When I went out this morning to feed The Ladies, I noticed that Mattie was (I thought) taking a dustbath in a new place. But she didn't get up to scold me like she normally does when I'm a little late with breakfast, and I knew something was wrong. Those fears were confirmed when I picked her up and she didn't struggle at all. Her heart rate seemed fine, and she had bright eyes and was alert, but her feathers were a little fluffed up and her back was humped. My first thought was that she had become egg bound, and a quick Google search confirmed that she was showing all the symptoms.

We tried everything we could think of, from warm moist compresses to lubrication, a bit of Karo syrup for energy (thanks, VelvetSparrow for your wonderfully informative pages-yours was the first place I turned), and even placing her in warm water to soothe and relax those muscles around her vent. We weren't able to reach our farm vet. Unfortunately, she did not survive despite our attempts. I just hope she was not straining and hurting the whole morning (please don't tell me if you think she was).

I'm just devastated by all this. I have grown to love and appreciate these birds. Mattie was in fine health and was not too young or out of shape to be laying.