Help! My Jersey just laid something weird!

[Mother2Hens]

My one year old Jersey hen who we adopted a week ago just passed this weird gooey thing! She hasn't laid an egg since we have had her (I realize she had to get settled, and it's very hot outside). This happened around 3:00 pm, Sunday June 24th. If anyone knows anything, please advise! Thank you.

 

[dawg53]

Here's a thread for you to read with pics:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/473989/weird-egg-weird-clump-lash-graphic-pics

 

[Mother2Hens]

Thank you! I assumed it was because she has been through a stressful situation by us adopting her, dealing with new flock members and the hot weather. Hopefully, she will be ok.

 

[terryg]

You are lucky that she passed that. Some people call it "lash." It's egg material that gets stuck in the reproductive tract. Eventually it becomes infected and impacted and can cause death. Stress is certainly a part of why it happens - as stress can slow or stop laying. If there's a partially egg formed and not moving down the tract, the yolk will be a magnet for germs and will get infected. Make sure that as the new girl in the flock that she's getting access to water (especially with it being hot!) and shade. If the other girls are harassing her or preventing her from eating and drinking she'll continue to have problems. (BTW, I have a FAQ with tips about hot weather. http://hencam.com/faq/hot-weather-care/ There might be a tip there that could help her.)

 

[Mother2Hens]

Thank you for your information! Actually when "Jersey" joined the flock, she took over as the leader since she is a year old, and the others were four months. I am sure she has been stressed from moving to a new situation, the heat, and from the cockerel occasionally trying to mount her. She throws him off and he is basically scared of her as are the other younger ones. Hopefully, Jersey will feel better after passing that yucky stuff. Do you know what time that she would normally lay eggs? We let them out of the coop around 7am, and wondered if she should stay in longer in case she needs to lay. On the other hand, it seems like she'd want the younger ones out of the coop so she could relax. So far in the morning, she is at the bottom floor guarding the food and water while the other three are in the coop afraid to come down. That's why I like to go ahead and open the doors (and keep them open all day). I also place water bowls around in a few shady places. Thanks for the tip to the link about dealing with the heat. : - )

 

[terryg]

As long as she can go in and out of the coop at will, she'll lay her egg when she's ready. Because it takes more than 24 hours to make an egg, each day (if the hen lays daily) she'll lay it later and later. Then, she'll take a break for a day or two and then start again. So, there's no consistency with laying time.
It sounds like there's been a lot of stress - moving, a rooster, heat... If it's very hot, and even hotter in the barn, she might not want to go inside to lay at all. Yet another reason for good ventilation and having shade over the coop! In any event, I've a feeling she'll start laying again and be fine.

 

[Mother2Hens]

Thank you, that information is good to know. The coop is ventilated pretty well, and we have two small fans at the top and a box fan at the bottom. We also keep the coop door open since the coop is encased (if you're interested, I have a photo album on my profile). We have a lot of trees and foliage and I put water in several locations. The problem is that the weather is just plain HOT! The most stressful time is at "bedtime" since they are figuring out their places on the perch. Jersey fusses throughout the entire process as though she'd rather be by herself instead of having the annoying youngsters around. At least they are getting along better during the day when they are free ranging.

 

[Mother2Hens]

My Jersey Girl seems fine today. I'm sure she was glad to rid herself of the lash. The temps may be up to 104 on Thursday, so we're adding another larger fan to their favorite shady area as well as a large patio umbrella and of course, plenty of water. My big Jersey girl is good at digging cool dirt bowls in the shady yard to sit in in. (They have a nice "bath" area in their coop, which has sand, dirt, ashes, and food grade diatomaceous earth, but they all like the cool freshly dug dirt to take a break.

 

[terryg]

Wonderful news! Those are hot temps. Stay safe.