Egg Laying straining... is this normal??

[Here come the ducks]

Hello everyone...I hope you are all doing great. i am here after a long time gone!! My new ducks got along great with my one girl that was left alone after flock sibs passed away(ugh) They have been great.. thank God. But... my three new girls just started laying eggs.. i did not do layer feed bc i did not know if everyone was laying yet. I did give oyster shell. Well, my Silver appleyard i think just started laying.. it was traumatizing for her, me , and everyone !!

Is this normal... so she started with the usual sounds.. that they make when they are going to lay an egg.. then she was doing the leg kick back thing.. then.. she started doing these crazy movements like rocking her body, then falling over almost trying to push it out.. then she started panting.. then it came out.. she was pretty worked up!!

Then last night .. same thing.. like it is taking her 2 hours.. from start to finish... the crazy body movement thing happens in the last 5 minutes. I am going to get layer feed today.. is this just new egg laying behavior? please let me know.. thank you.

 

[Here come the ducks]

hello??? any thoughts??

 

[Isadora]

That certainly doesn't sound normal to me.

 

[Here come the ducks]

yea.. i spoke to the vet today.. he said it did not sound like a reason to take her to ER, she will be seen on monday. He said it could be bc she is new to laying process.. i dont want to rush her to ER when she is happy and eating and playing.. but i also dont want to miss anything

 

[KaleIAm]

My ducks didn't have any difficulties when they first began laying, they typically easily and very quickly push out eggs. I've watched them, and it's surprisingly almost instant.... Unless there is a problem going on.

I'm glad you are taking her in on Monday. One of my girls had frequent issue with getting egg bound, after she had been laying for months, and with an x-ray the vet was able to see the egg stuck inside her. She was straining, and at times couldn't walk. My vet gave her medication for pain and help her pass the egg.

Reproductive issues seem pretty common when our ducks are first starting to become reproductively active, though! I'm hopeful your sweetheart will be just fine after her body works out the system.

 

[Here come the ducks]

My ducks didn't have any difficulties when they first began laying, they typically easily and very quickly push out eggs. I've watched them, and it's surprisingly almost instant.... Unless there is a problem going on.

I'm glad you are taking her in on Monday. One of my girls had frequent issue with getting egg bound, after she had been laying for months, and with an x-ray the vet was able to see the egg stuck inside her. She was straining, and at times couldn't walk. My vet gave her medication for pain and help her pass the egg.

Reproductive issues seem pretty common when our ducks are first starting to become reproductively active, though! I'm hopeful your sweetheart will be just fine after her body works out the system.

thank you so much. I hope it is just a working itself out thing.. i didn't nt give any layer feed or oyster shell to her until i saw her lay an egg bc i was worried about it hurting her.. maybe i should have started before she laid her eggs!

I mean they get kale, peas , and shrimp treats every day ! and tomatoes!!

Now they all have oyster shell and layer feed.
The shell was a bit soft.. so maybe she just needs calcium.. ugh i hope so.

They are doing so wonderfully!! they are so so precious..

How are your sweeties doing??

 

[KaleIAm]

thank you so much. I hope it is just a working itself out thing.. i didn't nt give any layer feed or oyster shell to her until i saw her lay an egg bc i was worried about it hurting her.. maybe i should have started before she laid her eggs!

I mean they get kale, peas , and shrimp treats every day ! and tomatoes!!

Now they all have oyster shell and layer feed.
The shell was a bit soft.. so maybe she just needs calcium.. ugh i hope so.

They are doing so wonderfully!! they are so so precious..

How are your sweeties doing??

The soft shells can be harder to pass, my vet explained to me that it is harder for the muscles to "grip" on to the softer shell and push it out, because the softer shell flexes instead of moving with the muscle contractions. I hope that makes sense. So hopefully some calcium, and a layer diet will fix things!

I'm so happy to hear about your sweethearts doing well.

We lost Thimbleberry, our crested Pekin, to cancer last spring. She was an amazing and wonderful joy in my life and I'm so fortunate to have spent 6 years with her. She had been abandoned on a pond at about a year of age.

My remaining ducks, Pigweed and Nettle are doing great!! They are 7 and 8. They don't know that they are old ladies. They learned how to fly!!! I told them they are domestic, but they don't care, so now I have to trim their flight feathers. They are so silly.

 

[Here come the ducks]

The soft shells can be harder to pass, my vet explained to me that it is harder for the muscles to "grip" on to the softer shell and push it out, because the softer shell flexes instead of moving with the muscle contractions. I hope that makes sense. So hopefully some calcium, and a layer diet will fix things!

I'm so happy to hear about your sweethearts doing well.

We lost Thimbleberry, our crested Pekin, to cancer last spring. She was an amazing and wonderful joy in my life and I'm so fortunate to have spent 6 years with her. She had been abandoned on a pond at about a year of age.

My remaining ducks, Pigweed and Nettle are doing great!! They are 7 and 8. They don't know that they are old ladies. They learned how to fly!!! I told them they are domestic, but they don't care, so now I have to trim their flight feathers. They are so silly.

oh i am so sorry to hear about Thimbleberry, so sad. I am soo glad she had you for those years..your loving heart gave her a beautiful home.

That is too funny about the other darlings!!
These ducks.. they are toooo funny.. too adorable orble!!

Yes.. i think some diet changes will help... i hope so.. i am on such edge after what happened last year.. but so far so good!!

Oh i have t show you their duck pond!!! We invested in it bc i was spending wayyyyy to many hours cleaning and emptying lt and on and on with the original pool..

 

[KaleIAm]

oh i am so sorry to hear about Thimbleberry, so sad. I am soo glad she had you for those years..your loving heart gave her a beautiful home.

That is too funny about the other darlings!!
These ducks.. they are toooo funny.. too adorable orble!!

Yes.. i think some diet changes will help... i hope so.. i am on such edge after what happened last year.. but so far so good!!

Oh i have t show you their duck pond!!! We invested in it bc i was spending wayyyyy to many hours cleaning and emptying lt and on and on with the original pool..

Wow!!! What an amazing pond!! I love it! My ducks are jealous! Haha!