Brown leg horn impacted layer....maybe?

[ChickenTerry]

Okay, I've got a year and a half old brown leg horn, and she's been healthy as can be since I got her as a chick. About six days ago she laid a jelly egg, and I noted that her belly seemed a little larger than normal. I keep crushed oyster shell in the coop separate from the food for all the hens to use as they desire, but I kept an eye on her. Two days later she laid another jelly egg, and really seemed to struggle doing it.

I immediately pulled her from the flock and sequestered her in an empty chicken proofed stall; lots of straw, food, water and more calcium. She's eating and drinking, and moving around well enough, but like I said, her belly/butt seem a littler larger than they should be, and the skin feels tight.

She's also missing some feathers on her back (that's from the roo, I believe), but more disturbingly, she's also missing some feathers along her back legs...almost like the stretched belly has rubbed against her legs, and removed feathers....maybe?

She's moving well enough, and is eating and drinking...but she does prefer to sit on the straw laying area I set up for her. No eggs since I put her in there three days ago.

Every so often she also looked like she is "silently squawking" a little as well. Not trouble breathing, no mucus, other signs of breathing distress...just he beak opening and closing silently. I have heard her cluck and chutter around, so I know she's not mute.

I've checked with my fingers around her oviduct to see if I can feel an impacted egg (that was/is my first thought, and I've been reading up on it), but I haven't felt anything like that.

Lastly, she molted around Nov of last year, and I've not noticed any signs of a new molt beginning.

So, is this an impacted egg situation, or something else? Is it broodiness that just happened to coincide with two jelly eggs brought on by a lack of calcium (which I'm addressing).

The rest of the flock (two other brown leghorns, two buff orpingtons, and one barred rock rooster) are all hale, healthy, and performing their assigned duties.

Any thoughts? I'd welcome appreciate any suggestions/observations that anyone has. Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

I'm not an expert on this, but I suspect she could possibly be suffering from internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis. The swollen belly with missing feathers could be a sign of ascites (water in her belly from the liver failing) or maybe a tumor. A chicken who has laid a lot of shell-less eges, has a good chance of one breaking inside creating a set-up for infection, and later peritonitis. Draining ascites fluid to make her comfortable and giving penicillin or other antibiotics may help in the short term, but you may need to consider putting her down at some point. Here are some links an threads to look at: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/526089/egg-yolk-peritonitis
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/68731/laying-hens-with-water-belly-or-ascites

 

[chickenstar]

Yes she is a internal layer her symptoms are very clear to indicate this. The only thing you can do for her other than putting her down is take her to a good avian vet and they will drain her abdomen give her a course of antibiotics and insert a desorelin implant under her skin which will stop her from laying anymore eggs and she will be able to live a normal healthy life as a result of the implant and it will need to be replaced every 6 to 12 months depending on what size implant they can get for her.

 

[ChickenTerry]

Hey guys, thanks for the information. I would agree with your assessments, but I have a little new information, and wanted to ask if it means anything, or if it means nothing.... Quick update: she still seems quite chipper (watched her happily chase and eat a beetle this morning in the stall). Today, she laid an egg! It was a very thinly shelled egg, and broke under her sitting weight (no evidence she broke it with the intention of eating it)...still, it's got more shell than the last two. I cleaned up the straw and her body, and will see what develops tomorrow.

Her belly still feels warm and a little swollen (though I think this breed just has big booties)

Her two fellow brown leghorns have not laid a single egg of the last three days but the two Buffs have. Coincidence? I'm looking for any sign of another molt, but haven't seen extra feathers laying around.

I'm gearing myself towards putting her down if necessary, but I guess I'm hoping against hope there is something else at play here, and she will recover. Quick question. If I do, is her meat safe to eat? Some of the offered links indicate maybe yes, maybe no.

She will be the first chicken I've had to put down (or potentially harvest) since I started this. I knew going in that this was something that was part of owning chickens, just not something I've had to do to an animal I've raised from a ball of fluff.

Would it help if I posted a pic or two?

Thanks again!

 

[Eggcessive]

If she has EYP, and a fever I wouldn't recommend harvesting her meat. Has she lost weight when you feel her breast bone? Have you tried giving her extra calcium as in crushed oyster shell to see if it might make her shells harder? They need a little vitamin D in their diet which feed should have. I give mine all of my egg shells crushed after I dry them out,and they will fight over them.