Soft shell egg and lethargic behaviour?

[Chickenclaw]

Hi,

My Barnevelder hen has been laying some strange eggs lately and I’m starting to worry about her health. She is around 21 weeks old and she has laid two soft shell eggs: one with just the yoke and membrane and the other was formed in an egg shape with no shell. Before the first egg she seemed to feel lethargic and in discomfort, but the second egg didn’t bother her as much.

I’m taking her to the vet tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyone else has any ideas on what’s wrong. She does need to change from pullet to layer food so I was wondering if that was the cause.

My last hen laid many soft shelled eggs and she died because of it so I’m hoping its not the same.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

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

 

[EvanstonEggs]

I am having the exact issues with one of my girls. They started off as a soft egg, and now they're like a balloon with the umbilical cord attached. She is lethargic too! It is making me very sad. Would love to hear if there are any solutions. I had fed my girls spinach daily, but stopped about a month ago when I started noticing this issue. My girl is two years old.

Any help? Any advice? I'd prefer to not get a vet involved at this point due to cost. My Maggie is one of 6 backyard girls.

 

[aart]

I had fed my girls spinach daily, but stopped about a month ago when I started noticing this issue.

IIRC spinach can inhibit calcium uptake.


These are good questions that the thread started must not have been interested in answering:

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

 

[EvanstonEggs]

I feed my girls layer crumbles with a little bit of scratch, greek yogurt sometimes, chopped cabbage or kale and that's mostly it, some meal worms. They have eggshell and/or oyster shell available all the time. Everyone else seems to be healthy.

 

[aart]

I feed my girls layer crumbles with a little bit of scratch, greek yogurt sometimes, chopped cabbage or kale and that's mostly it, some meal worms. They have eggshell and/or oyster shell available all the time. Everyone else seems to be healthy.

If she's the only bird with shell problems, it's not likely the overall diet.
Tho layer feed is meant to be the sole food.
She may need extra calcium.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am having the exact issues with one of my girls. They started off as a soft egg, and now they're like a balloon with the umbilical cord attached. She is lethargic too! It is making me very sad. Would love to hear if there are any solutions. I had fed my girls spinach daily, but stopped about a month ago when I started noticing this issue. My girl is two years old.

Any help? Any advice? I'd prefer to not get a vet involved at this point due to cost. My Maggie is one of 6 backyard girls.

I feed my girls layer crumbles with a little bit of scratch, greek yogurt sometimes, chopped cabbage or kale and that's mostly it, some meal worms. They have eggshell and/or oyster shell available all the time. Everyone else seems to be healthy.

I would try giving extra calcium. 1 Caltrate a day for 3-5 days.
The lethargy is concerning. see that she's staying hydrated, encourage her to eat her normal food. Do look her over for lice/mites and make sure her crop is emptying overnight as well.
Hopefully it's just a glitch that can be corrected.

 

[EvanstonEggs]

I would try giving extra calcium. 1 Caltrate a day for 3-5 days.
The lethargy is concerning. see that she's staying hydrated, encourage her to eat her normal food. Do look her over for lice/mites and make sure her crop is emptying overnight as well.
Hopefully it's just a glitch that can be corrected.

I will check her crop in the morning. What am I looking for? And the caltrate - is that just a human supplement or is there something special for chickens?


Thank you so much for your help!!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I will check her crop in the morning. What am I looking for? And the caltrate - is that just a human supplement or is there something special for chickens?


Thank you so much for your help!!

Your looking to see if her crop is emptying, if it's not, then I would address that too.
Often a hen that is having reproductive difficulties can have other issues arise, so you would want to get on top of symptoms as soon as possible so you can correct them.

Caltrate is the human supplement. You can use generic too, doesn't matter.

 

[Silkiepoo]

Hi,

My Barnevelder hen has been laying some strange eggs lately and I’m starting to worry about her health. She is around 21 weeks old and she has laid two soft shell eggs: one with just the yoke and membrane and the other was formed in an egg shape with no shell. Before the first egg she seemed to feel lethargic and in discomfort, but the second egg didn’t bother her as much.

I’m taking her to the vet tomorrow, but I was wondering if anyone else has any ideas on what’s wrong. She does need to change from pullet to layer food so I was wondering if that was the cause.

My last hen laid many soft shelled eggs and she died because of it so I’m hoping its not the same.

I have a 3 year old silkie who has the same issue off and on. In the past, the vet has given her one antibiotic after another. She's been like this 1/2 of her life.

If you are keeping an eye on her digestion, energy, temp, etc. that is really helpful for problem solving.

My Little Rosie eats all of the right stuff and has calcium available. The vet said she probably has a immune system issue that flares up. If she won't eat, we tube feed. If she's picky, we just give her whatever she will eat (scrambled eggs, mealworms, cooked millet...easy to digest foods.) We know we may not always be able to pull her back to health, but love and attention is a powerful tool.

Good luck with your hen and I'd love an update.