Hen lays super jumbo eggs every day - will this hurt her?

[dragonlair]

I have an EE that lays those ginormous eggs too. I can't put them in a carton, so I lay it in the rack of my fridge and use it for my breakfast. That single egg makes an omlete that is bigger than most 2 egg omletes!

 

[RaeRae2]

Well I must have jynxed myself with my post yesterday. I went out this morning to find this hen huddled in a corner in the coop, gasping for air, and unable to move. I got her out of there, and examined her and it seems like she is paralyzed. Her feet are curled up and if I touch her back, she sticks her wings out to the sides on the ground. She keeps closing her eyes and won't open them. The coop is air conditioned so it's 72 degrees.

As I said yesterday, she's so mean she refuses to be locked up, but at 97 degrees yesterday, my two free range birds were showing distress so I moved them inside. They know the other birds because they hang out together along the run. She doesn't fight with the others, but she squaks continuously and walks the fence trying to squeeze through any opening she can to get out.

But yesterday she seemed very happy to be in the coop where it was cool.

Then this morning, that's what I find! She really acts like it is pain in her back. She layed a normal (huge) egg yesterday as usual.

Can I dilute asprin or something in water to give her?? The avian vet is closed today because it's the holiday. Ugh!

 

[wullus]

We have a hen who constantly lays a double yolker... my mum's recipe said for one egg, and of course she cracked the double yolker in it by mistake, and the cake she was baking tasted kinda weird.

Sorry, straying off topic. But man, I think that would hurt like hell! The hen seems to stand there for a good 15 minutes after she lays it, so she must be recovering.

I'm sorry for your trouble now, I wish I could help

 

[BarnGoddess01]

In her case, she is genetically programmed to lay these eggs. There's nothing you can do about it, and it seems as if you've figured out how to live with this challenging hen! The downside is that, no, she can't keep it up. She's prone to ovarian cancer and other serious ailments. One reason for her weight loss could be that the cancer causes the intestinal tract to become tumorous and often blocked. She might not be able to absorb food or nutrients very well. On the plus side is if she's still laying, then most of her systems are functioning! The hybrids produce a lot, but don't live long. I just lost two Golden Comets, who were also outstanding layers. You can read about what I found on their necropsies here: http://hencam.com/henblog/2012/06/the-kindness-of-euthanizing/

I also don't have anything encouraging to add. I had a hatchery Barred Rock that was a prolific layer of massive eggs for her first year and a half. Then, I believe, she started laying internally. I had to cull her at 2 and a half because of internal laying. I am currently dealing with a 3 year old Red Sex Link that laid massive eggs prolifically right up until a couple of months ago. She is also laying internally now so I'm at the point where I have to cull her.

I always seem to have early trouble with the ones that start laying early and that lay eggs that are too big. Haven't had one of those make it past 3 years of age.

Sorry, I can't be more encouraging!!