anyone relate to this strange occurance?

[chesapeake]

I have a crested cream legbar, Trixie, 10 months old. She came into laying beautiful blue eggs last winter. Good layer, almost egg a day with strong shells. Two months ago I looked out the window and saw her, standing still and looking down. Very still, which as you all know is weird. I went out to her and saw that her fluffy butt was dirty and stained and I wondered if she had either had an egg break inside or was egg bound. Went to the internet to see what I could find to help and settled on a warm, slightly acidic (ACV) water bath for her bum and some lubricant around the vent. The following day she laid her egg and I thought, cool! All is well. But after this episode she laid several soft shelled eggs over the course of ten days or so. Now she only lays an egg occasionally. Bumpy and thin shelled eggs. Don't get me wrong, I don't care about the **** egg. She's a great bird and I don't care if she never lays another egg but I wonder if this is anything anyone can relate to or tell me about. She's fine, she eats and drinks well and is allowed free range anywhere from four to eight hours a day. She gets on well with her coop mates (2 roos and 11 hens). She is offered oyster shell and grit, gets BOSS and occasional cabbage and other greens. I feed extra eggs back on occasion as well, scrambled and mixed with some homemade yogurt. Everyone else in the flock is fine, no parasites, etc. Has anyone else had an experience like this?

 

[Folly's place]

She's beautiful! She very likely might have a problem in there, and it may just show as very poor egg production, or turn into something much worse. She can continue as she is, or visit an experienced avian veterinarian for a workup. Good luck with her! Every hen doesn't produce well for a long time, some just will have issues. Mary

 

[Hanna8]

My hen experienced something similar. She may not go back to laying normal eggs, and if that is the case you will want to keep a very close eye on her for signs of problems. This will place her at risk for reproductive issues like the one that my hen got, egg yolk peritonitis. Find an avian vet, watch her for changes in behavior that could indicate a decline health, and make her an appointment if something comes up.

 

[chesapeake]

Thanks for the replies. We don't have any local avian vets although our small animal vet has said she would "bone up" on chickens when I asked her what she knew about poultry. I'll keep an eye on her, I thought it very strange and wondered if anyone else had seen this and how they dealt with it.

 

[aart]

I'd isolate her for a week to observe...hard for a free ranger, I know, but no other way to really keep a good eye on input and output.

Large wire crate/enclosure adjacent to other birds might do the trick, the stress might skew condition and thus observations,
but after she settles down you'll be able to get a better look at what she's eating/drinking/pooping/laying.

 

[chesapeake]

Forgive the phrase, but...I'm watching her like a hawk. She's my only cream legbar, thus my only blue egg layer. No eggs for over a week. I've spent the last three days outside following her around and checking her poop. She is eating just fine, and comes to take seeds from my hand. She's active and interactive with the flock. Everything seems normal except she's not laying and I am troubled as to what will happen with the "eggs" she was born with if she's not laying them...