extremely odd egg, possible lash egg?

[flora_fauna]

Everything I read says YOU must be careful handling this as the germs pass easily to humans.

Culling or not, is your call. I would cull, and I would bury the bird. I would not want that much infection around my flock. But this is a personal decision.

Mrs K

thank you for your input! i do my best to always wash my hands after doing anything with the birds, so hopefully i’ll be all right. do you have any resources you’d recommend i read about salpingitis? i’m quite worried about the rest of my flock now.

 

[Kiki]

hello all, i am looking for guidance as to what (if anything) is wrong with my old isa brown girl. she’s laid a very strange egg after weeks of no laying. i assumed she was just finished and nearing EOL but then i found this! listed below is all info i think will be helpful:

- she’s 5 years old; i got her when she was 3 from the woman who hatched her.
- has not laid in 2+ weeks. (knowing her age i figured this was totally normal)
- fed nutrina all flock 18%
- has access to oyster shell at all times.
- given a treats at end of day only. either small amount of scratch, fresh veggies, dried mealworms/grubs.
- always has access to plenty of clean water.
- kept with 5 other birds (4 hens, 1 roo { just got him 6 more girls we are just taking our time with slow, proper integration}) in mid sized coop with 9x12 run (free range is not an option where i live)
- behaving normally; eating, drinking, pooping. she doesn’t appear sick or uncomfortable.
- we live in maryland.
- photos attached.

is it a lash egg? just weird? what do i need to do from here? please be gentle with replies as i am a first time poster and still very beginner chicken mom here who is very worried.

There is zero doubt this bird is suffering from an infection. Is a vet an option?

Now would be a good time to look at how you are feeding your flock.

 

[Kiki]

thank you for your input! i do my best to always wash my hands after doing anything with the birds, so hopefully i’ll be all right. do you have any resources you’d recommend i read about salpingitis? i’m quite worried about the rest of my flock now.

The best reading material out there:

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/disorders-of-the-reproductive-system


Read through all of these disorders and pay close attention to how all of them mention keeping a bird's weight in check does wonders for preventing things like this.
Daily treats can cause a bird to become overweight without you ever even noticing.

 

[Kiki]

thank you for your input! salpingitis was my biggest concern. i’ve read that once the hen has passed a lash egg it is unlikely they will respond to antibiotics. while i do have easy access to antibiotics i wonder if it would be more humane to cull given her age.

There's no reason why you can't try antibiotics but if you do not use the correct antibiotic and a full course it for sure won't do any help.

I would not even try an antibiotic if any of my birds laid something that look like that. It is very unlikely that an antibiotic will cure it.
I would end the bird's suffering immediately.

 

[flora_fauna]

There's no reason why you can't try antibiotics but if you do not use the correct antibiotic and a full course it for sure won't do any help.

I would not even try an antibiotic if any of my birds laid something that look like that. It is very unlikely that an antibiotic will cure it.
I would end the bird's suffering immediately.

thank you for the input and resources! i have decided to cull her so she no longer has to suffer.
as far as her weight and the weights on the rest of the flock, they’re all right around 5-6 pounds save for the roo who is closer to 7. i handle them all regularly so that when there’s an emergency handling them doesn’t cause any undo stress.
i greatly appreciate the link on repro issues! are you willing or able to share any on environmental factors that could be effecting my flock? are there any bio security measures i should be taking to reduce the likelihood of something like this happening again?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Wouldn't hurt to try an antibiotic like enrofloxacin if you're really attached to her, but no guarantees it'll work as salpingitis can be viral (untreatable) or bacterial in origin. I don't believe it's contagious.

 

[Kiki]

My first question would be:
What do you feed your birds on a daily basis?

I'm sorry I don't read the entire post. I would stop feeding daily treats if I were you.


The complete balanced commercially made pelleted or crumbled feed is best and it is a balanced feed.

When you offer anything besides that you are taking away from them getting a balanced diet.

 

[flora_fauna]

I'm sorry I don't read the entire post. I would stop feeding daily treats if I were you.


The complete balanced commercially made pelleted or crumbled feed is best and it is a balanced feed.

When you offer anything besides that you are taking away from them getting a balanced diet.

thank you for that tip. my biggest thought behind feeding treats, especially the veggies, was that they needed extra beyond the complete feed. i was, unfortunately, thinking about feeding them in the same way i’d feed my horses.

 

[flora_fauna]

Wouldn't hurt to try an antibiotic like enrofloxacin if you're really attached to her, but no guarantees it'll work as salpingitis can be viral (untreatable) or bacterial in origin. I don't believe it's contagious.

thank you for your input! i am attached to all my animals though i fully understand that sometimes death is best.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think her age had considerably more to do with it than her diet, and would be surprised if any of her other birds came down with it, unless they too are considerably old.

To me, the problem with just a commercial feed, is then they taste like grocery store eggs. I feed mine scraps all the time. Never had this happen, but I don't have 5 year old hens either.

Mrs K