Stuck soft-shelled egg Cornish Rock

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Allears

Allears

Songster
8 Years
Jul 4, 2015
420
50
176
South Africa
Two, four month old cornish x rock laying their first eggs. Soft eggs. No issues with the one bird, but the plumper dear had difficulty and the egg broke. Yolk came out whole, but I saw what I think was the remainder of the soft shell sticking out her rear. I washed her butt to clear mess and now she's walking around eating (Cornish Rock). Seems okay and she has stopped straining. I've read the posts that say "get it out", but I think it may have passed already and her tail is up again.

What signs will indicate trouble related to broken egg retention?

They get oyster shell and split corn and they are free range for the rest and apparently very active for their breed.
 
Hopefully it was a one time thing. Soft eggs can cause egg binding.
Do you have access to a complete poultry feed?
Cornish Rock X were not designed to lay eggs. Their mothers are Plymouth Rocks, not Cornish Rocks.
 
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Thank you for the feedback.
Don't know much about Cornish Rock's, I thought they were WLH roo's! The eggs were a big suprise.
Cleaned the vent area and couldn't find any shell pieces and she's eating (I believe this is what Cornish Rock live to do) and walking around as usual. Complete poultry feed, is that the crumble? They eat the leftover broiler mash gruel that the goslings leave... but its got additives so I'm scared to feed it to chickens as their main meal. They weigh 4.7 and 5.2kg at four months. I didn't know I was overfeeding them. The other girl laid another egg today, hard shell, no issues.

They get 120g split corn each per day since I learned they were too big for their age. They free range for the rest of the time and I've stopped all treats.
 
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What additives in the goslings feed are you afraid of?
If they're words difficult to pronounce, they're likely stabilized vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Cornish Rocks are the result of a mating between a Cornish rooster and a Plymouth hen. Their genetics have been selected for rapid growth of the offspring which are only intended for meat since they usually develop health issues before they get on in age.
Corn is a good source of energy, which is why it is one of the main ingredients in most feeds. That said, it is a terrible source of essential amino acids, and most vitamins and minerals.
Feeding only corn basically starves them nutritionally over time.

These are my opinions. I know that people do grow them out and keep them for laying but often their quality of life isn't great.
 
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Growth stimulants. I'll check with our co-op and see if they can't find me some complete poultry food without hormones and that kind of stuff. I thought that the free range foraging would give them a balanced diet. Thank you. Found another soft egg and now I'm totally confused.
 
To the best of my knowledge, there are no growth hormones in poultry feed anywhere in the world.
Back in the 1940s there were trials for growth hormones in poultry but it wasn't deemed to be worth the effort. The reason is that they have to be injected. Hormones in the feed would be broken down in the digestive tract into proteins and have no effect. If they were used, they would be too expensive.

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/artic...ive-growth-hormones-so-why-all-the-confusion/

https://www.uaex.edu/publications/pdf/FSA-8007.pdf
 
If she still has egg matter or the shell inside her, you WILL realize it, trust me. A little shell stuck in a chickenbutt makes them look like they are at deaths door, i dont know why, but its VERY unconfortable for them, it may even hurt, i dont know for sure. Flush her vent with a weak vinegar solution a few times and monitor her closely. It should pass on its own IF there is still something inside, but dont worry too much for now, just observe her closely and you should be good, since she eats and drinks.
 
simon the hen said:
If she still has egg matter or the shell inside her, you WILL realize it, trust me. A little shell stuck in a chickenbutt makes them look like they are at deaths door, i dont know why, but its VERY unconfortable for them, it may even hurt, i dont know for sure. Flush her vent with a weak vinegar solution a few times and monitor her closely. It should pass on its own IF there is still something inside, but dont worry too much for now, just observe her closely and you should be good, since she eats and drinks.
Click to expand...
Thanks both of you so much for that info. The ingredients label states that the product "may contain growth stimulants...." Don't know what to believe.

I've been keeping a close eye on her and she seems fine, but I found another soft shelled egg this morning. This is the chicken with the "dent" deformity. It probably got injured in the cull selection. I'm hoping that her egg production system didn't get damaged. She holds her tail to the right and has a dent along the right side. I read in one thread that I could possibly put her in a dark room for a few hours, over a few days to stop egg production for a while at least...
 
I appreciate the input, thank you. If I notice that they are not coping well, or struggling, I will have them put to sleep.
 

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