Egg laying problems/disease?

[Samblast]

Could my hen have ascites? Her abdomen is a little swollen and she doesn’t have any feathers around her vent and abdomen(she pulled them out when she was going through her feather pulling phase and they’ve yet to grown back).

 

[Weeg]

None of my chickens have external parasites. I also don’t think they have worms.

That might be the issue! I don't know about treating of worms, but you can post another thread about it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Could my hen have ascites? Her abdomen is a little swollen and she doesn’t have any feathers around her vent and abdomen(she pulled them out when she was going through her feather pulling phase and they’ve yet to grown back).

I would speculate that she's got some type of reproductive disorder.
If the swollen abdomen feels fluid filled, then yes, the symptom of Ascites would be a good guess. Draining fluid can be done to make them more comfortable. You can do that yourself or seek vet care.
Draining does not cure whatever is causing the fluid - organ dysfunction, Peritonitis, cancer, Salpingitis or other issues can be the source - hard to know unless you lose the hen and perform a necropsy.

With her laying 2 eggs in 1 day and this is not the first time, she may have something wrong with her shell gland. Looks like one egg is slab sided, the other with the ring was laying against that I would again speculate - think of 2 eggs inside a shell gland (which is meant for only one egg at a time).

I do not know how you can correct this if something is wrong with the shell gland. An option is to give her shots to stop her from laying. Another option would be just to see how it goes - treat symptoms as needed and not put the hen through a bunch of medications or procedures and let her life the best life she can.

 

[Samblast]

Hi! Thanks for the reply. She laid a normal egg today. Here are some pictures of her abdomen

It doesn’t feel super liquid filled though.
I am thinking maybe the stress of her having peepers on might be causing this. I am also hoping that when she starts molting she stops laying and can “reset”. There has been a fox and an opossum around recently so maybe that’s causing stress.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She's being plucked it seems, that can cause some stress right there. I would put some Hen Healer on her exposed skin.

Hard to know if her large abdomen is fat, fluid or .... unless a necropsy is performed if you happen to lose her.

Laying a normal egg today is good. Hopefully that will continue.

 

[Kriscam]

My 1 year old barred rock hen has been laying eggs strangely for the last month about. I don’t really know what’s wrong but something is definitely up with her. She lays about 3 eggs a week, which is lower than my other barred rocks(6-7 eggs a week, same age). When she lays eggs she will usually lay 2 in a day. One with a ring and one that is larger, lighter, thinner shelled, sometimes mended, and sometimes broken. She is larger than my other barred rocks and her abdomen is a little swollen. She lays 1 “normal” egg a week. When she was just starting to lay she laid shell-less eggs(stopped that soon after she started). She also lays down more in the dirt then the other hens. Sometimes her comb has a little bit of purple at the tips. She also has had pin less peepers on for about 2 months due to her being an extreme feather puller. No other chickens have symptoms or problems regarding egg laying, Any ideas on what could be up with her?

I have a 20 week old barred rock who laid her first few perfect eggs in the nest box at 18 weeks. About a week later I discovered two broken soft shell eggs in the coop under her perch the next morning. She got back to laying a normal egg in the mornings, then one evening she laid a soft shell egg in the yard, then another that night. Yesterday morning she laid a normal egg in the nest box, but this morning I found a soft shell and a thin shelled egg under her perch. It seems that she is sometimes laying 2-3 eggs in a 24 hour day. My RI red of the same age isn't having this problem. I'm worried about her. Is this just her system getting the kinks worked out, or is an indication of a more serious problem? She is alert and behaves normally in every other way. Thanks for any insights!

 

[Kriscam]

After consulting a local vet and the USDA poultry specialist - the consensus is that it is just the way her system is wired. No one had heard of this happening nor did they have a cure. She is seven months old now and most days lays a normal egg. About once every week or so she lays a huge double yolked egg, and/or lays a 2nd or 3rd egg in the late afternoon or evening. We can tell when she's going to lay an additional egg because she grows very still. She has only laid the additional soft shell egg in a nest box once. Every other time it's in the coop under her perch, or wherever she happens to be outside. Poor thing. She seems happy and healthy in every other way. She just must have a hormone issue. I can't imagine laying one egg every day, let alone three. Ouch.