extremely weird egg! long, shell less, and shaped like a snake. layed at night!

[JacobMaxwell]

About fifteen minutes ago I was moving a chicken that had been roosting in a nest box when I saw a very strange egg in that box. It was a long curving membrane that was leaking egg all over the nest.

There's more to it than that though, the hen that apparently layed this disgusting object has been acting strange for the past few weeks, walking around doing the nest searching cluck (I hope you know what I mean) and visiting different nests briefly, but always leaving as if not satisfied with the box. I am sure it is the same hen that layed this. She is a red sex link, 22 months old. she used to lay very well. Sorry for the horrible picture quality, it was the best I could do at night.

 

[JacobMaxwell]

Does anybody have any idea what's going on? Is she sick?

 

[goldencomets6]

I've had hens pass eggs like that before .. especially when they first started laying and they were not sick.. The egg just didn't form well. Do you feed oyster shell? If not, try putting some in the coop.

 

[JacobMaxwell]

I've had hens pass eggs like that before .. especially when they first started laying and they were not sick.. The egg just didn't form well. Do you feed oyster shell? If not, try putting some in the coop.

I usually take a handful of oyster shell every day and put it down on the ground for the twelve hens. By the end of the day it's usually gone. So I guess there's nothing else to do? I wonder what the deal is with the frequent and short nest box visits that never result in an egg.

 

[goldencomets6]

I see your avatar pic.. Is the hen who laid that egg a red sex link(aka golden comet, red star)?

 

[JacobMaxwell]

I see your avatar pic.. Is the hen who laid that egg a red sex link(aka golden comet, red star)?

Yes she is. But as I said in the original post, she's a bit of an oldie now, at 22 months. Could her age have something to do with it?

 

[goldencomets6]

Sorry I missed that in your original post! My chickens who laid eggs like that are also red sex links but that is when they were younger. They're not quite as old as yours so I'm not sure if age would have something to do with it or not. I would think it's a possibility. I would offer oyster shell free choice to them. That's what I do in my coop. They should only take what they need.

 

[theoldchick]

Could be just a fluke of her egg making machine, but if she's acting unwell she might be developing a more serious issue-such as internal laying or neoplasia. If you radiograph such chickens you will see organs displaced by huge masses. They developed ascites (fluid in the abdominal cavity), poor appetite, loose stool and eventually die. You will see the hen straining as if to lay an egg because of the pressure of the displaced organs.

Pick up the hen and see if she feels soft in the abdomen, and examine her vent for prolapse, growths, yeast infection, or a poop blockage pasted across her cloaca. .

Affected hens can live for some time but the decision has to be made as to when it is time to end her suffering.

 

[JacobMaxwell]

Could be just a fluke of her egg making machine, but if she's acting unwell she might be developing a more serious issue-such as internal laying or neoplasia. If you radiograph such chickens you will see organs displaced by huge masses. They developed ascites (fluid in the abdominal cavity), poor appetite, loose stool and eventually die. You will see the hen straining as if to lay an egg because of the pressure of the displaced organs.

Pick up the hen and see if she feels soft in the abdomen, and examine her vent for prolapse, growths, yeast infection, or a poop blockage pasted across her cloaca. .

Affected hens can live for some time but the decision has to be made as to when it is time to end her suffering.

I have never seen her straining, and she acts like all the other hens accept for the visits of the nest boxes resulting in no eggs. On some days she seems to be searching for a nest more urgently than others, but like I said, she never lays an egg or stays in the nest for more than a minute. On the nights when I don't remove her from the box (nest sleeping is a habit of hers), the night time poops she does look normal and firm.

 

[theoldchick]

If she not producing eggs then she possibly could have internal laying (egg peritonitis). Hens go to the nest box and don't lay the egg as the yolk remain in the abdomen. Once infections sets in the hen does not usually live very long. Some folks try antibiotics but the OTC meds won't touch the infection. The actual cure for this problem is to spay the hen but most folks do not go that route because of the cost, and usually by the time the vet is involved the infection is too advanced for a good prognosis. Another option is to inject hormones into the chicken to stop the egg production. This makes the hen useless for production or dinner. Many folks opt to allow the hen live until the lack of good quality of life makes it necessary to end her life.