Bullying, Egg-Eating, and Depression?

[azygous]

I buy my antibiotics from this place. https://pet-healthcare.revivalanimal.com/search?p=Q&ts=custom&w=fish antibiotics

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What are you feeding?
I agree with @azygous I would give extra calcium. I usually direct dose with poultry vitamins for a couple of days too. Amoxicillin may be helpful since the membranes were not intact. Check with your local Tractor Supply to see if they carry in store any Fish Mox (Amoxicillin). Mine does, but some states/stores don't.
If they have it, you can use that to help fight infection. Dosage is 57mg per pound of weight given orally 2 times a day for 7 days.


https://hencam.com/henblog/2015/08/a-laying-glitch/

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

What are you feeding?
I agree with @azygous I would give extra calcium. I usually direct dose with poultry vitamins for a couple of days too. Amoxicillin may be helpful since the membranes were not intact. Check with your local Tractor Supply to see if they carry in store any Fish Mox (Amoxicillin). Mine does, but some states/stores don't.
If they have it, you can use that to help fight infection. Dosage is 57mg per pound of weight given orally 2 times a day for 7 days.


https://hencam.com/henblog/2015/08/a-laying-glitch/

They're mid-transition to layer feed (so maybe 60/40 layer/grower). They also have oyster shell free choice. My other four pullets lay eggs with VERY strong shells. My EE is much smaller than them, and doesn't have the same interest in the oyster shell as far as I've observed. These two back-to-back softies are her first eggs, or at least within her first week of laying. They're very pale blue.

I really hope she can get her system going strong soon, she so badly wants to be one of the big girls. She would always show such curiosity for the nesting boxes and follow her sisters in there. She's also mimicked their egg song from early on and has been their biggest cheerleader.

 

[azygous]

I'm having a new layer with egg issues, also. I can't stress enough how important calcium therapy is to combating this double egg thing. I use calcium citrate from Walmart and I believe it's around 600 mg. It has D 3 added. It's worked in every instance to reset a hen's egg laying after she was laying two eggs in the same 25 hour cycle, and other egg issues as well.

The new layer I have with the issues is a five and a half month old Blue Andelusian. She began with a dramatic egg every day for about two weeks, then stopped. One morning I found an egg membrane under her perch, and it may have had hard lumps of pus in it. It was encrusted in sand so it was hard to see.

I dosed her for two days with calcium citrate and she began laying again. She was in the nest today, but didn't lay an egg. I will start her on the calcium again tomorrow.

Another older hen, a ten-year old SLW, had an egg stuck inside her two months ago that had ruptured and she was trying so hard to evict the remains she suffered a vent prolapse. Again, the calcium got her through her ordeal, helping her pass the egg remains after five days of suffering. She was also on an antibiotic during this period to head off EYP. I'm happy to report she's fully recovered and is her lively old self again. And she's laying the occasional shell-less egg from her perch, but none has ruptured inside her to date.

Calcium tablets should be kept handy in the coop and given to any layer the second any type egg issue is detected. They really work.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Thank you for this, I will pick some up tomorrow. I hope your Blue Andelusian gets there soon, too. Sounds like a rocky start. And I'm rooting for your SLW (it's amazing what they can bounce back from!). They're both lucky to be in your coop.

I didn't realize how much vigilance was needed to keep chickens healthy--multiple occasions we were able to save a chicken's life that would've otherwise been toast... if we'd just happened to miss something, however subtle and brief. And we've only had them for 6 months. What a combo of fragile and warrior they are. Seems like vigilance is key.

I'm having a new layer with egg issues, also. I can't stress enough how important calcium therapy is to combating this double egg thing. I use calcium citrate from Walmart and I believe it's around 600 mg. It has D 3 added. It's worked in every instance to reset a hen's egg laying after she was laying two eggs in the same 25 hour cycle, and other egg issues as well.

The new layer I have with the issues is a five and a half month old Blue Andelusian. She began with a dramatic egg every day for about two weeks, then stopped. One morning I found an egg membrane under her perch, and it may have had hard lumps of pus in it. It was encrusted in sand so it was hard to see.

I dosed her for two days with calcium citrate and she began laying again. She was in the nest today, but didn't lay an egg. I will start her on the calcium again tomorrow.

Another older hen, a ten-year old SLW, had an egg stuck inside her two months ago that had ruptured and she was trying so hard to evict the remains she suffered a vent prolapse. Again, the calcium got her through her ordeal, helping her pass the egg remains after five days of suffering. She was also on an antibiotic during this period to head off EYP. I'm happy to report she's fully recovered and is her lively old self again. And she's laying the occasional shell-less egg from her perch, but none has ruptured inside her to date.

Calcium tablets should be kept handy in the coop and given to any layer the second any type egg issue is detected. They really work.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

This morning she seemed mostly her self, red-combed and bright-eyed, bopping around the coop with the others. She did her usual dramatic fly up to the roost as I came in (she does that to get first dibs). She ate her layer mash and I fed her some "calsorb" gel as small bread pills. I did notice that, though her crop wasn't quite full last night (just squishy and small), it was rock hard but small this morning. Felt gravelly. Not sure what that's about. She didn't poop in front of me which would've been awesome. Oh well.

Anyhoo... She's got an appointment with the vet later this morning. I almost canceled due to her perky behavior but the small, hard crop has me concerned. I read crop problems can be indicative of reproductive disorders.

Might be good to give her an overall check and have some peace of mind (hopefully in a good way).

 

[sunrise.superman]

Th

This is really heartening. Thank you. We thought about getting her a flock of polishes so she could have her odd gal group. Right now she luckily has the lower rung girls to hang out with (the two non-layers, our EE and BO). They are always together. I think her body matured faster than her mind and she is not ready to be one of the big girls.

Also, so far she always has a choice roosting spot every night. I'm hoping with time things may even out okay. And if not... We have an excuse to get more chicks.

You're welcome. I hope she settles in, new chicks or not. It could very well be she is just a bit cattywampus at starting to lay, but not being mentally there yet. Some of my new layers this spring seemed to be going through a "what the heck is happening" phase at first. I have 3 Welsummers coming to the point of lay and they're dingy as doorbells. At this point nobody is home upstairs if ya get my meaning so it will be interesting when they start laying. Hopefully the hormones will kick in mentally, too.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Looked out the window to check in her but looks like the chickens' BFF was already on it.

This deer lives behind the coop and I've frequently caught her with her face against the run pondering the chickens (and vice versa).

My EE was running around in the sun, flapping her wings and going in and out of the coop. My hopes are high... Almost hard to pull her out of there and take her 30 min to the vet

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

You're welcome. I hope she settles in, new chicks or not. It could very well be she is just a bit cattywampus at starting to lay, but not being mentally there yet. Some of my new layers this spring seemed to be going through a "what the heck is happening" phase at first. I have 3 Welsummers coming to the point of lay and they're dingy as doorbells. At this point nobody is home upstairs if ya get my meaning so it will be interesting when they start laying. Hopefully the hormones will kick in mentally, too.

Lol that made me feel better. Dingy as doorbells sums up Darla (the OG "issue bird" from this thread). I hope you're right. As I've said my EE is particularly close to my heart.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How did the vet visit go?