Hen Laid Soft Shell Egg, Yolk Outside

[lbgreenfield]

Hi. I had a 5 1/2 month old Australorp hen today that was acting lethargic, sitting in the run while others were out free ranging, not eating melon (she LOVES melons), etc. Her crop was very squishy, so I assumed she had a sour crop and proceeded to very, very gently induce vomiting, gently massage the crop, and isolate her. After about 30min in the isolation pen, she laid a soft shell egg with the yolk intact but outside the shell (see photos). She seems to be acting normal now (eating, drinking) but her comb/wattles are still a little pale. They have access to free choice oyster shells and I feed them Purina Layena mixed with Purina Flock Raiser. Any thoughts on this? She hasn’t had any prior problems laying. Thanks in advance for you help!

 

[HomeGardenGirl]

Hi. I had a 5 1/2 month old Australorp hen today that was acting lethargic, sitting in the run while others were out free ranging, not eating melon (she LOVES melons), etc. Her crop was very squishy, so I assumed she had a sour crop and proceeded to very, very gently induce vomiting, gently massage the crop, and isolate her. After about 30min in the isolation pen, she laid a soft shell egg with the yolk intact but outside the shell (see photos). She seems to be acting normal now (eating, drinking) but her comb/wattles are still a little pale. They have access to free choice oyster shells and I feed them Purina Layena mixed with Purina Flock Raiser. Any thoughts on this? She hasn’t had any prior problems laying. Thanks in advance for you help!

How long has she been laying? New layers can have unusual eggs when starting laying but that's a risky business with no shell. Try mixing the oyster shell in with the food. Save your egg shells and crush them up as well into food.

 

[lbgreenfield]

How long has she been laying? New layers can have unusual eggs when starting laying but that's a risky business with no shell. Try mixing the oyster shell in with the food. Save your egg shells and crush them up as well into food.

She’s been laying for a few weeks now. This is the first time I noticed problems with her. I’ll try mixing in oyster/eggshells with their feed and see if that helps.