Help - 7 month old hen suddenly very lethargic, laid shell-less egg

[Serotonin]

Hey Everyone,

I went out this evening to do my nightly check on the chickens and close the coop when I noticed that one of my hens, who is normally the first to greet me, was acting very lethargic. She was was moving very slowly, scrunching her neck in, and drooping her feathers. Her comb is also looking a bit droopy. I feed my hens a bit of scratch right before bed to help keep them warm overnight and normally she's one of the more voracious feeders, but tonight she was totally uninterested. She did drink a little bit of water while I was out there, however. I don't hear any labored breathing and her eyes and nose look clear. I just brought her inside and she hasn't pooped since then, so I'm not sure if her stools are normal or not. I felt her crop too; it wasn't hard and didn't feel very full.

Normally I'd think she might have some sort of illness, but she was totally fine just six hours ago when I did my lunchtime check. She was energetic and eating grass.

She was obviously not feeling well, so I made the decision to bring her inside. While I went to go get a crate, she laid a shell-less egg in the coop. I've attached a picture of that to this post. Then, while she was in the crate being transported, she seems to have laid just a yolk. I've attached a picture of that too. The weird eggs make me thing she might be egg-bound or have egg yolk peritonitis, but I'm still a complete chicken newbie so it's just a total guess.

She laid a totally normal egg yesterday, consistently does almost every day, and hasn't had any trouble laying thus far in the 2.5 months she's been laying. Though Friday she did lay a giant egg about the size of my palm that I thought was weird. She eats Purina layer feed and has access to oyster shell, so I'd think she was getting enough calcium.

I've provided some water with electrolytes and as well as some feed and have her in a warm, dark place to rest (since the sun has set here), but I'm not sure what else to do or what might be wrong. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be causing her to feel so rotten or suggestions of treatments to try? She's one of my favorites so I'm a bit of a mess.

 

[coach723]

If you have some calcium citrate +D, give her one of those (800mg), just put in her beak and she'll swallow it. If you don't have that, a couple of Tums will help also. You can break them up and give them in pieces or grind and mix into something she will eat (if she will eat). Soft shelled eggs can be very hard to pass and can make them feel awful. If she was having trouble passing one, then sometimes there can be more than one egg in the pipeline, backed up by the slow one. The calcium will help her contractions and help her expel anything else still in transit. Glitches are not uncommon, especially in new layers, but if she continues to pass soft shelled eggs then she may not be getting enough calcium. Make sure you have oystershell available all the time, some birds need more than others, and needs can vary throughout the year. I would consider stopping the scratch. All treats can water down the nutrition and some things can inhibit calcium absorption. Some birds are more sensitive than others. If she's feeling better in the morning, I'd continue the calcium once a day for a few days, til you see a normal egg.

 

[Tookie]

She's like that cause of those shell-less eggs. If she had egg yolk peritonitis she would have completely stopped laying.
I'd get some calcium citrate +D3 and give her one tablet once a day until her eggs are back to normal. It'd be best to get it with at least 500mg of calcium

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I usually leave mine with their flock unless they are getting picked at. I just pull them out for a few minutes to give meds or some TLC. Imho, they do much better when they can stay with their flockmates.

The poop is a bit watery and does look to have some albumen (whites). I'd see how she does, but I'd be inclined to consider giving her an antibiotic to help stave off infection if she did indeed have a membrane rupture before in the shell gland or oviduct.

 

[Serotonin]

She's like that cause of those shell-less eggs. If she had egg yolk peritonitis she would have completely stopped laying.
I'd get some calcium citrate +D3 and give her one tablet once a day until her eggs are back to normal. It'd be best to get it with at least 500mg of calcium

If you have some calcium citrate +D, give her one of those (800mg), just put in her beak and she'll swallow it. If you don't have that, a couple of Tums will help also. You can break them up and give them in pieces or grind and mix into something she will eat (if she will eat). Soft shelled eggs can be very hard to pass and can make them feel awful. If she was having trouble passing one, then sometimes there can be more than one egg in the pipeline, backed up by the slow one. The calcium will help her contractions and help her expel anything else still in transit. Glitches are not uncommon, especially in new layers, but if she continues to pass soft shelled eggs then she may not be getting enough calcium. Make sure you have oystershell available all the time, some birds need more than others, and needs can vary throughout the year. I would consider stopping the scratch. All treats can water down the nutrition and some things can inhibit calcium absorption. Some birds are more sensitive than others. If she's feeling better in the morning, I'd continue the calcium once a day for a few days, til you see a normal egg.

Unfortunately I don't have any calcium citrate +D and live pretty far out in the country, so there aren't any stores nearby I can dip over to. I do have Tums, but they're tropical fruit flavored - would those be safe to give her, you think?

I do have oystershell available at all times, but I might be going a bit too hard on the scratch. The girls won't be happy to lose it, but I'd hate if that was throwing their nutrition off-balance.

 

[Serotonin]

Yes, you can give her the TUMS. 1 TUMS now, then once daily for a few days.

See that she's drinking well and eating.

OS is always good to provide free choice, but it not as quick of an uptake as the TUMS or Calcium Citrate. When you have one that is having issues, then giving the extra tablets can be helpful.
As for scratch, if you feel you're giving too much, then cut it back a little.

Went in to check on her just now. I turned on the light a bit to inspect her and she seemed to perk up some. Took quite a few sips of the electrolyte water and ate a bit of food, which I mixed in a Tums with. I'll try mixing another Tums in with some eggs or something in the morning and see if she eats that. She still seemed a bit out of it, but was definitely more alert than she was before and actually curious about her new surroundings.

She did poop twice too. They seem fairly normal, except maybe a bit goopy from what I assume is liquid from the egg that didn't form. They smelled a bit eggy too. I think it left a bit of white poop/urates on her butt feathers too, which I figured I'll clean in the morning.

One thing I did notice when I first went in is that she was panting. Do chickens pant when they're stressed? The temperature inside is 68, so I don't think it'd be from the heat or anything. Unless the fact that she came in from 40-ish degrees outside shocked her system a bit. Or maybe it was just that she was thirsty? Once she ate and took a drink, the panting seemed to stop.

I'm also wondering if it's best to check on her throughout the night or just let her try to get some sleep. I'm going to be pulling an all-nighter for work so it's not more trouble for me to peek in on her, but I'm not sure if it's good to interrupt her sleep.

 

[Serotonin]

I hope she's doing o.k.
Yes, panting could be stress or she may be working on expelling another egg.
The Calcium (TUMS) is important to get into her, so if she's not eating the food with it mixed in, then break the tablet in 1/2 and pop the pieces into her beak one at a time and let her swallow.

I've had some hens gobble TUMS up with no issues, but I had one hen that would eye food or anything with great suspicion and then refuse it. She was like nope, nope! Well, she got pieces put into her beak, she took them. She was also a pill shooter, who knew chickens could shoot a pill across the yard!

Never had a chicken shoot a pill (then again, I've never had to give a chicken a pill), but I do have a cat that's an expert at not swallowing pills. One time I put the pill far back on her tongue, held her mouth closed, massaged her throat and she seemed to make a swallowing motion so I let her go. Turns out she must've stashed the pill in her cheek or under her tongue or something because the second she jumped off my lap and onto the ground, she spit it out. Animals are smarter than we give them credit for, honestly haha.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Unfortunately I don't have any calcium citrate +D and live pretty far out in the country, so there aren't any stores nearby I can dip over to. I do have Tums, but they're tropical fruit flavored - would those be safe to give her, you think?

I do have oystershell available at all times, but I might be going a bit too hard on the scratch. The girls won't be happy to lose it, but I'd hate if that was throwing their nutrition off-balance.

Yes, you can give her the TUMS. 1 TUMS now, then once daily for a few days.

See that she's drinking well and eating.

OS is always good to provide free choice, but it not as quick of an uptake as the TUMS or Calcium Citrate. When you have one that is having issues, then giving the extra tablets can be helpful.
As for scratch, if you feel you're giving too much, then cut it back a little.

 

[coach723]

Yes, the panting can be from stress. Pooping is good. Let us know how she's doing this morning. Continue the daily calcium for a few days until you see her lay a normal egg.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I hope she's doing o.k.
Yes, panting could be stress or she may be working on expelling another egg.
The Calcium (TUMS) is important to get into her, so if she's not eating the food with it mixed in, then break the tablet in 1/2 and pop the pieces into her beak one at a time and let her swallow.

I've had some hens gobble TUMS up with no issues, but I had one hen that would eye food or anything with great suspicion and then refuse it. She was like nope, nope! Well, she got pieces put into her beak, she took them. She was also a pill shooter, who knew chickens could shoot a pill across the yard!