Found next to poop in coop

[aclab28]

Hi all,

We found this next to some fresh poop in the coop this morning:

https://imgur.com/a/LHeUR

We lost a hen two weeks ago to kidney failure, so we're a bit anxious. I've read that hens can shed intestinal linings, but can't seem to find any information as to what that looks like or if it's ok. Could this be intestinal lining or is something serious happening to one of our girls? Thanks!

 

[teach1rusl]

Intestinal lining shedding always looks like small bits of (dullish) bloody goop to me. How large is this thing? If your hens are of laying age, I would think it's something from the egg tract - material that didn't form correctly. It could be what is referred to as "lash". (type it into the search box) Also look up weird eggs and see if anything kind of looks like what your hen shed - here's one such link:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/697007/weird-or-odd-eggs-pics

 

[aclab28]

Hi teach1rusl, thanks for your input! It has been a week and everyone is still healthy and laying. I think you are right- it came from the egg tract. Over in another forum, someone used the term "failed egg". We inspected it, and it appeared very egg-like, with an egg white type liquid as well as a yoke-like liquid. Hopefully it was only a simple one-off error and things will continue to fine.