broken shell piece

[Chicken Soap with Nuts]

My hens haven't been laying since molt. One was broody (Esmerelda-blackstar) and then went through molt, the other (Rosalie-red star) went through a hard molt a few weeks later. Rosalie is 4 1/2 and Esmerelda is 3 1/2. We've been feeding medicated chick feed since the chicks are in there with them. They do have layer feed in a treadle feeder that was leftover, but they really hate the treadle feeder and they prefer to eat the chick's feed and don't ever go for the layer feed. The chicks are about 15 or 16 weeks. I gave both hens some calcium treats today after I found the first egg in a while. I'm not sure which hen it was. Rosalie tends to have weak shells and needs vitamin d supplementation with her calcium while laying, but her comb isn't red and Esmerelda's is, so, not sure who it was. Esmerelda has some white poop stuck to her butt. The egg was covered in poop and there was a thick piece of eggshell, maybe about 1 cm wide on the egg. sorry, didn't take a pic before I tossed it. It concerns me that one of the hens might have a broken egg inside of her. What do I need to watch out for and is it too late for her, whichever one she is?

 

[fin-dachickmasta]

Maybe take her ( Esmerelda) to the vet. Just wait I will try to find an alternative.

 

[Faiyumi]

Okay for starters, you may need to separate them if you find another shell like that. There's no point in playing the guessing game at that point. The sooner you pinpoint who is having issues the more successful you'll be in helping them. If you do end up sperating them, I'd leave Esmerelda in the main coop and bring Rosalie to the separate area and here's why. Since Esmerelda has the poop on her butt she's likely not preening as much as she should be or having dietary issues. This could indicate she's a little sick or having issues with pain. If she's laying eggs, moving her could stess her into not laying eggs. Moving Rosalie could stress her Esmerelda too honestly. The best solution is add cameras to the coop and watch the footage. This causes no stress and allows you to find the layer. It's worth the investment in the long run and camera systems are pretty cheap these days.

Are you leaving out crushed oyster shells? If so, start leaving out crushed egg shells too in a separate container. Some hens are very picky about their calcium sources and do not enjoy oyster shells. Some won't even eat store bought egg shells. More calcium sources are needed for Rosalie or she will develop some serious reproductive problems if she has weak shells often enough for you to mention it. If you are doing both of those already then you need to keep the feed separate. No more chick feed. If the problem persists after that then she's already is having moderate reproductive problems which may or may not be curable. The occasional soft/weak egg isn't very concerning but I get very very few since starting to have both sources of calcium. I highly recommend that you have both.

Esmerelda should be given some probiotics for chickens. This may help with the digestive issues causing the poop on her butt. Stress from the molting can cause both issues, the egg or the poop.

At the end of the day. Hiccups in the reproductive tract happen. If this is the first egg this season I'd wait and see the second egg or third. Keep an eye on them both and see if one starts getting sickly. Lethargic or less active. If one starts getting any symptoms like that she is having a medical emergency. I understand not everyone can get to a vet. It's not necessary too late if she gets vet treatment but without it her odds wouldn't be very good honestly and I'd just give her lots of treats and love. Love works wonders sometimes.

A broken egg shell is not always a death sentence. You may notice nothing else happen. Snap a pic next time it happens too it's a little hard working off a description. It could be a few other things and a pic would help a lot to narrow it down.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Have you tried checking their pelvic spacing? That's a good indicator of which hen is laying.