Chicken seemed lethargic and laid shell less egg

[Kimberlyct99]

My hens just started laying a couple weeks ago and everything has been fine although one unknown chicken laid a huge egg 2 days ago. Today I check on them and one seemed kind of lethargic so I brought her inside to cool off and check her over. Her bottom was dirty and it looked like she was pushing to lay an egg (the picture is after the egg came out) and then a couple seconds later this shell less egg just fell out. After about 20 minutes she seems totally fine, eating, drinking, being a jerk as usual haha
Should I be worried? Should I clean her back side somehow? Should I keep her inside? Anything helps thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My hens just started laying a couple weeks ago and everything has been fine although one unknown chicken laid a huge egg 2 days ago. Today I check on them and one seemed kind of lethargic so I brought her inside to cool off and check her over. Her bottom was dirty and it looked like she was pushing to lay an egg (the picture is after the egg came out) and then a couple seconds later this shell less egg just fell out. After about 20 minutes she seems totally fine, eating, drinking, being a jerk as usual haha
Should I be worried? Should I clean her back side somehow? Should I keep her inside? Anything helps thank you!

It's not too unusual for a new layer to have a few glitches. Her timing if probably off and usually this will resolve on its own as she begins to lay regularly.

It's good that you noticed she was having a hard time and brought her in to monitor her for a while.

If she has a problem in the next few days, you can give her 300mg Calcium Citrate+D3 for 3-5days to see if this will help. It's hard to expel soft shelled egg so the calcium can help with that.

What do you feed, including treats? Do you provide oyster shell free choice?

 

[Kimberlyct99]

I feed producers pride 16% layer pellets mixed with a little bit of scratch grains, meal worms and food scraps. I do not feed oyster shells because I thought that was just for grit and they are free range on a ton of land.. does that help for eggs?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I feed producers pride 16% layer pellets mixed with a little bit of scratch grains, meal worms and food scraps. I do not feed oyster shells because I thought that was just for grit and they are free range on a ton of land.. does that help for eggs?

Hi, oyster shells are not grit. They are a calcium source and important for both bones and shells.

Grit is crushed granite. It is provided to help food get broken up for easy digestion in the crop and gizzard, especially for chickens that don’t peck at dirt for insects, etc.

They are completely unrelated, although they look sort of alike and are easily confused. (Said while staring at the grit and shell holder, trying to remember which is which.)

Layer feed does have calcium, but many chickens appreciate having more in the form of oyster shells (including flaked) and eggshells (not generally sufficient on their own.

You might try crunching up some eggshells and sprinkling them on the ground with a bit of feed or mealworms, to see if they’re interested. They might not go for it right away, as many chickens seem convinced that any new substance is trying to kill them.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I feed producers pride 16% layer pellets mixed with a little bit of scratch grains, meal worms and food scraps. I do not feed oyster shells because I thought that was just for grit and they are free range on a ton of land.. does that help for eggs?

I'd provide oyster shell free choice.

If they free range, they may find suitable grit while scratching about, but I like to just provide Grit (Crushed Granite) to ensure they have what their Gizzard needs in order to process foods appropriately.

I'd also just provide the Layer Pellets free choice, 16% is the minimum, so mixing in scratch grains can dilute that further.

Use your scratch as a minimal treat and give just a few times a week. About 1Tablespoon per bird. Mealworms are protein rich, but fatty. My birds LOVE them, but I limit those too. Scraps are o.k. usually as long as they are eating their normal feed. They free range, so are picking up a lot of other plants/insects as well, so they may not even need the scratch.

When I free ranged mine, I used scratch to call them in if I needed to lock them up early or for some other reason. I put the scratch in a small metal container so it would make a noise when I shook it, then I'd shake the container and call them - they'd all come running. I could lock them up easily - no chasing chickens and no headaches