Huge eggs turns to poorly hen

[gjchooks]

Heya guys.









~~One of my brown shavers, laying for about 3months, has regularly been laying huge double yolkers. The shell has been a little ripply but eggs are getting bigger and bigger.
The same chook has also laid a few shelless eggs say 1 per fortnight now they are being laid more regularly, almost daily now. (the chooks are eating these eggs)
Now it appears my wee girl is taking a turn for the worst. She is all puffed up and her tail is pointing down and she is really lethargic unless disturbed. She is finding shade when the others are out in the sun feeding.
When she does walk around for a scratch she is nowhere as perky as the others

The attached photos are of the eggs. The smallest is the normal size. The other three have been laid gradually getting bigger over the last two weeks.

The photos of the chook are of her vent with the remnants of a bit of poo and the membrane of the last shelless egg.

Comments advice welcomed

 

[Eggcessive]

I suppose she could be suffering from coccidiosis, but since she is a high production egg layer, she may be prone to internal laying and egg yolk peritonitis. All of the huge eggs being pumped out will sometimes damage the reproductive tract, and the shell-less eggs breaking inside will definitely make her sick. She is also very prone now to getting egg bound and having a prolapsed vent. She could possibly be egg bound now, or suffering from peritonitis. I would check her with a lubricated finger inside her vent to feel for an egg or egg contents. If there is an egg, you can place her in a warm bath to soak, while also giving her a crushed calcium or Tums tablet. If you suspect that she has peritonitis, you can try giving some antibiotics, such as Baytril to treat her, but this is difficult to treat. Here is a link about EYP: http://www.avianweb.com/eggyolkperitonitis.html

 

[gjchooks]

Thanks Eggcessive
Being a "high producer", does this explain the number of double yolkers?
When you say "prolapsed vent", I am right in understanding that this stops the bird limiting the size of the egg?
Our wee lady is much better today being very active chasing bugs when I was digging the ground over.
I dont think it is coccidiosis. The poo is quite clean and looks normal. Although historically (3-5 days ago) I have seen very thin/runny poo which may be the egg contents you speak of, coming out.
I followed a bit of the other threat on this same topic and there are some similar symptoms.
I guess ultimately, I hate anything being unhappy and if this is difficult to treat is it recommended to cull her out?
The last thing I want is a chook in discomfort.
Thoughts?

 

[Eggcessive]

I am glad to hear that she is much better today. Prolapsed vent can occur when the egg is too large which can damage the cloaca. This can also happen with egg binding, and the internal tissue comes outside and gets stuck. Yes, hopefully she will settle down into a normal laying pattern without the huge double yolk eggs, and stay healthy. Another link to read: http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html