egg sticking half in and half out of chicken

[the4brandons]

I am new to posting on here, but I need help as soon as I can get it. My silkie hen (Pepper)has a soft egg (just the shell) sticking half in her vent and half out. She is about 18 mos old. We have soaked her in a warm bath, put vaseline and prep H around the vent, and now have her in a small cage with low heat near her to help her pass it. I noticed the egg at about 530 EST today. SHe has been having a problem laying for a while. She lays only soft shelled eggs these days but she is normally Ok. This is the first time one has actually gotten stuck. What do I do? Please help- I have read that even though it is soft shelled, if it doesnt pass soon it can still cause a terrible infection or even death. Thanks to anyone that can help. Our chickens are definitely more like pets to us, with the added benefit of eggs, so if there is anything we can do to save her we would like to. I dont have a vet around here that would know what to do neccessarily either.

 

[robin416]

You have been able to get lubricant behind the egg? And it is still not passing?

I think the safest thing is if you could take a pic of what you're seeing.

I might have a couple of suggestions but I would really like to see what is going on first because unless you are 100% certain that is an egg you're looking at it might also be her uterus.

If she can be gotten past this point you will need to begin dosing her with a calcium drench to get the shell part of her manufacturing shells. You should probably start feeding her chopped hard boiled eggs to up her vitamin D so she will absorb calcium better.

 

[the4brandons]

It is definitely a soft shell that is sticking out. We got the lubricant as much as we could around the shell- but we are afraid to pull to much and hurt her. My hubby said that you can feel her vent muscles (whatever its called) contracting not enabling him to pull the egg out more without using more strength/force. I will see if I can get a picture uploaded.

Oh I have been giving them scrambled eggs. She also has access to free choice food and water- plus we give them treats. Some of the treats we give are oats, scratch (not in the summer), bread pieces, black oil sunflower seeds, chopped cucumber..

 

[redhen]

Soak the hens bottom in a warm tub of water...that helps her to pass the egg...

 

[robin416]

If the egg is far enough out then puncture it, it should deflate when the white and yolk flow out and then you should be able to remove the membrane in one piece without too much trouble.

Since she has a history of laying rubber eggs the calcium drench will be very important at getting the calcium on the outside of the egg like it should be. If this continues her problems will probably get worse over time.

You didn't mention whether she is getting calcium either in her feed or as free choice. If she isn't then that is her problem and needs to fixed.

If the calcium drench and the eggs do not get her laying a hard egg then add oral vitamin D2 to her diet.

 

[the4brandons]

she does get crushed oyster shell as free choice. The egg yolk and white have been out. See I went to make sure they were all in bed- she was in the nest box- I found the yolk and egg white in the box- it looked as though someone had cracked open a perfectly good egg. I helped her to the roost, and then realized there was no shell, so I quickly grabbed a flashlight and checked her- there was the soft shell sticking out of her. It is late here, so I am not able to get the calcium drench tonight- I have some avian super pack mixture that goes into the water and nutri drench- where would I get the vitamin d2? She used to lay regular eggs but then just stopped..she and all of the other hens seem otherwise healthy- I have 1 or 2 that go through periods of laying soft shelled eggs and then they stop I havent been able to figure out why.. They have all been healthy thus far at least no obvious tell tale signs. Sorry so long..

 

[the4brandons]

Here are the pics that you asked for;

 

[robin416]

Molting can trigger rubber eggs, I've got one girl that I dose when she's in a molt so she'll not do it.

D2 can be had at any pharmacy, its a tablet so it will need crushing and mixed in to something she'll eat. If these birds are related then it could be genetic.

Its hard to tell from the pics but if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing I would remove everything that is visible and then watch to see if any more is reachable a few hours later. Try to keep track of how much is removed so you can see if you have a complete membrane. If you think that its incomplete then you will have to watch for changes in her behavior and possible infection.

 

[the4brandons]

Thanks so much for your help!! We were able to help her get it out around 1130 last night. She is nesting and acting fine now. Gave her some hard boiled egs like you suggested and just keeping her calm and quiet for a little bit- I will probably put her back out later today. Thank you again!!

 

[Cluckies]

I know this is an old thread, but I have this going on right now, got the egg out. what is a calcium drench? I have liquid calcium...