Jastorm
Chirping
I have a 13 month old production red layer with normal eggs till a few weeks ago, when she produced a couple of soft shelled eggs like a young pullet. One day she had the egg membrane hanging from her vent, which cleared up after a day.
After that, she began to provide daily eggs that were very large and as if wrapped in wrinkled paper. The shells were extremely thin.
The wrinkled eggs have not shown up for a week, so I don't know if she is laying normal eggs now, or none at all.
There are four other hens, so I usually get four or five eggs per day. I am thinking she has at least decreased her output, since lately I've been getting only three or four.
Now today she seemed OK this morning. Only three eggs from five hens today. I just let her out to range and she is walking slowly, standing around, eyes half closed, back feathers puffed. She left a poop that looked like egg white with white streaks in it.
The hens get commercial layer pellets of 16% protein, oyster shell, greens from the garden, free range in a back yard. They have been enjoying the compost heap and had a bunch of corn on the cob that could have been too old, two days ago.
There is a rat living under the shed adjoining the run and I have been trying to trap it with snap traps.
The run is dirt floor with hay strewn around for scratching.
They also get a sprinkle of grain for scratch.
The four other chickens are fine.
One of them sneezes occasionally.
I read that infectious bronchitis can affect the egg shells. Would it also cause the poop issue and lethargy?
Or is this something like being egg bound?
The hen seems normal weight, her vent looks healthy. However she is looking like a sick chicken now.
Update: As I was watching her and fretting outside, she just dropped a huge double yolked, shell-less egg, with the broken membrane on top of it, and then a partial calcified shell, which was like thin leather with patches of sandpaper. A small bit of blood was present on the shell.
Once that was out, she perked up a little.
Why would she be laying these strange eggs and the others laying normal ones with normal shell thickness?
Any ideas?
Thank you so much.
After that, she began to provide daily eggs that were very large and as if wrapped in wrinkled paper. The shells were extremely thin.
The wrinkled eggs have not shown up for a week, so I don't know if she is laying normal eggs now, or none at all.
There are four other hens, so I usually get four or five eggs per day. I am thinking she has at least decreased her output, since lately I've been getting only three or four.
Now today she seemed OK this morning. Only three eggs from five hens today. I just let her out to range and she is walking slowly, standing around, eyes half closed, back feathers puffed. She left a poop that looked like egg white with white streaks in it.
The hens get commercial layer pellets of 16% protein, oyster shell, greens from the garden, free range in a back yard. They have been enjoying the compost heap and had a bunch of corn on the cob that could have been too old, two days ago.
There is a rat living under the shed adjoining the run and I have been trying to trap it with snap traps.
The run is dirt floor with hay strewn around for scratching.
They also get a sprinkle of grain for scratch.
The four other chickens are fine.
One of them sneezes occasionally.
I read that infectious bronchitis can affect the egg shells. Would it also cause the poop issue and lethargy?
Or is this something like being egg bound?
The hen seems normal weight, her vent looks healthy. However she is looking like a sick chicken now.
Update: As I was watching her and fretting outside, she just dropped a huge double yolked, shell-less egg, with the broken membrane on top of it, and then a partial calcified shell, which was like thin leather with patches of sandpaper. A small bit of blood was present on the shell.
Once that was out, she perked up a little.
Why would she be laying these strange eggs and the others laying normal ones with normal shell thickness?
Any ideas?
Thank you so much.
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