Hey there, BYC friends!
My 5.5 month old cuckoo marans, Ivy, is having egg problems and I am hoping you might provide some insights/experiences/advice? I am wondering whether it is reasonable to let her try to lay another egg. Please forgive the long post!!! I wanted to provide relevant background info.
A bit of background. She is part of a flock of 10 chickens of the same age - and most of the others are laying regularly, and all of their eggs and shells are fine. She came from MPC March 24, 2008. I give the chickens layer crumbles, small amounts of scratch, grit, and oyster shell (I give the oyster shell in a separate container) along with small amounts of veggies and fruits like grapes as treats. They have a large indoor and outdoor pen, have access to plants, and truly free range twice a day on the lawn for a total of an hour - eating grass, running around, cracking me UP!
Ivy has been healthy, but developed an infection a few weeks ago - no other chicken was sick. I took her to the vet, gave her a round of baytril and hand fed her pedialyte and baby bird formula and she recovered nicely. She has been healthy for a few weeks, and started squatting last week - so I guessed she was going to lay what I am fairly sure will be (because all other eggs have been light brown) her first egg soon.
Last Friday morning, she didn't seem to be moving around very much, and I was concerned she was getting sick again. Then I noticed she had what looked like egg white and what looked like it could be yolk coming out of her rear end. (*ick!*). I figured she must be having problems with an egg, got online and scanned the BYC topics, and based on that info soaked her rear end in warm water, gave her a crushed tums, used a small syringe (without a needle) to lubricate her rear end, and she finally dropped what I can only describe as a crushed eggshell. Yep - it looked like someone took it in their hands and crushed it. The shell was thin in addition to being crushed.
She didn't perk right back up and I noticed blood in her droppings and took her to the vet this am - they are giving her another round of baytril because of the blood in her droppings and an anti inflammatory. I can go back in a week if I want them to give her a steroid shot to stop laying for a while. She has started eating and drinking on her own and will stand up, but she is hesitant to move. Poor girl probably has some scratches from the crumpled egg..
The question --
Anyone find this story familiar? Does she have a chance at laying an egg that is whole? Is it common to get marans that have problems? And if all other hens are having good shells - and she is otherwise healthy, is there as chance that she might not be metabolizing calcium? I don't see how she could avoid eating calcium - it is in the layer mix... Could her problems be related to being ill a few weeks ago?
Any thoughts/shared experiences appreciated!
*edited to make it clear this was most likely her first egg and to add the "s" in marans!*
My 5.5 month old cuckoo marans, Ivy, is having egg problems and I am hoping you might provide some insights/experiences/advice? I am wondering whether it is reasonable to let her try to lay another egg. Please forgive the long post!!! I wanted to provide relevant background info.
A bit of background. She is part of a flock of 10 chickens of the same age - and most of the others are laying regularly, and all of their eggs and shells are fine. She came from MPC March 24, 2008. I give the chickens layer crumbles, small amounts of scratch, grit, and oyster shell (I give the oyster shell in a separate container) along with small amounts of veggies and fruits like grapes as treats. They have a large indoor and outdoor pen, have access to plants, and truly free range twice a day on the lawn for a total of an hour - eating grass, running around, cracking me UP!
Ivy has been healthy, but developed an infection a few weeks ago - no other chicken was sick. I took her to the vet, gave her a round of baytril and hand fed her pedialyte and baby bird formula and she recovered nicely. She has been healthy for a few weeks, and started squatting last week - so I guessed she was going to lay what I am fairly sure will be (because all other eggs have been light brown) her first egg soon.
Last Friday morning, she didn't seem to be moving around very much, and I was concerned she was getting sick again. Then I noticed she had what looked like egg white and what looked like it could be yolk coming out of her rear end. (*ick!*). I figured she must be having problems with an egg, got online and scanned the BYC topics, and based on that info soaked her rear end in warm water, gave her a crushed tums, used a small syringe (without a needle) to lubricate her rear end, and she finally dropped what I can only describe as a crushed eggshell. Yep - it looked like someone took it in their hands and crushed it. The shell was thin in addition to being crushed.
She didn't perk right back up and I noticed blood in her droppings and took her to the vet this am - they are giving her another round of baytril because of the blood in her droppings and an anti inflammatory. I can go back in a week if I want them to give her a steroid shot to stop laying for a while. She has started eating and drinking on her own and will stand up, but she is hesitant to move. Poor girl probably has some scratches from the crumpled egg..
The question --
Anyone find this story familiar? Does she have a chance at laying an egg that is whole? Is it common to get marans that have problems? And if all other hens are having good shells - and she is otherwise healthy, is there as chance that she might not be metabolizing calcium? I don't see how she could avoid eating calcium - it is in the layer mix... Could her problems be related to being ill a few weeks ago?
Any thoughts/shared experiences appreciated!
*edited to make it clear this was most likely her first egg and to add the "s" in marans!*
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