Egg peritonitis again? Not again!

[cmaranhao]

This is the second chicken I have with this problem is about 2 or 3 weeks. Posted on the first one here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/update-please-help-me.1359335/

Sadly she is now gone.

Yesterday I noticed another chicken all fluffed up, separated her and found out she layed 2 eggs without shell in one day.

The first chicken I tried everything and regretted it in the end because she was in extreme agony, what should I do now? Is it food related? Why is this happening so often? 2 chickens with this same problem in such a small time frame? I give them our food scraps and specific egg laying chicken ration.

Here:

 

[cmaranhao]

I am at a breaking point.

I either quit with my chickens once they all die or I accept I must take action and cull them myself.

I love them so much and cannot see them in pain.

I am thinking of buying a killing cone paired with garden loopers like this:

https://www.gardena.com/int/products/tree-shrub-care/loppers/energycut-750-a/967868601/

I am planing to dig a hole, somehow attach the cone to a wood plank so the head goes straight to the hole which will also serve to bury the chicken.

 

[cmaranhao]

She is showing activity signs, almost normal behaviour today so not sure again on what to do.

And she seems to be laying eggs with transparent shell. What do you think this is? And will she dye from this?

 

[Thatothercrazychickenlady]

Those look like lash eggs. You’ll see those more often in older layers coming out of lay or chickens with reproductive problems. From my experience and other posts I’ve read sex links/RIRs/leghorns and other commercial layers are more prone to egg and reproductive track issues. I lost my 3 red sex links to similar issues. Mind you they were 4 & 5 years old. 1 had acted sickly like yours, 1 didn’t show any signs of being ill and the last one had good days and bad days till one day she was gone.
Are your birds very old?

 

[cmaranhao]

No. The older birds are not even 3 years old (the red star I had to cull last week).

This white chicken is more or less 1.5 years old.

Do you think I should go forward with culling this one too? She is looking fine today but so was my red star and it died in extreme agony.

 

[cmaranhao]

so, what do you say? is culling needed? today she acted pretty normal but I am afraid she will suffer if I do not do anything.

 

[imnukensc]

I don't see anything that looks at all like a lash egg. Looks like some soft shells to me. Since your chicken seems to be getting better, I would not cull. At least not yet. give it a few more days then cull if necessary. FWIW, you don't need a cone or loppers to cull a chicken.

 

[cmaranhao]

ok, I will see if it recovers then.

i think I need those items because I cannot do it other way around. in fact, I have never done it and in my mind the cone and loppers would facilitate a gigantic task for me.

 

[cmaranhao]

today she seemed normal, have not seen strange type of "eggs".

 

[cmaranhao]

no eggs today, she seemed normal.