hen eggbound????HELP

[australorpnonnie]

Our rosecomb dom pullet(not hardly 1 year old) has had a poopy butt for a couple of months, we had different people to tell us that she was eggbound we feed them very good feed even bought scratch with grit in it and we also feed them oyster shells and all the 22% laying mash that they want. we have been getting 9 eggs out of 10 hens about everyday BUT today when i went to get the eggs there was 11 eggs 1 of the eggs was very small(about bantam size)with brownish yuk on it and was hard the next egg was soft like it was covered with skin the insides of the eggs looked normal.my husband dropped both eggs from waist high and neither egg broke. we looked at the dom's vent and it still just looks poopy. can someone help me with this. Also both eggs had the same yuk on them and the shells were the same color.

 

[SpottedCrow]

If she's passing the eggs, she's NOT eggbound, but she may be having problems with not enough calcium in her shells which makes it really hard for her to lay them...
To help her out you can put applecider vinegar with the mother (it looks like Sangria, with the stuff on the bottom) in the water. Keep up with the oyster shell and I've heard that Black Oil Sunflower Seeds are good as well.
Most of the problems start with new layers; layers that are just starting up again after a vacation, like Obelisk does during the winter, or coming off being broody...
Obelisk started laying again just last week and she had a soft shelled, thin egg yesterday that got stuck but she managed to get it out. So she got the vinegar water and oyster shell and today's egg was fine.

 

[australorpnonnie]

thank you so much SpottedCrow but do you know why she layed two eggs?

 

[sammi]

did you break open the tiny egg?
please describe.

if you open the egg and there is no yolk, or a speck of yellow, but no formed yolk..
these are sometimes referred to as "fart eggs"..(LOL)
it's possible the hen layed an egg late, and a speck of egg material was in process, or even a bit of debris..
and the hen's system "saw it" as an egg and formed the rest of around the material, but a lack of calcium after forming the first egg, interfered with forming a hard shell..
I would pay close attention to this hen for any unusual symptoms..or odd eggs.
it's usually nothing to worry about.

It sounds like you are really trying take good care of your hens..
22% protein feed, fed all the time, might be a little too high..there IS such a thing as too much protein, which can cause liver problems.
you might consider mixing the 22% with a good quality 16 or so % laying feed.

also, the grit in the scratch..is it calcium grit, or granite grit?
do you mix the oyster shell with the feed?
(it should be offered in a separate feeder)

how much scratch are you giving?
scratch should be given as a treat, not as a feed.

have the chickens been wormed?
if so, when? and what was used?

please describe the hen's droppings (color and consistency)
do you offer veggies, such as lettuce or other greens? (if so..cut back..this girl might be getting more them her share and making droppings loose)
cut back on any corn and grains.(including the scratch)..
see if the droppings firm up.

offer plain active culture yogurt.

 

[SpottedCrow]

When a hen starts up laying again, her cycle can be all messed up. That's what produces odd shapes, half shells and even extra eggs.