Do I have an internal layer?

[terribear]

I have a 2 year old Delaware that has not been well now for a couple of weeks. Some days she seems better than others but generally is lethargic, has runny poo, and is not eating as well as I would like. About 10 days ago she passed a large yellow blob, actually it was pretty solid and looked like a fingerling potato, but yellow. Yesterday morning I found 2 more of these yellow blobs that are about grape size and solid. I am guessing that these are the yolk part of unformed eggs that she is passing. My understanding of being an internal layer is that they don't pass the egg or parts of the egg??? She has been on antibiotics for about 3 days now. We tried to rule out everyhing else before putting her on antibiotics, such as worming, impacted crop. Any help is much appreciated!!

 

[chuckzoo]

I am sorry you are having this problem. What you are describing sounds like an internal layer. There are several pictures of what hens have laid if your do a search under "internal layer". I am not sure about giving her antibiotics since if seem to remember this is not recommended. Unfortunately there is no cure if in fact she is an internal layer - sorry.

 

[Curlita]

Is her abdomen swollen? Most descriptions of internal layers include a swollen abdomen. I've seen it described as feeling like a water balloon. Someone posted a pic of a hen they suspected of being an internal layer, maybe hunt around or search for "internal layer photo."

I've been doing a bunch of reading around here on internal laying b/c I just lost a hen to what I think was internal laying. It sounds promising that she is expelling egg matter -- maybe if she can clear out the masses, it will prevent her from getting sick. On the other hand, I think that it's something that is likely to recur once they have developed the problem.

Good luck, and hugs.

 

[terribear]

Thanks for the info... her abdomen seems more solid to me, not soft and squishy, but no hard masses like a stuck egg or anything. I'm hoping it is good that she is passing things but it seems that if she is an internal layer there really isn't much that can be done. Curlita, I think I read the posts about your girl, so sorry!! The information on here has been invaluable in trying to figure out what is going on.

We are keeping her comfortable in a kennel in the house and offering her all sorts of good things to eat. She is interested in eating (not as much as I would like) and drinking quite a bit so we'll plug along for a bit.

 

[speckledhen]

With internal laying, you do not always have a swollen abdomen, no. I've had them both ways. And yes, seems she is passing small masses of combined egg material and infection. Passing them is good, but it also means they're being formed in the first place, which is not good. If her abdomen is very hard, could be a large egg has dropped into the abdomen, as happened with one of my Delaware hens, Maxie. There are necropsy photos here of what we found if you do a search.

 

[Curlita]

How is your hen doing today, Terri?