Egg laying and Crop Question

[rehsanipoor]

Two questions, not sure if they are related.
Question #1
My Easter Egger Flo had an illness a while back, up until that point she had started laying regularly. She had a collapsed egg and subsequently got sick. We treated her and she improved but shortly after she had crop problems which we again treated and were able to resolve. Since then, she has not laid any eggs. At first we thought she was just recuperating, then it was winter and we figured she would start laying again in spring but she hasn't. Our other chickens are all laying, She does go occasionally and sit in the egg box on other's eggs (she is our only blue egg layer). We don't really care if she lays but just want to be sure there is nothing to be concerned about. We read an article about internal layers, but she didn't have a lot of the symptoms they described.

Question #2
In the past week we started noticing that her crop was not empty first thing in the morning (before she has access to food/water). It is smaller than when she went to sleep but there is still some gritty stuff I can feel. Her behavior otherwise seems normal, she eats, drinks and poops (although they are smaller than usual). We have tried some messaging and gave her coconut oil once but it didn't seem to help. Is it okay if some chickens just aren't emptied in the am? I have reglan and a prescription lubricant from before. One to two doses worked last time. Would you recommend using it?

Thanks for your advice.

@azygous @Wyorp Rock

 

[Squawkers]

I don’t know if this will help, but something similar happened to me. My Easter Egger, Bunny, started laying no shell/thin shell eggs every day. It continued for months. Finally she stopped laying. Shortly after she stopped laying, she started having crop issues. Her crop was completely full every morning and her poop was completely undigested. I concluded that the two were connected and that she had a shell gland infection that spread to her digestive system. I treated her with antibiotics, and after a few days her crop started emptying. She became her lively self after that, and within a month she started laying nicely shelled eggs and has ever since. Not exactly what you are going through, but I thought it might help.

 

[azygous]

You don't mention her age, though I glean it's not much more than two years. Age can affect laying and also crop emptying. It is not uncommon for older hens to retain some grit in their crops come mornings.

Laying also can become unpredictable in older hens. But a young layer that had an egg collapse inside with subsequent infection, may become sterile.

None of these issues are serious unless the hen's behavior is also off. If she's behaving normally in all other respects and simply has the residual in her crop in the mornings, try giving her a probiotic tablet each morning for a week or so and see if that helps. I like acidophillis.

 

[rehsanipoor]

It certainly could be coccidiosis. The color of some of the lining seems awfully red not to have some blood present. Are you treating with Corid at a proportion of two teaspoons per gallon of water with no added vitamins? The treatment is for five days, then a week off when vitamins can be given again, then another five days on Corid without vitamins again.

There may also be worms, though usually such young chicks haven't had time yet to develop much of a worm load as to be problematic. It wouldn't hurt to treat for worms in addition to the Corid. Both safely can be done concurrently.

I think this got posted to the wrong board.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You don't mention her age, though I glean it's not much more than two years. Age can affect laying and also crop emptying. It is not uncommon for older hens to retain some grit in their crops come mornings.

Laying also can become unpredictable in older hens. But a young layer that had an egg collapse inside with subsequent infection, may become sterile.

None of these issues are serious unless the hen's behavior is also off. If she's behaving normally in all other respects and simply has the residual in her crop in the mornings, try giving her a probiotic tablet each morning for a week or so and see if that helps. I like acidophillis.