Help...! Weird thing in hen's bottom

[Emma3335]

Hi, Can anyone explain what the thing coming from my chickens bottom could be? She has a slightly messy vent.
Thanks!

 

[coach723]

The picture is not clear enough to really tell. Is it still there? Could be a soft shelled or malformed egg shell, in which case you can pull gently and see if it will come out. You can soak her in some warm epsom salts and use some vaseline or ky jelly also to help loosen it. If it's not egg shell material then a better picture would help.

 

[chickens really]

Soft shelled egg...

 

[Emma3335]

Thanks, it did come off so thinking it was a soft shelled egg. Was long and thin, clear and soft

 

[coach723]

Hopefully it was just a one time glitch. As long as she's acting normally then I would just keep an eye on her. How old is she? Sometimes new layers will have glitches, or they can have glitches when going into, or coming out of, molt. Do you have oyster shell available all the time for calcium? Not enough calcium can contribute to soft shelled eggs.

 

[Emma3335]

We've had two eggs every day between 3 hen's so not sure, hopefully a one off, but it might be her not laying