Help! Chicken laid broken egg...

[Phyllis7]

I am worried. This evening my almost 2 year old hen had thick clear goo coming out of her vent. I immediately went into "she's egg bound" mode a started prepping my tub to help her. (One of our hens last May did something similar, no clear goo, just acting funny and nit laying. I took her to the vet. She was much better and layibg again. Sadly, she passed unexpectedly in July.) Back to the current hen, when I went out to get her, she had laid and the was egg broken. The egg was laying there in goo. I couldn't feel any shell in her and the egg looked like it wasn't missing anything. I plan to take her to the vet asap but was curious what to do in the mean time. She free ranges in the yard and she has oyster shell mixed in with her food and in a separate container to eat. I also give her "rooster booster" in her water. I just hate that this happened. What am I doing wrong for this to happen again...? Ok, I'll try not to continue to panic but info would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[azygous]

It just happens. It's not due to anything you did or didn't do.

As a matter of fact, it happened to a hen of mine several weeks ago. She suddenly began acting sick. I had a hunch she was egg bound, and I started giving her calcium supplements.

About two days later, she laid a broken egg in the run. I happened to be near her when she did it, so that's how I know it came out that way and wasn't broken later.

What I did was to start her on a round of penicillin to hopefully head off egg yolk peritonitis. She began feeling better, and is acting normally now. However, I will be very surprised if she ever lays again.

My hen is old. Yours is still young. Your vet may decide a round of an antibiotic would be a good way to go. It definitely is something to talk over with them.