Help! Pullet Tries To Lay First Egg...But Membrane Is Surrounding It?!

[Krisitne]

OMG! I just went through the strangest thing with my silkie pullet. She is 5 months old and laid her first egg. The problem is that the egg was surrounded by a very thin membrane, which was attached to her. The egg was right snug to her vent, being held by this membrane. Very thin and slightly blood tinged. So my son held her while I carefully cut a small hole in the membrane and popped the egg out of the sac. No blood or anything else came out with the egg after I got it out of the sac. The egg was completely normal. Normal shell, small, as to be expected for a first egg. So after I popped the egg out of the membrane, I pushed the membrane back into her vent. In hind sight, should I have trimmed this membrane, rather than push it back in? I just didn't want to hurt her or cause damage. I wish now that I would have taken a quick pic to post but at the time I was just beside myself! My silkie coop has two sides to it so I put her by herself in the small side in the laying box tonight so that no one will bother her. Has anyone dealt with this issue? What in the world happened? And my biggest worry...will she be ok? Should I be doing anything else for her? . She is the pullet pic in my avatar. I just love her.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

OMG! I just went through the strangest thing with my silkie pullet. She is 5 months old and laid her first egg. The problem is that the egg was surrounded by a very thin membrane, which was attached to her. The egg was right snug to her vent, being held by this membrane. Very thin and slightly blood tinged. So my son held her while I carefully cut a small hole in the membrane and popped the egg out of the sac. No blood or anything else came out with the egg after I got it out of the sac. The egg was completely normal. Normal shell, small, as to be expected for a first egg. So after I popped the egg out of the membrane, I pushed the membrane back into her vent. In hind sight, should I have trimmed this membrane, rather than push it back in? I just didn't want to hurt her or cause damage. I wish now that I would have taken a quick pic to post but at the time I was just beside myself! My silkie coop has two sides to it so I put her by herself in the small side in the laying box tonight so that no one will bother her. Has anyone dealt with this issue? What in the world happened? And my biggest worry...will she be ok? Should I be doing anything else for her? . She is the pullet pic in my avatar. I just love her.

I think you did the right thing. I don’t think you should have trim the membrane thank God! It sounds like her vent was prolapsing and good thing you pushed it back in. I don’t know what else you could do, but maybe some of the other members that have experience with that sort of thing will direct you.

 

[JadeFarms]

Wow, had this happen to lizards, not chickens! I did the same thing, they ended out fine.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Probably shouldnt of cut it. It does sound like prolapse. @Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Was the membrane white ? It may have been a "tail" attached to the egg?. Look at the links below to see if it was similar. If it's the tail that you snipped off, that would be more egg membrane, hopefully she will pass that on out no problems. I would give her extra calcium (TUMS or 1/2 tablet Caltrate) one time to give her a boost. If you have Poultry Nutri-Drench or Poultry Cell, I would also direct dose her at 1cc per 3 pounds of weight.
https://www.littlethings.com/weird-eggs/1
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/weird-egg-with-a-tail-thing.915191/

I would be very hesitant to snip anything in the future.

IF it was a prolapsed vent with an egg stuck in it, then that can be dangerous if you snip it - the tissue would have been red though. The tissue that was exposed is part of the vagina or oviduct. Try to determine if it was an egg membrane or if it was prolapsed tissue that you snipped and put back in. Below is a prolapse with an egg stuck. If she did have prolapse with an egg stuck, I would still give the calcium and vitamins as described above. Hopefully the tissue will heal. If she has any trouble pooping or prolapses again, then clean well, if she's not lethargic, soak in epsom salts, apply an oil or ointment (coconut oil, honey, prep H, anti-inflammatory cream, etc.) keep any tissue moist so it doesn't dry out and push back in. If it comes back out, she may be too swollen for retention, so keep the tissue moist let her rest, drink and try again in several hours or the next morning.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Thanks Wyorp

 

[Krisitne]

Was the membrane white ? It may have been a "tail" attached to the egg?. Look at the links below to see if it was similar. If it's the tail that you snipped off, that would be more egg membrane, hopefully she will pass that on out no problems. I would give her extra calcium (TUMS or 1/2 tablet Caltrate) one time to give her a boost. If you have Poultry Nutri-Drench or Poultry Cell, I would also direct dose her at 1cc per 3 pounds of weight.
https://www.littlethings.com/weird-eggs/1
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/weird-egg-with-a-tail-thing.915191/

I would be very hesitant to snip anything in the future.

IF it was a prolapsed vent with an egg stuck in it, then that can be dangerous if you snip it - the tissue would have been red though. The tissue that was exposed is part of the vagina or oviduct. Try to determine if it was an egg membrane or if it was prolapsed tissue that you snipped and put back in. Below is a prolapse with an egg stuck. If she did have prolapse with an egg stuck, I would still give the calcium and vitamins as described above. Hopefully the tissue will heal. If she has any trouble pooping or prolapses again, then clean well, if she's not lethargic, soak in epsom salts, apply an oil or ointment (coconut oil, honey, prep H, anti-inflammatory cream, etc.) keep any tissue moist so it doesn't dry out and push back in. If it comes back out, she may be too swollen for retention, so keep the tissue moist let her rest, drink and try again in several hours or the next morning.

 

[Krisitne]

This is EXACTLY what it looked like. And thank you everyone for your help.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This is EXACTLY what it looked like. And thank you everyone for your help.

Which one - the prolapse or egg with a tail?

 

[Krisitne]

Wyorp...thank you so much for that video. I just watched it to the end. She pushed the egg till it popped out. So I think my snipping a small hole was like what she did. She rinsed the membrane and pushed it back in gently. I didn't rinse the membrane first. I hope its going to be ok. The thing I am happy about was that there was no blood when the egg came out. I was going to bring her into the house in a cage but she nestled right in to the nesting box in the coop. And moving her into the house will cause stress. She doesn't need any more of that. I will be out there bright and early to check on her. I sure hope she will be ok. I feel so sorry for her