I think we have egg drop syndrome. Any help appreciated

[Marco Pollo]

I don't understand the language that the articles are written in.

Symptoms: I have one 2 year old chicken with bald spots on her shoulders. The skin is very pink/red. She's been sleeping around the clock for a couple days. There have been shell-less eggs and eggs with thin shells on the ends and we have a history of soft shelled eggs happening occasionally.

My problems are:

They say egg drop syndrome is usually asymptomatic but I clearly have a sick bird.

They say there is no treatment but you can eliminate it from your flock by identifying the infected birds. Does that mean getting rid of them?

They say it's transmitted vertically. What does that mean?

Are the eggs safe to eat if they have thin shells or other symptoms or what if they look like healthy eggs?

I suspected cocci until I started reading about the eggs and i'm really sure this is happening. I also read that there's not much history of it in the USA, meaning to me that it's unlikely to happen in the states? If that's the case, what am I dealing with?

I'm coming across contradictory information and not sure what to do now. Am I to disinfect the coop and everything? If I'm not getting rid of otherwise healthy birds, will the virus continue to spread?

 

[Chicken Lass]

Hi, I hope someone with more knowledge can help you. I lost two hens to egg binding because I hadn't been feeding them right and found out too late. I was giving them too much scratch feed and now I'm making sure they have plenty of laying crumbles, oyster shells, and grit. I don't know much about egg drop syndrome, but my two hens were doing the same thing with the shell-less eggs - mostly yellow yolk. I know hens need a lot of calcium and protein, and I guess mine weren't getting enough with all the scratch they were consuming. Hope this helps somewhat and that someone else can give you the right advice (I get confused with all the conflicting stuff in chicken books too).

 

[speckledhen]

Where are you located? Egg drop syndrome is not usually found here in the U.S. It's highly unlikely it's that. Vertically means passed through the egg to the chicks. She could have egg peritonitis or be laying internally, depositing yolk into her abdomen. That usually hits them after two years old, especially production birds. I've lost many hens to that in recent years. No prevention, no cure. Not sure that's what is wrong with your girl, though.

 

[phoebe]

I'd worried my Australorp had egg drop syndrome (see thread about 'hens laying watery eggs') but have come to the conclusion that this is somewhat unlikely, given that according to some websites on this subject and as you and speckled hen said, this isn't a recognized condition in the U.S. Could it be infectious bronchitis? My hen's shells are more or less o.k. although she seems to be holding onto her eggs longer than she ought, and they sometimes come out an irregular shape; it's the interior egg quality that is her problem (weak yolks, little albumen and what there is seems free-floating, and a lot of watery liquid). I tried increasing her protein but this didn't make a difference. A couple of people have suggested giving her vitamins and one suggested antibiotics, neither of which I've tried yet because I haven't been able to get out to the feed stores. I'm inclined to believe this is an individual problem/trait of this one hen. On close examination, the other two are laying eggs that are just a little watery around the edges but otherwise have a normal appearance. Some hens just have problems--and I do hope you're able to help yours resolve hers. As for mine, I think I've found her a pretty good home where she'll be enjoyed as a pet.

Anyway, I guess I wouldn't worry about egg drop syndrome and focus more on what you can do to make her comfortable and improve the quality of her eggs. Is she being picked on by the others? Could she have mites? If she's upset, maybe that's affecting her egg laying. Can you isolate her until her feathers have grown back in?

The suggestions I've received for cleaning/disinfecting the coop are: 1) use 100% vinegar spray OR 2) use 50/50 bleach/water solution spray. I'm going with the vinegar and that's my job for today!

Best of luck to you!

 

[Marco Pollo]

Update: I decided it was coccidiosis and treated the whole flock. The sick bird has perked up only slightly and today another hen went ill. I also have a new rooster who seems to be having a worse limp by the day but he's otherwise frisky and annoying, especially to the sick girls who can't seem to fend him off.

 

[Garden Gal]

Is there a way to separate the roo from the sick girls so they can heal without having to deal with him?? The stress is only going to make their healing take longer.

 

[Doriss]

I don't understand the language that the articles are written in.

Symptoms: I have one 2 year old chicken with bald spots on her shoulders. The skin is very pink/red. She's been sleeping around the clock for a couple days. There have been shell-less eggs and eggs with thin shells on the ends and we have a history of soft shelled eggs happening occasionally.

My problems are:

They say egg drop syndrome is usually asymptomatic but I clearly have a sick bird.

They say there is no treatment but you can eliminate it from your flock by identifying the infected birds. Does that mean getting rid of them?

They say it's transmitted vertically. What does that mean?

Are the eggs safe to eat if they have thin shells or other symptoms or what if they look like healthy eggs?

I suspected cocci until I started reading about the eggs and i'm really sure this is happening. I also read that there's not much history of it in the USA, meaning to me that it's unlikely to happen in the states? If that's the case, what am I dealing with?

I'm coming across contradictory information and not sure what to do now. Am I to disinfect the coop and everything? If I'm not getting rid of otherwise healthy birds, will the virus continue to spread?

 

[Doriss]

I don't understand the language that the articles are written in.

Symptoms: I have one 2 year old chicken with bald spots on her shoulders. The skin is very pink/red. She's been sleeping around the clock for a couple days. There have been shell-less eggs and eggs with thin shells on the ends and we have a history of soft shelled eggs happening occasionally.

My problems are:

They say egg drop syndrome is usually asymptomatic but I clearly have a sick bird.

They say there is no treatment but you can eliminate it from your flock by identifying the infected birds. Does that mean getting rid of them?

They say it's transmitted vertically. What does that mean?

Are the eggs safe to eat if they have thin shells or other symptoms or what if they look like healthy eggs?

I suspected cocci until I started reading about the eggs and i'm really sure this is happening. I also read that there's not much history of it in the USA, meaning to me that it's unlikely to happen in the states? If that's the case, what am I dealing with?

I'm coming across contradictory information and not sure what to do now. Am I to disinfect the coop and everything? If I'm not getting rid of otherwise healthy birds, will the virus continue to spread?

Vertical transmission is from hen to chick or egg. But there's also lateral transmission from chicken to chicken. EDS shows no signs of illness, which distinguishes it from a whole load of other infectious diseases that lead to decreased egg production, thin-shelled, or shell-less eggs. Since you have a sick bird, it might very well not be EDS. Worth investigating for avian flu, Newcastle disease, or infectious bronchitis. Hope this helps.