Soft eggs then death

[Wyorp Rock]

You asked about excess abdominal fat. I had a hen die after dropping shell-less eggs for about a month and she did have excess abdominal fat. The avian vet tried antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds and they seemed to help (started laying eggs with shells, not good quality shells though) after a week, but then the second week she went back to dropping shell-less eggs and died two weeks after the vet visit. She was a Whiting True Green, two years old, ate layer feed. My 5 other hens are all different breeds. One or more (can’t tell who) is now dropping shell-less eggs and I’m worried it’s happening to another hen. I felt all their abdomens and two might be extra poochy but I could be wrong. Two hens are currently laying normal eggs. They all molted so I thought they stopped laying for that reason. But three are still not laying (and might be dropping unfinished eggs).

My 2 year old Whiting True Green, Greta, died a couple weeks ago. She had been laying “mistake eggs”, my daughter and I call them. She was dropping eggs without shells. It took a while to figure out which of my six hens was doing it. Then, I noticed Greta’s belly seemed swollen so I took her in to the vet. The avian vet thought the swelling was fat and was concerned about her egg problem. He prescribed antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds and they seemed to help (started laying eggs with shells, not good quality shells though). But then the second week she went back to dropping shell-less eggs and died two weeks after the vet visit.

My 5 other hens are all different breeds. One or more (can’t tell who) is now dropping shell-less eggs and I’m worried it’s happening to another hen. I felt all their abdomens and two might be slightly extra poochy but I could be wrong. Two hens are currently laying normal eggs. But three are still not laying (and might be dropping unfinished eggs).

I appreciate all the empathy expressed in my introductory post regarding Greta. She was the sweetest one of all. I miss her deeply. Not everyone understands the grief of losing a hen but you all do. These are my first hens and they have been incredibly helpful to my mental health over the last two years. I love them so much.

Thank you,
Rachel

I'm sorry to hear about Greta, I saw your other post and she was a lovely hen.

What do you feed, including treats?
Do you provide oyster shell free choice?

If you know which hen is now having a problem with soft shelled eggs, you can try giving Extra Calcium for up to 7 days to see if there's improvement. Aim for 600mg Calcium Citrate with D3 daily. You can find this at Walmart, CVS, etc., just pop the tablet right into the beak and let the hen swallow.

Excess fat in the abdomen can often lead to Fatty Liver Disease which can affect production and the overall health of the hen. If you do lose another hen, then it would be a good idea to have a necropsy through your state lab to find out more, or if you are up to it, perform an informal one yourself taking a look at the organs and reproductive system.


Your other thread can be found here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-shell-less-eggs-for-several-weeks.1602380/

 

[rachel13helene]

I'm sorry to hear about Greta, I saw your other post and she was a lovely hen.

What do you feed, including treats?
Do you provide oyster shell free choice?

If you know which hen is now having a problem with soft shelled eggs, you can try giving Extra Calcium for up to 7 days to see if there's improvement. Aim for 600mg Calcium Citrate with D3 daily. You can find this at Walmart, CVS, etc., just pop the tablet right into the beak and let the hen swallow.

Excess fat in the abdomen can often lead to Fatty Liver Disease which can affect production and the overall health of the hen. If you do lose another hen, then it would be a good idea to have a necropsy through your state lab to find out more, or if you are up to it, perform an informal one yourself taking a look at the organs and reproductive system.


Your other thread can be found here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-shell-less-eggs-for-several-weeks.1602380/

Thank you for your kind reply. I feed them organic layer crumble from Modesto Milling, a small scoop of organic scratch, and a handful of Grublies daily. I always have oyster shell out for them and I feed them their ground egg shells (when they are laying). Once or twice a week I give them kale or collards or parsley. They get time in the yard every day to forage. If I can figure out who is dropping the soft eggs, I’ll give them the supplement you suggest. Thank you so much for all of your feedback.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You asked about excess abdominal fat. I had a hen die after dropping shell-less eggs for about a month and she did have excess abdominal fat.

Thank you for your kind reply. I feed them organic layer crumble from Modesto Milling, a small scoop of organic scratch, and a handful of Grublies daily. I always have oyster shell out for them and I feed them their ground egg shells (when they are laying). Once or twice a week I give them kale or collards or parsley.

I love giving my girls treats, it's so fun, but trying cutting back on the treats since you are noticing excess fat in the abdomen.

The layer feed should be their main source of nutrition, scratch, grubblies, etc. are cosidered treats. While black soilder fly larvae are high in protein, they are also quite high in fat.
Scratch is often only around 8% protein.
Greens, I have a hard time calling them treats, but if they eat a lot of them, it's possible they could dilute the overall protein/nutritional intake over a long period of time.

Think moderation. I do give mine "treats" a few times a week, but usually not daily. I do give a small amount of scratch or hard boiled eggs. I raise mealworms, but they don't get a lot of those, it's a process to grow out enough to give to everyone, so I usually just end up giving some to a few girls here and there - they LOVE mealworms and would rip your arm off to get more, but I know those are high in fat, so I limit how many they get, so usually just once a week.

Hopefully you can figure out which hen you need to give extra calcium to and she will improve.
Do the best you can, I know it's heartbreaking to lose them.