• Shell-less Egg and Droopy Hen, Please Help!

[onesweetflock]

Hi there! This isn't something I wanted to have to ask about obviously, but this is of grave concern! My sweet little Butter is normally quite active and will come peck at my leg for some treats. I noticed that she hadn't done that tonight as I was getting ready to shut them in for the evening. (I check on them several times a day since I work from home, she was definitely fine earlier.) She looked rather strained, her face was very red, and seemed to be hunched up a bit and fluffed as if she were trying to push something out. She was extremely slow and seemed to be waddling a bit. Since I had no idea what could be wrong, I immediately began researching on my phone while pacing with her once I got back to the house. Finally.... a giant glob of yolk and clear fluid came out. Obviously at this point I was pretty panicked! I feared that an egg had broken inside her. In a few minutes, this strange membrane thing came out as well:

When I squished it a bit, it had tension and it broke and what seemed to be egg white came out. (Pretty gross man, sorry for the image but I gotta be thorough lol) She seemed to perk up a bit after that! Little more vibrant, but still clearly uncomfy. From there, while following what little I could find about what to do if my chicken indeed had [XYZ] problem, I cleaned her vent with some antiseptic spray that has painkiller in it too. Then I followed up with a 20 minute soak in a sink full of epsom salt. Once she was a bit dried off, I took a glove and felt around the inside of her vent. I didn't notice any broken egg pieces, and I tried to search pretty well, but I'm worried I wasn't thorough enough. I checked all over her underside + eggbag for any signs of blockages / an egg, but didn't find any. I cleaned out her vent with a vinegar + water solution, and she seemed to get a little lackluster again after that. I had also administered a tiny bit of tetracycline to her. For further info, Butter has just turned a year old, is a medium sized Buff Orpington, has never had any soft-shelled / shell-less eggs before now, has had plenty of access to proper nutrition, and has showed literally no signs of unwellness until tonight. Her crop was full so she had been eating and drinking today, and she had been pooping until this strange egg catastrophe happened. She normally has a voracious appetite but didn't do much but meekly peck at seeds when offered them. The only normal thing she's been doing is preening to get any remaining moisture off from her bath... I'd also been worming my birds a few times because I'd noticed they would shake their heads as if itchy, but mite treatments didn't seem to work. (Another topic for another time haha...) So I'm doubtful it was due to negligence from a respitory infection, but who knows! She seemed to have a bit harder time breathing, but that could have been from the pain. Currently, Butter is resting in a pet carrier in my room, in the dark. Her wings are droopy, and she still seems uncomfortable, tail in a position to where her vent is exposed. Not upright like a penguin thankfully, but she's clearly not well. I'm hoping she'll have recovered a bit by morning, but I'm doubtful.... Does anyone have any experience with something like this, and what else is there that I can do to help her? She's honestly like a daughter to me and I need to get her back to good health. I will hopefully be able to find a vet for her ASAP if necessary, though I feel with my family being in the farm business we'd likely be able to do just as well here. I have some penicillin I haven't given her yet, and will try calcium and electrolytes tomorrow. Please help if you can!! I'll do whatever it takes.

 

[micstrachan]

Heat. Can you offer her a heating pad? Start with that and we’ll go from there. I have been through this before. Also, as a quick calcium boost, I have given a crushed Tums mixed into a raw egg yolk. I hope it’s an isolated incident for you. I recommend keeping her in the dark to shut her laying down for a bit, as well.

 

[azygous]

Start her on the penicillin. It's a good precaution if the egg did break inside her. As @micstrachan recommends, rig a heating pad for her and place a moist bath towel on top of it. Let her rest on this moist heat, set at low.

A calcium supplement will help with the contractions and if there is an egg in the chute that she's having trouble with, this should help her form a good shell around it, making it easier to expel.

If that antiseptic spray has lidocaine, or any pain killer ending in "caine", do not use any more on her as it is toxic to chickens.

Sometimes, these egg episodes involve two eggs. It can be very uncomfortable for the hen, but once the other egg comes out, she should feel much better and return to normal very soon.

 

[micstrachan]

I forgot to mention, she will probably feel much better now that she seemed to get all the misshapen, shell less egg out. At least for now. If this is her first one, she is probably still in good condition. Please be prepared for the strong possibility that a laying disorder could becoming on, which is why I recommend the dark for now. She may be a candidate for a hormone implant to prevent further laying if you have the means to get that for her. I would see how she does and consult an avian vet. Good luck with your sweet Butter.

 

[micstrachan]

I’ll be thinking of your Butter today. Have you been able to give her calcium? Besides the Tums in egg yolk, I have also crushed a human calcium plus D3 pill over scrambled egg. Please keep us posted.

 

[azygous]

Continue the moist heat and give her another calcium tablet today. The calcium is extremely important in this type of crisis. It may mean the difference between a stuck soft shell egg and a hard shell egg that can be pushed out. The moist heat lubricates and relaxes tissues.

Then provide plenty of water to drink to keep her tissues as hydrated as possible. Smoothing some coconut oil on her vent, getting some just inside the vent, can also help with that final "push".

 

[rebrascora]

Out of curiosity, what do you feed them? A layer pellet/crumbles or a mixed grain feed or mash? Do they get fed scratch or any other treat/ I appreciate that you mention that they get a balanced diet but some grain mixes/mashes allow the birds to pick and chose which components of it they eat and the fines which contain the essential minerals are often left behind, so whilst you provide a good balanced diet, the hens don't always eat a balanced diet. Similarly feeding too much scratch or other carbs like bread, pasta and rice etc can cause a nutrient imbalance. I believe there is more to shell quality than just calcium although I am no expert and whilst a calcium supplement is a good idea in these circumstances, checking that they are eating a balanced ration as their main source of food is very important.

 

[rebrascora]

I would not add oyster shell to their layer crumbles nor anything else, it just encourages them to bill the feed out to get to the bits they like and selectively eat those in preference. Layer feed already contains the calcium they need and is a complete feed. Once you start diluting it by giving them other things like cracked corn, which is mostly just carbohydrates, you reduce their protein and calcium intake. How would you know how much calcium to add, to give them enough but not too much to make up the deficit? Excess calcium can cause kidney problems so it is a fine balance. Providing oyster shell in a separate dish for the hens to take as and when they need it is better, but there is more to shell quality than just calcium and the balance with other minerals and nutrients is very important, so you are better sticking to a layer crumble/pellet and giving them very little else. Whilst birds do often enjoy dairy produce, it is not always good for them (they have not evolved to process dairy) and an occasional treat of a bit of yoghurt is very different from giving them milk on a near daily basis. I do not believe the latter is healthy for them and again, will upset the balance or their nutrition and possibly lead to obesity or digestive problems.
Chickens are like top level athletes. Their bodies are working at an optimum efficiency level (nature never intended for them to lay so many eggs) and as such, their diet is very important. Feed manufacturers have done a lot of research to provide all the essential nutrients they need to keep them healthy and laying eggs and then we start giving them extras, which means they eat less of the formulated ration and the balance is lost. A few scraps every now and then is OK but the vast majority of their food should be from that formulated layer feed.

 

[onesweetflock]

Just a quick update for those following, I administered some penicillin to her, as well as more calcium + egg yolk mixture. I've been reheating the heating pad as often as I can, too. She doesn't seem to want to eat on her own, but does poop every now and then, and hasn't laid anything so far. I'll likely give her another epsom salt bath later tonight and try to see if I felt everything I should have in her vent. Will promptly clean the vent with vinegar solution and put oil back there as well. She has a little more personality today and has been sassy about this whole process, so I'm a bit more hopeful now, with caution lol.

 

[onesweetflock]

Thank you so so much... I managed to get a good bit of crushed calcium down her, so for now I'll let her rest in the dark for a bit and then try getting some other things down her later. She's strong enough still to fight back haha... and she managed to poop! I can't believe I'm so happy to see poop for once lollll.... though it was a bit watery and had a tinge of pink to it (likely blood), but her backside has gone thru a lot recently so I'm not too overly concerned about that. Once I put her back into the carrier, she seemed to scratch a bit as if she might lay an egg. I hope if anything else is trapped in there she can get it out!