Terry Berkson
When Push Comes to Shove
It was about the middle of August last year when I noticed that one of my hens was looking lethargic. Her tail was down. Her head was drooping and her eyes were closed much of the time. Every once in a while she’d perk up and look like she was struggling. She appeared to be a bit on the heavy side, which surprised me, because I had been careful not to feed too much corn—I read it increases weight and diminishes egg production.
I consulted my antique Eschelman’s “Everything You Need to Know about Chickens” book and came away with the idea that, by her appearance and the way she was behaving, the hen was egg bound. This was not surprising, because the eggs my golden comets had been producing were so big that I couldn’t close them into a box that was labeled “Extra Large.” Maybe the additional weight she was carrying was blocking a big egg from coming down the pike.
