Goodbye, Audrey Hepburn.

[Renee]

Mike and I had to euthanize Audrey this morning.

She had prolapsed, and the oviduct was damaged and could not be pushed back in.

My Columbian Wyandotte, Blanche, has been laying thin-shelled eggs occasionally from the roost at night for about a week.

I was reading BYC information about these disorders this morning, and it appears that both of these problems are the result of calcium deficiency. I'm surprised and puzzled. These hens are fed organic layer pellets, have access to oyster shell, and get plain yogurt twice a week. How much more calcium do they need?

Do you think the new bag of layer pellets we bought three weeks ago could have been shorted on the calcium content?

Renee

 

[cherrychicken]

Well, I don't know about the calcium, it sounds like they get plenty, but sometimes different animals lack in normal functions, such as processing it calcium. I am very sorry for your loss, and make sure to watch Blanche for other signs.
jenny

 

[Danceswithchicks]

There are special calcium- rich feeds for hens that you can try. I am sorry for your loss.

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
Awww Renee, I'm sorry to hear about your bird.

It's possible that the bag was short. That does happen sometimes. Are they eating their oyster shell? Any chance you could get her some Tums and crush that into a feeding for your other birds?

Another alternative would be to give them more D vitamins - often the real cause of calcium deficiencies (second to feeding a lot of grains). How many others do you need to treat?

If just a few, Enfamil's polyvisol has D vitamins. If more, there are other alternatives like CalfManna supplement, wheat germ oil (fortified) at one capful per half gallon of feed (mixed in well).

Also making sure they don't have excess fat in their diet helps as that can change the pH of the digestive tract, which can inhibit calcium absorbtion. You can try adding organic apple cider vinegar to their water at a rate of 1 teaspoon per gallon to see if that doesn't help egg shell quality. I'd only do it every other day for a week, then weekly when you do your yogurt. It compliments that.

Here's an article that you may find of interest. It's long but very thorough:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/1003/factors-influencing-shell-quality

 

[Renee]

Thank you for the additional information, threehorses, and thank you for all of the wonderful responses you have made to other members' posts. You are really making a difference in our lives, especially for the newer chicken owners who are pretty much alone and scared when a chicken gets ill.

I only have two chickens now, and Blanche laid another soft-shelled egg this morning/last night from the roost.

I put a few drops of Poly-Vi-Sol into their fresh water every morning already, and yesterday I bought liquid mineral supplement for birds (primarily calcium) and I put three drops on each chicken's beak last night and this morning. I will continue with the extra calcium, and we will get fresh feed today. The Tums is a great idea! They seem to be eating the oyster shell; I have to refill it every few weeks.

I'm considering switching to a name-brand like Purina rather than buying the organic feed that we have to drive to the next town to purchase. Any opinions on that?

Thank you, Renee

 

[Renee]

Threehorses, I just finished that article and it is excellent.

I believe part of Blanche's problem must be the heat. She is a Wyandotte, and I live in Southern California.

Fortunately, the chicken coop is situated in the coolest part of the property, shaded by huge old pepper trees and blessed with a nice light breeze most afternoons.
I refuse to install air-conditioning in the coop until we get it in the house.

)

I will follow the recommendations of the article and make sure she is getting 250 mg of vitamic C per kg of feed, add 1% Sodium Bicarbonate, and continue the extra calcium (1 additional gram oyster shell per bird all summer).

I had better make a list...

 

[Eggie and Me]

Hi Renee, we also live in SO Cal. We are sorry to hear about your loss... I totally agree w/you, it's really difficult being a new "flock member", there's just so many things that could go wrong..........It's been unusually hot here and we've noticed our gals feeling it.
Best of luck to you,

Beth

 

[threehorses]

Quote:
You're very welcome, and you actually made me a bit teary eyed. I was once a 'new-again' chicken owner. Our family had chickens, but I never had to do it all on my own until I was an adult and got back into the chickens. I didn't have internet there, just a bunch of Feed Store Guys who really did nothing but push terramycin and sulmet on everyone. It was awful, and I lost some chickens doing the normal beginner things. So I vowed to make sure that if I could, no one else would have to go through that. So thank you. I try. I still learn every day - I think that if one doesn't, no matter how long they've been into birds, they really aren't living.

On the hen, I'm sure it might be partially heat. It effected my older hen at first - though now she's doing better. Please let me know how she does with that article - I agree it looked particularly nice, first time I had seen it but it was very very sound.

And as for Purina, I've always found it to be a very dependable feed. I'm feeding it now. I prefer Nutrena but it's a bit hard to find.

I wonder if a breeder/layer might help if you could get it?

 

[speckledhen]

Did she begin laying at an early age? They say that pullets who come into lay too soon are more prone to those blow-outs. That is why, if you can, it's best to feed a lower protein grower feed from about 12 weeks till laying age, to delay the onset of sexual maturity. Also, some hens just may have a weakness in the muscles in that area or something you can't foresee that would cause it, in spite of calcium levels.

 

[DiVon80]

I have always fed purina products and once I got a cheaper feed lost a couple of birds didn't even finish the bag went back to purina all fine. This was an emergency quick grab some feed. Not any more.
Quote: