Hen trying to lay already broken egg

[HartlandEggCo]

Good day, my hen is a little upset that I moved her out of the box for the others, but she has a portion of egg/yolk/mess hanging out of her vent. Should I attempt to clean her up with a moist towel or let her preen herself clean? I few years ago I suspect one of my better layers died after an egg broke in her vent.

 

[CoopCrazy]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=294189 Here is a link I will try to find some others for you.. You may also want to try the search button in the upper left of the blue bar.. Type in Broken egg in vent

 

[OrpingtonManor]

You can give your girl a nice warm sitz bath to help her pass the broken pieces. It will relax her. Be patient. She might need a bit of a soak.

 

[HartlandEggCo]

I'm happy for all the biology classes I took! Also for having a box of latex exam gloves handy! I took a bowl of warm water and a towel and moistened her exterior and gently removed the soft pieces of shell that were near the vent. As this was my first attempt at poultry ob/gyn, i didn't probe too deep. As she is eating and walking around after about fifteen minutes, i think that she will be okay. Thank you administrator and others for your advice.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

Nice job!

keep an eye on her. she might still need a round of antibiotics for any yolk that is left inside. it can go septic. she also might have been cut or scratched by the shell.

 

[fordmommy]

and I believe it's called "prolasped vent". Great job. You did exactly the right thing. Here's a link for a bit more info.

http://www.poultryhelp.com/prolapse.html

 

[OrpingtonManor]

prolapsed vent can accompany a situation when the hen is eggbound, and the egg breaks, but prolapse isn't always present. sometimes it's just because the shell was thin, and couldn't hold up to the peristalsis.

 

[fordmommy]

Thank you for the correction.

 

[OrpingtonManor]

no problem! this situation won't require quite as much intervention as prolapse. this situation might need antibiotics, but prolapse requires continuous replacement of the prolapsed vent, and probably Preparation H to shrink the swollen tissue. The risk in this situation is infection, but I'm hoping the OP will not have to do anything else.

eta - fordmommy, your avatar is hysterical!

 

[chookchick]

Great to hear that she is doing well! You might want to supply them with oyster shell (in addition to the layer diet) so they don't have any more soft shell issues. I was also reading (in Feeding forum) about a guy with hard water that had issues with soft shells.