Egg membrane protruding from vent?

[Obiwan Henobi]

last night I discovered that our black Australorp (about two years old) had what appeared to be the remains of a egg shell membrane protruding from her vent. She was already roosting with her sisters so I removed her from the coop and have her isolated. About an hour earlier, I had observed her pass something that looked like it might have been egg material. I am wondering if it is possible that she generated a so called "rubber" egg that collapsed inside the vent and she is now trying to expel the shell membrane? This morning there was still material protruding from her vent. I am at work now and don't have any pics to attach. She otherwise had appeared completely healthy and active earlier that evening for snack time/foraging in the yard. Has anyone else experienced something like this?

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hello! Can you post pictures? I would dose her with calcium citrate twice a day until she starts laying normal eggs.

You could also give her an Epsom salt bath, you need to get that material out, it can cause an infection. If you have leftover amoxicillin, you may need to start her on a round of antibiotics.

Another way I have been able to help with expel material is holding my hen under my arm so that her stomach is a little loose and gravity has helped expel it during a walk around the property.

 

[orelsi]

There are several things that could have happened. The good thing is that the material is being expelled, that lessens the chance of an infection. You can gently pull out the egg membrane in her vent. Don't do anything else. Give her calcium and vitamins. Calcium is very important, it creates muscle spasms or contractions that will help expel any remaining offending material. The vitamins can be skipped, if you don't have them. Monitor her. If she is straining similarly to defecation that is ok, she is trying to expel stuff, but it shouldn't go for more than a day. If she starts acting listless, stays in the same place, stops eating, foraging, drinking, etc. unusual behavior then you have a problem and we can suggest other actions (antibiotics, baths, etc.). If she acts normal, eats and runs around, this will pass within a day or two.

Not sure what kind of calcium you have, so the dosage can be half a tablet once for two days or if it's in powder form a third of a tea spoon or a bit less again once every day for two days.

 

[Obiwan Henobi]

After I got home from work I checked on her and she still had some of the membrane protruding from her vent. I was able to gently pull and I'm pretty sure the rest of the membrane came out. It certainly looks like it was a rubber egg that had collapsed inside. I've seen rubber eggs/no shell eggs before when they were pullets, so I recognized the material. But this is the first time I'd seen one collapse inside the vent.

She seems to be acting normally now. She's taken some water, spent some time preening, and even hopped up on a low level roost I set up in the "hospital cage". I'll keep her isolated again tonight so I can monitor for awhile before I return her to the rest of the flock. I have been leaning pretty heavy on treats to help the hens deal with winter temps (we live in NW Ohio). But I may have overdone it. I'll scale back on this so they eat more of their feed and less "junk food".

Thanks for the suggestions and advice!

 

[Obiwan Henobi]

Hello! Can you post pictures? I would dose her with calcium citrate twice a day until she starts laying normal eggs.

You could also give her an Epsom salt bath, you need to get that material out, it can cause an infection. If you have leftover amoxicillin, you may need to start her on a round of antibiotics.

Another way I have been able to help with expel material is holding my hen under my arm so that her stomach is a little loose and gravity has helped expel it during a walk around the property.

Thanks for the reply! I think the issue is resolved--see my response to Orelsi.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I would still dose her with calcium citrate,.it's cheap and will help ensure that everything has been expelled.

 

[Obiwan Henobi]

I've never given meds to a chicken before. Does calcium citrate come in pills or powder form? How do I administer--dissolved in water? I am certainly willing to treat her with anything that might help, I've just never done it before. She does have consistent access to crushed oyster shell (available separate from regular feed).

 

[SmiYa0126]

It's pills, I just pop it into her beak,.

 

[Sally PB]

I recently had to do this. Gently pull on the bird's wattles, and she will open her beak. Stuff the calcium citrate pill in her beak, and she'll swallow it.

My girl thrashed a lot, so another person helping would be a good idea. If you can't get help, another technique is to cut the pill into smaller pieces and put a bit of peanut butter on it them.

My particular pullet took one, ran off, dropped it, picked it up, ran off, dropped it, looked at it, and then ate it. She took the second piece right from my hand, no problem.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give the calcium citrate with D pill for 7 days, since that can rule out a calcium deficiency as the cause. You can buy the generic Equate brand at Walmart for under $9, but other pharmacies sell it as well.