Hen had a soft shell egg break inside her

[Bekalodon]

This morning at wakeup, we noticed that our 4 year old Easter Egger, Esther, was acting abnormally. She was fluffed up and quieter and moving slower than usual. Then I noticed she was trying to void but she squawked like she was in pain and I saw a clear liquid, like an egg yolk, dangling out of her cloaca. I alerted my mom and she (wearing gloves) stuck her hand up Esther's cloaca and pulled out pieces of a soft shell egg. Afterward, I saw hwe eat but she still seemed to be acting off.

We're fairly certain we got all the pieces out (my mom said her cloaca felt empty), and my mom thinks she may have already passed the yolk before she came outside.

My questions are: is there anything else we need to do? Should we take her to the vet or will she recover on her own since we got the eggshell out? If that wasn't the yolk my mom saw in the coop, will Esther pass it on her own or does she need help?

 

[TelfTheElf]

i get chickens like that regularly and i just pull it out and then give them a multi-vitamin tablet and it sorts it out.
just make sure their water and food is clear of bugs and stuff 'coz that sometimes causes it. i hope she gets over it!

 

[coach723]

Passing a soft shelled egg is difficult and can make them not feel well. Has this happened before? Hopefully it's just a glitch (maybe she's getting ready to molt?) and she will not do it again. Make sure you have oyster shell available free choice all the time so calcium is available to them if needed.

 

[Bekalodon]

Passing a soft shelled egg is difficult and can make them not feel well. Has this happened before? Hopefully it's just a glitch (maybe she's getting ready to molt?) and she will not do it again. Make sure you have oyster shell available free choice all the time so calcium is available to them if needed.

I think Esther has passed a soft shell before, but this was the first time one had broken inside her. The flock is currently on grower rations because we have some pullets, but they do have free choice access to oyster shell.

Esther is feeling much better! By the end of that day, she was back to herself, and she laid a normal egg the next day.

 

[coach723]

Thanks for the update, very glad she's doing better.

 

[lazy gardener]

Lack of calcium can not only cause soft shells, but it can mess up the body chemistry. Calcium is required for all body functions including muscle contraction (both for movement, peristalsis in gut, and cardiac function.) A chicken who does not have enough calcium will be robbing it from her bones to produce those egg shells, which will further jeopardize her health and other body systems.

A bag of oyster shell is pretty inexpensive, and very well worth the expense to guard the health of your birds.