Am I overreacting?

[bunnochick]

Edit as of Thursday morning: perhaps I wasn't overreacting. I found these two eggs(?) in the coop this morning (please tell me it's not lash egg). One was in the nesting box and the other was under her roost.

For context, she gets fermented layer Feed, regular layer Feed, oyster shells, grit, greens, and kitchen scraps every day. Not sure what caused this.

Not sure if I'm just a new and nervous chicken mom but I'm wondering if one of my girls has a problem?

I have had her for a month and it's estimated she's about a year old. The first two weeks I had her she was still adjusting to the new space and hadn't started laying eggs yet. She started laying eggs consistently two weeks ago, so over the past 2 weeks have been getting four to five eggs from her.

She laid her last egg on Sunday afternoon and it is now Wednesday. I've noticed her in the coop nesting but she hasn't laid any eggs. On Monday I noticed she had a lot of liquid underneath her but no egg. (She hopped in the coop before I was finished cleaning it so there was no straw or bedding under her so maybe I've just never seen how much liquid comes out?) She was in the nesting box again today with no egg.

She's acting normal, eating, drinking, and walking around. Again, she's new to me so I'm not sure if she's lethargic or if she is just being normal. It was about 40° for the past month and just jumped up to 70°-ish so I'm also not sure if the weather is a factor.

She has a very fluffy butt and has always had some poop on it which I always ignored since she was laying and acting normally but now I'm worried that could be an issue?

If I don't get an egg tomorrow I was planning on giving her a soak to at least wash her butt. Am I being too nervous or is there more I should do to see if there's a problem?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If you do decide to soak her, add some Epsom salts to the warm water, that can help her to pass an egg if she needs to. You can also pop a calcium citrate +D3 into her beak and that will also help get things moving if she's having difficulty. You can get that at any walmart, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, that kind of place, in the vitamin/ supplement section. If you don't have that, a Tums will also work.

Can you post a pic of her poop? If you're careful you might could trim some of that bottom fluff around her vent and see if that helps keep her clean. Best if you can get someone to help you, they hold the bird while you wield the scissors.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sorry, give the calcium for 3 days and keep us posted.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's acting normal, eating, drinking, and walking around.

Do you have photos of the liquid? Was it albumen (whites) or yolk?

There is no liquid that comes out of the vent when a normal hard shelled egg is laid.

Perhaps she expelled a soft shelled or shell less egg and the membrane broke?

If she's got a messy bum, it won't hurt to give her a clean up. Soaking can be stressful on a hen, even if they are well and in good condition, so monitor her stress level when handling her.

Sometimes hens take a break from laying eggs, if she's new to you she may be taking a break. It won't hurt to give extra calcium for 3 days to see if that makes a difference. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

You mention she's eating/drinking and relatively active - a hen that is not doing well generally is not eating/drinking and isolates herself or is standoffish with the flock .

 

[bunnochick]

Do you have photos of the liquid? Was it albumen (whites) or yolk?

There is no liquid that comes out of the vent when a normal hard shelled egg is laid.

Perhaps she expelled a soft shelled or shell less egg and the membrane broke?

If she's got a messy bum, it won't hurt to give her a clean up. Soaking can be stressful on a hen, even if they are well and in good condition, so monitor her stress level when handling her.

Sometimes hens take a break from laying eggs, if she's new to you she may be taking a break. It won't hurt to give extra calcium for 3 days to see if that makes a difference. You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

You mention she's eating/drinking and relatively active - a hen that is not doing well generally is not eating/drinking and isolates herself or is standoffish with the flock .

Thank you, this is all SO helpful. The liquid was clear and you can kind of see it in the updates photos I posted.

 

[bunnochick]

If you do decide to soak her, add some Epsom salts to the warm water, that can help her to pass an egg if she needs to. You can also pop a calcium citrate +D3 into her beak and that will also help get things moving if she's having difficulty. You can get that at any walmart, Rite-Aid, Walgreens, that kind of place, in the vitamin/ supplement section. If you don't have that, a Tums will also work.

Can you post a pic of her poop? If you're careful you might could trim some of that bottom fluff around her vent and see if that helps keep her clean. Best if you can get someone to help you, they hold the bird while you wield the scissors.

Great, thank you for this advice!! This is so helpful. I can try and get a pic of the poop, but I think it might have been liquid from a soft shell egg as posted in my update

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The liquid was clear and you can kind of see it in the updates photos I posted.

I think it might have been liquid from a soft shell egg as posted in my update

Looks like egg yolk and whites from a soft shelled egg.

If she's still having troubles, give her the Extra Calcium for 3 days.