Hen laid egg with strange solidified yolk

[Blessed092001]

Strange egg. Albumen normal but the yolk was misshapen and solid right out of the shell. I've never seen anything like this before. Could this be the begining of a lash egg? The hen that laid that egg is sick now too. She's not eating or drinking and lethargic. She got a nice long Epsom salt bath and she's getting nutri drench and calcium, D3 tabs by syringe daily. I have her separated and she's so sleepy all the time. Any idea what's wrong with her? She was my earliest layer, laid a number of membrane only eggs, and eggs with no membrane or shell at all in the beginning. Later on, she laid some soft shelled eggs and a double yolker. Most of her eggs were normal. She's only 10 months old. What else can I do to try to help her?

 

[Sally PB]

Do you have access to any antibiotics?

 

[Mrs. K]

I don't think the prognosis is good. I know a lot of people doctor their chickens, but if she is so lethargic, it can be a sign of true suffering. If she does not respond, you might need to put her down.

 

[Blessed092001]

Do you have access to any antibiotics?

I could find something but what would you suggest?

 

[Blessed092001]

I don't think the prognosis is good. I know a lot of people doctor their chickens, but if she is so lethargic, it can be a sign of true suffering. If she does not respond, you might need to put her down.

I understand. I'm starting to think that too. This really sucks. I keep thinking she has a defective shell gland because maybe she started laying too early. She was first to lay and did start at about 5 months. Lately, they were becoming soft shelled again. Then this one. So I think she has an infection, I just don't know. Now she's not laying at all and just standing around.

 

[Mrs. K]

All of that is out of our control. And you are going to have hens that lay just like she did and be fine. That stuff is not under our control.

 

[Sally PB]

I could find something but what would you suggest?

I recently treated a pullet for lash egg (salpingitis) with amoxicillin. 250 mg capsules, twice a day, for 10 days.

The good news: I think she's going to be ok, at least for a while.

The bad news: I've been told that once they pass a lash egg, the prognosis is not good, and they may only live another 6 months. You treat this disease, you don't cure it. I think I found it early, but there's no way to know how long she's had this problem.

The other bad news: As of last summer, you must get a vet's prescription to buy amoxicillin.

In this thread,
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/amoxicillin-scam-site.1612885/
I talk about a scam site that is supposedly selling the stuff I used to treat my chicken. I mention it, in case you find the site and think you can order amox online. I didn't order any. I'm not supporting a scam, and not giving out personal info to one either.

Here's a link to my post where I talk about what I'm doing to treat Pip, my chicken with salpingitis.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sallys-gf3-thread.1579174/page-114#post-27555731

As I say in the thread, this is anecdotal evidence. I will report any findings here on BYC. It's a sample size of 1, with no control group.