Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS 76)... do we have this in North America?

[SeaChick]

I ran across a mention of this European/UK poultry disease. It sounds suspciously like my adopted hen Brunhilde: sudden drop in egg production, pale eggs, shell-less or thin-shelled eggs. But it seems to be confined to the UK and Europe.

Ayone every heard of it??

This hen layed one or two normal eggs and then basically quit, except for a few shell-less or very soft-shelled eggs at least a week apart (often several weeks). However I think that she may be in an interrupted molt... that's what I was attributing the lack of eggs to. But the shell-less thing? Hmmmm. I sure hope it snot this syndrome, which apparently is caused by a virus.

Stacey

 

[hencackle]

Did you see this document issued by Iowa State University indicating that the initial outbreak that occurred in the '70s was due to contaminated Mareks vaccines grown on duck embryo fibroblasts. The article also mentioned that this virus (duckadenovirus A) has been seen in Europe, Asia, Africa, & Latin America, it hasn't been seen in the US or Canada. I should also mention that the date of the document is March 28, 2006.

You didn't mention your hen having respiratory symptom or misshapen eggs with ridges; therefore, infectious bronchitis isn't likely to be causing the change in egg quality & production.

I see you're in Maine--I don't know if your extra-cold weather (by TN standards) will affect egg production. Maybe somebody else will have something else to say.

 

[SeaChick]

Hi hencackle,

Yes, I did see that article. I don't think respiratory symptoms are always associated with EDS, though... it's mostly the egg laying decrease and soft/no shells, is my understanding.

This hen seems OK otherwise; she took a week or so to start laying after moving to her new home here in early November, then laid a couple normal eggs, then quit laying for weeks. In the last 2 months we've had two weird-shaped shell-less eggs (membrane only), one very thin-shelled one, and three normal-shaped but shell-less eggs from her. She's gone 2 weeks w/o laying before.

She also looked like she was molting when we got her, but the molt never progressed and she still looks scruffy/dull with a bit of bare patch on the breast. We theorized that the change from natural daylight only -at her old home- to our house with added artifical AM light might have interrupted the molt. So we weren't too concerned about her not laying. But the number of weird, shell-less eggs she's laid is odd, don't you think? (the cold is probably not a factor as this is an ongoing problem for her since November and anyway she's a BIG Buff Orpington!)

I assumed from that article that there was no EDS in N. America but I'd be happy to hear from anyone else about this!

Thanks-
Stacey