Am I Doing This Correctly? Pic added

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm baaaaaack.....

Iris hasn't laid yet. She usually lays every other day. It's been 3 days since the shelless egg. When should I start to worry?

Also, since I've been keeping a very close eye on her, I've noticed that Zinnia, my BR, had been kinda mean to her. I'm wondering if Iris hasn't been eating enough pellets because Zinnia chases her off from the feeder. Iris just goes into the yard and free ranges. I'm wondering if that contributed to her egg mishap by depriving her of calcium and whatnot.

2 questions arise:

1) Is it possible Zinnia's pecking is contributing (or even causing) Iris's egg problems?
2) Would getting more feeders help? I only have one at present because I only have 4 birds. I also ordered a scale from Amazon so I can track her weight better to see what's going on with her diet.

Ok, 3 questions:
3) Is there anything else I should be doing?

TIA

I would give her a little more time before I started to worry. If you can catch her
you can always give her a treat of egg and sneak some calcium into it. If you are really good, then you can also direct dose her with Nutri-Drench or Poultry Cell. LOL I usually do give mine vitamins and calcium for a couple of days.

If you have room, it won't hurt to add a feed station, I do have a couple that like to be food monitors, but the lowest birds seem to find a way around that. I DO have multiple feed stations though so there is a difference there.

Stress could cause some egg laying issues, but Iris has not had any problems before correct? Zinnia may be picking at her a little because Iris is still not feeling well. Chickens spend a lot of time watching one another and note any subtle differences.
If Zinnia is not drawing blood, I would be inclined to leave them be and work it out.

It's good that you will have something to weigh them. My suggestion when weighing would be to do it first thing in the morning before she's had anything to eat/drink. I feel like this is the best time to get a consistent reading. For example if on day 1 you weigh her in the morning when the crop is empty, then weigh her in 3-4 days at night when she has filled her crop, your weigh in will automatically be different just because of food/water - make sense?

 

[Aunt Angus]

I can catch her. She's big and slow, and those wacky feathered feet make running for her akin to what it might be like if I tried running in swim flippers - LOL! She doesn't like it, but too bad. I'm bigger, meaner, and faster! Bwahahahaha! I will Nutri Drench her tomorrow, and I will see if I can't get her to eat some calcium. If not, I'll find me some liquid calcium. I find that easier than trying to make her eat. And a second feeder. It's cheap, and will come in handy when my three little uns arrive in June.

Thanks again for tolerating my many questions! I appreciate you tons, @Wyorp Rock !

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I can catch her. She's big and slow, and those wacky feathered feet make running for her akin to what it might be like if I tried running in swim flippers - LOL! She doesn't like it, but too bad. I'm bigger, meaner, and faster! Bwahahahaha! I will Nutri Drench her tomorrow, and I will see if I can't get her to eat some calcium. If not, I'll find me some liquid calcium. I find that easier than trying to make her eat. And a second feeder. It's cheap, and will come in handy when my three little uns arrive in June.

Thanks again for tolerating my many questions! I appreciate you tons, @Wyorp Rock !

LOL Your description of her running makes me chuckle!
Mine don't like Nutri-Drench all that well either, but I still sometimes use it.
Usually I can get extra calcium into them if it's sprinkled over scrambled egg (yum)

Oh, babies in June! How exciting

 

[micstrachan]

Hi @Aunt Angus. Sorry I missed this thread, but I’m glad things looking better. You have also received some wonderful help from @Wyorp Rock.
I personally think being off feed could possibly be a factor in your girl’s issues, but I could be wrong. I always regret not knowing more when I had a sick girl... she started with some soft eggs and rapidly progressed to EYP. Since the first sign was soft eggs, I wonder if I had treated her with calcium would things be different. In the end she was passing some egg-like material that I now think was the beginning of salpingitis. My point is, good on you for being on top of things and catching it early. If she were mine now, I would put her on a calcium regimen for a few days AND be prepared to administer antibiotics at the very first sign if salpingitis. My personal opinion on the material your girl passed is that it looks like membrane possibly mixed with a little soft lash egg material. I don’t even know if that’s possible.

Please keep us posted on he progress!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hi @Aunt Angus. Sorry I missed this thread, but I’m glad things looking better. You have also received some wonderful help from @Wyorp Rock.
I personally think being off feed could possibly be a factor in your girl’s issues, but I could be wrong. I always regret not knowing more when I had a sick girl... she started with some soft eggs and rapidly progressed to EYP. Since the first sign was soft eggs, I wonder if I had treated her with calcium would things be different. In the end she was passing some egg-like material that I now think was the beginning of salpingitis. My point is, good on you for being on top of things and catching it early. If she were mine now, I would put her on a calcium regimen for a few days AND be prepared to administer antibiotics at the very first sign if salpingitis. My personal opinion on the material your girl passed is that it looks like membrane possibly mixed with a little soft lash egg material. I don’t even know if that’s possible.

Please keep us posted on he progress!

VERY good advice, as always. You are fantastic, @micstrachan . I am still @ work, but I'm headed to the feed store right after. I will get antibiotics. I am having a hard time getting her to eat calcium, though. I will have to get creative.

I was concerned about that material she passed, too. I "dissected" it a bit and wasn't wholly convinced it was just egg. Don't want to treat with antibiotics if unnecessary, but I will if anything else funky comes along. What antibiotics would be good for that? I have noooo idea.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

VERY good advice, as always. You are fantastic, @micstrachan . I am still @ work, but I'm headed to the feed store right after. I will get antibiotics. I am having a hard time getting her to eat calcium, though. I will have to get creative.

I was concerned about that material she passed, too. I "dissected" it a bit and wasn't wholly convinced it was just egg. Don't want to treat with antibiotics if unnecessary, but I will if anything else funky comes along. What antibiotics would be good for that? I have noooo idea.

How is she?
Did you happen to get a couple of photos of the dissected egg?

You ask about antibiotics. If I were to choose a couple to have on hand it would be Baytril and Amoxicillin. If you want one that will cover most things, the Baytril would be the way to go.

 

[Aunt Angus]

How is she?
Did you happen to get a couple of photos of the dissected egg?

You ask about antibiotics. If I were to choose a couple to have on hand it would be Baytril and Amoxicillin. If you want one that will cover most things, the Baytril would be the way to go.

So far, she seems back to normal. I would definitely like to see her lay an egg, but it hasn't happened yet.

The only pic I got was that one I posted earlier. I didn't really dissect it so much as try to flatten/unroll/untangle the membrane to determine if it was really a membrane. I couldn't really tell, but the yolk was definitely a yolk.

I went to TSC this afternoon, and they were out of Amoxicillan. I went to the store near where I work. I will hit up the one in my neighborhood tomorrow. Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

So far, she seems back to normal. I would definitely like to see her lay an egg, but it hasn't happened yet.

The only pic I got was that one I posted earlier. I didn't really dissect it so much as try to flatten/unroll/untangle the membrane to determine if it was really a membrane. I couldn't really tell, but the yolk was definitely a yolk.

I went to TSC this afternoon, and they were out of Amoxicillan. I went to the store near where I work. I will hit up the one in my neighborhood tomorrow. Thanks!

I'm glad she seems to be feeling better.

You likely will not find Amoxicillin at TSC. Both Baytril and Amoxicillin you can order online though.
https://allbirdproducts.com/products/baytril-10
https://www.revivalanimal.com/product/fish-mox?sku=22150-174

 

[Aunt Angus]

Will do. Thank you!

 

[micstrachan]

Looking forward to an update and eventually, an egg.