Hen laid ABNORMAL egg after not laying for weeks

[bibzybean]

I am very concerned about my hen. She has had awful dirty vent feathers, that are patchy/sparse, for a few weeks. At first we thought it might be diarrhoea, as she gets it often, but she stopped laying and the feathers got worse. We thought it may be mites, but mite powder has made no difference. She is pooping, eating, drinking and acting normally, but today she laid her first egg in weeks and it was soft, rubbery, and seemed to have a long tail (it was barely an egg).

Our other hen has started to get dirty vent feathers, stopped laying, and has bad diarrhoea, and she also laid her first egg in a while today - soft and rubbery, but dark red, looked more like meat(?) but definitely had a shell.

Both hens are acting fine otherwise, but the dirty vents and horribly deformed eggs have me seriously worried. Does anyone know what could be going on??

 

[KaseySnow]

Pictures of these eggs and of the hens' vents would be helpful.

 

[bibzybean]

Hello, I may be able to provide better/clearer photos later, but I have pictures of the two eggs and the main hen’s vent here - in real life you can see small patches of skin through the feathers.

 

[KaseySnow]

Did you cut into these eggs to see if they had yolk or albumen(egg white)? If you opened them up and they looked like cooked egg on the inside then it could be a lash egg, but these don't quite have the look of a lash egg from what I can tell.

How old are these birds? If they are still pretty young then their bodies may just be adjusting to egg production. It's normal for first time layers to have weird eggs when they first come into lay.

The fact that they have diarrhea as well is more concerning and could indicate a more serious issue. Though it could also be worms or something they ate. Do they free range?

 

[bibzybean]

Did you cut into these eggs to see if they had yolk or albumen(egg white)? If you opened them up and they looked like cooked egg on the inside then it could be a lash egg, but these don't quite have the look of a lash egg from what I can tell.

How old are these birds? If they are still pretty young then their bodies may just be adjusting to egg production. It's normal for first time layers to have weird eggs when they first come into lay.

The fact that they have diarrhea as well is more concerning and could indicate a more serious issue. Though it could also be worms or something they ate. Do they free range?

They are free to roam in our garden, and love the back of the garden, but there is a lot of debris/old shed pieces there. Only one hen has diarrhoea - the worse of the two is pooping fine. They are 2 I think, and usually lay perfectly, so eggs like these were a concern. I have not cut into the eggs, although my guess is they are kind of similar the whole way through.

 

[KaseySnow]

If they lay any more, cut them open and see if they resemble a lash egg (plenty of pictures of these on a google search). If so, this is an indicator of a serious reproductive issue. If they are runny and "normal" looking stuff on the inside, then they are just some malformed eggs, which happen from time to time. If malformed eggs are happening frequently, this could be a sign of nutrient deficiency.

What kind of feed do you give them and do they have access to crushed oyster shells?

 

[bibzybean]

If they lay any more, cut them open and see if they resemble a lash egg (plenty of pictures of these on a google search). If so, this is an indicator of a serious reproductive issue. If they are runny and "normal" looking stuff on the inside, then they are just some malformed eggs, which happen from time to time. If malformed eggs are happening frequently, this could be a sign of nutrient deficiency.

What kind of feed do you give them and do they have access to crushed oyster shells?

I think they eat the normal layers pellets, and there are oyster shells available for them. This is the first time we have seen eggs that look like these, but I will keep an eye on them. Thank you

 

[turkey girl 0964]

Here is a great article for you:https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/commom-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[Eggcessive]

The egg shell problem could be just because they are starting to lay again after time off, but if it continues, I would think there might be a problem with the oviduct and shell gland. That could include an infection, tumor, salpingitis (inflammation of the oviduct.) You could give them a human calcium tablet that has vitamin d for a couple of days to see if thst helps.