I do not know what to do

Lil Brown Nugget

Chirping
May 12, 2023
16
55
56
Ok I've been giving Nugget extra calcium and she still has trouble laying eggs. Yesterday she started acting weird, isolated from flock,star gazed, not moving around,standing in water. I gently Massaged her belly, she seem to like, then she stood up like a penguin started pushing and a soft no shell egg came out. She acts fine when not laying. Her feathers are still blotchy looking and she does not seem to eat the calcium on her own. I've seen all the others eat it. But never her. I ordered liquid Caltrat today. Could it be she has an internal problem or am I not giving her enough time yet. I attached a couple of her pictures from yesterday.
Thanks
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20230618_203519849.jpg
    IMG_20230618_203519849.jpg
    266 KB · Views: 174
  • IMG_20230618_203535290.jpg
    IMG_20230618_203535290.jpg
    286.1 KB · Views: 16
  • IMG_20230618_204928801.jpg
    IMG_20230618_204928801.jpg
    248.6 KB · Views: 16
You've been giving her Extra Calcium orally or just putting it via oyster shell?

I'd get some Calcium Citrate with D3 which you can find in the vitamin aisle of Walmart, CVS, etc. and give her 1 tablet daily for a week, see if that helps firm up her shells.
Just pull down on her wattles and pop the tablet into her beak and let her swallow.

Is the soft shelled egg coming out "whole", it's rupturing once it hits the ground correct?

And she's "feeling better" once she's able to expel the egg correct?

What do you feed including treats?
 
You've been giving her Extra Calcium orally or just putting it via oyster shell?

I'd get some Calcium Citrate with D3 which you can find in the vitamin aisle of Walmart, CVS, etc. and give her 1 tablet daily for a week, see if that helps firm up her shells.
Just pull down on her wattles and pop the tablet into her beak and let her swallow.

Is the soft shelled egg coming out "whole", it's rupturing once it hits the ground correct?

And she's "feeling better" once she's able to expel the egg correct?

What do you feed including treats?
Yes, I've been giving the citrate with D, I crush it and put it in her feed.
The egg comes out whole and breaks usually when hits ground. She does feel better after.
I've started back feeding the organic layer green bag from TS. They like it better. Plus they eat grapes,cherries,pumpkin,mulberries,,sunflower seeds,,kitchen scraps.etc.
I've noticed she seems to have runny poo often too.
 
Yes, I've been giving the citrate with D, I crush it and put it in her feed.
How often, and how long have you been giving it to her? No need to crush it, just pop it directly in her mouth to ensure she's getting the full dose.

Cut out all the scraps and treats. Feed only, plus the calcium. Get her back to basics and give it a good 1-2 weeks and see what the results are.
 
I'd do what rosemarythyme said above. If she's acting "off" you could give her an Epsom Salt soak/booty bath in warm water. Get a storage tote & cut a smaller hole for her head to poke out. Get a latching lid & you won't need to stand for 20-30 minutes holding a chicken in salty warm water. Continue giving her layer feed & offer the oyster shell on the side. Orally force the calcium citrate stuff to make for certain she's getting enough. If it's still happening in 14 days I'd reevaluate.
 
Yes, I've been giving the citrate with D, I crush it and put it in her feed.
The egg comes out whole and breaks usually when hits ground. She does feel better after.
I've started back feeding the organic layer green bag from TS. They like it better. Plus they eat grapes,cherries,pumpkin,mulberries,,sunflower seeds,,kitchen scraps.etc.
I've noticed she seems to have runny poo often too.
I would directly dose her so you know she's getting the whole tablet. Mixing with feed, you are depending on her to eat all of it and if she's getting a lot of goodies, then she's not getting that extra calcium.

If possible, take a sample of her poop to your vet for a fecal float, this will help rule out worms as part of the problem.
Sometimes hens have troubles with eggs no matter what you do, but hopefully she will start to straighten out with a few tweaks and changes.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom