I think my chicken pooped this weird thing out...

[nickylou665]

First time posting via phone app, so hopefully this goes ok...

2 year old Easter egger hen was looking fluffy and “off” morning, when I let them out she didn’t stampede out for food like the rest.

Second sign something was wrong is I was able to easily catch her. Took her inside and it seemed like her crop was still full, so I massaged it a bit and put her in the carrier crate, with water but no food, figuring it might be sour crop. Her dropping’s were also runny.

Had to go to work, so I left her there and when I came home she has pooped some greener/slightly more solid poop, and while her crop was less full it is still squishy. But when changing her paper towels I also found this thing:

The first photo is after I sort of pulled it apart, the first photo is how I found it. It had to have come out of her, I can’t think of any other way this would be in the crate with her. Is this an egg gone wrong? What can I do to help my Hennie?

 

[coach723]

Sounds like it was a good vet visit! You are fortunate to have one that knows chickens.
I have been feeding all flock for years, no issues, I do have quite a few stations for oystershell/eggshell mixture, I find especially with the younger layers, that they won't get to them as much if the olders are around them, so I put quite a few out to prevent that, and spread them around. I put them away from the actual feeders, so they are less likely to get blocked by a piggy bird. I use empty milk jugs or vinegar jugs with a window cut in the side, so they are cheap and I can use as many as I need.

 

[azygous]

If this is sudden, if this hen is acting droopy, if her vent is pulsating and leaking very watery fluid that is soaking her butt feathers a chalky white, if she's straining as if to try to poop, if she stands with her tail down, if she's fluffed up and her head is sunk into her shoulders, then Houston we have a problem.

I just went through this with an aging hen of mine. The first thing is to give her a good long soak in Epsom salt water with a dash of baby shampoo to clean and soften her butt tissue. Be sure to gently clean very well around the cloaca. This needs to be done each day until the issue is resolved so bacteria doesn walk back up the reproductive track from her dirty butt, aided by contractions.

At the same time, give immediately one tablet of a calcium supplement, preferably calcium citrate, minimum 400mg. It appears she may have been able to expel the remains of the egg, but isolate her to monitor her droppings for more egg. Give a calcium tablet each day until all signs of egg remains have passed.

You will know she's been able to clear out all the egg when she begins to perk up again, and the fluid stops leaking from her vent.

I also began my hen on 250mg oral penicillin right away for seven days to stop any bacteria from taking hold in any egg remains in the reproductive track. Infection is the biggest danger when an egg collapses inside. It took my hen six days to pass all her membrane. Once she did, she bounced right back, and she's made a full recovery.

 

[nickylou665]

I did save the thing, and took it and her to the university zoo-med vet yesterday. When I got home from work she was a bit perkier, but I had worries about infection, and with the shit week I’ve had, I felt a bit out of my wheelhouse and wanted the white jacket’s opinion.

Met a new vet there, but he gave me confidence that he is familiar with chickens. It’s an egg shell. He listened to the timeline I gave, gave an examination and then took a blood sample and gave her some fluids. He found no swollen abdomen, and a healthy cloaca. Good condition overall, but a bit low weight (he guessed right, she’s lower on the pecking order). She was a bit dehydrated, and testing showed Calcium was low, which was no surprise given that by now I knew it was a soft shell egg she laid. He was less concerned about the crop, it felt normal to him and he mentioned that a chicken that doesn’t feel well will have an affected digestive tract, but that’s part of what I will be observing for the next few days. I’m good to feed her and push the calcium.

I’d given her yogurt and calcium mixed with mealworm and fried egg since then, so while she had complaints about the lodging she has praise for hospitality.

Vet suggested that if she has a friend in the flock and if I have the space, to pick that one out and keep them both separate for a week or so for observation, so she can be reintroduced to the flock with a buddy instead of as a single chicken. Of course if she’s in need of an antibiotic the length of time and care methods will adjust appropriately.

I should be hearing full details about the blood work today, including a white blood cell count, and if that’s abnormal he will issue an antibiotic and we’ll go from there.

The biggest debate I have to ponder right now is whether it’s better to switch to a layer feed instead of an all flock. I switched over a year ago because of my roosters, and while this is the first issue I’ve seen, I don’t want a chicken to suffer if I could do better. Conversely I don’t want my roosters to get too much calcium, either. Vet and I debated for a bit about what the solution might be, he was clearly in camp layer feed but understood my hesitation. The roosters don’t favor a feeding station so having a rooster feeding station won’t work... so I might go half and half with lay mix and all flock to split the difference. It’ll improve calcium intake some while not blasting my roosters. I don’t know. Maybe I’m over reacting and the roosters won’t be as badly harmed by layer feed as I understand they would, so I’m going to have to dive back into that research. I’m mulling over if there’s a better way to get calcium to the laying ladies than my current method (oyster shell/ egg shell stations by the feed stations). I may just add a few more oyster shell stations if the pecking order is keeping the lower ladies away from the calcium as a start. I’m open to suggestions here.

Between that visit and the suggestions on this forum I at least feel more prepared to care for her. By no means do I feel like she’s out of the woods, but I at least feel like I’ve got a better handle on what I am trying to treat and what to look out for! So thank you everyone for your advice so far.

 

[azygous]

You can find out by examining the texture. Egg membrane dries up and becomes crispy like paper that's been wet and then dried out.

Tissue is different. It's more like lunch meat in that you can slice into it and you can sense its fleshy texture. Sometimes intestinal lining is shed, and it's very slimy. Sometimes salpingitis produces cheesy chunks that resemble cheese curds in texture.

You will be monitoring her over the next few days for more of these deposits. Also her behavior will give you clues as to how serious you should consider this.

 

[aart]

her to the university zoo-med vet yesterday

Wow, how great to have this resource nearby and be able to take advantage of it!

 

[aart]

Could be egg membrane malfunction or shed tissue from intestinal or reproductive tract.
Hard to know if it's calcium issue.
Had she been laying previously to this incident?
Other birds laying OK?
What all and how exactly are you feeding?
Is her belly swollen(from just under vent to down between legs)?
Pics of droppings from overnight would be good to see.

 

[azygous]

Pick up some miconazole, too, when you grab the calcium citrate. Sour crop yeast is opportunistic when a chicken's immune system is tasked.

Boiled egg and yogurt are good foods for a hen in this circumstance. Make dry feed available, along with fresh water.

I urge you to try to get hold of an antibiotic. Ask family and friends if they have any people meds left over they no longer need. Or ask a vet to give you a round of a broad spectrum antibiotic. If infection takes hold, even if a hen recovers, she could be sterile afterward.

 

[Kusanar]

I would suggest having at least one Oyster shell station well away from the feed so that if she is having trouble finding time to grab a bite in between the other birds, she can at least get her calcium in peace (they shouldn't be fighting over that) without having to constantly watch over her shoulder. Lower in pecking order animals usually only get a small amount of tine to eat, and if they have to choose between feed and calcium I bet they will pick feed every time.

 

[azygous]

Multiple factors affect calcium absorption. One is the hen herself. Individuals can absorb calcium at different rates of effectiveness no matter the source.

Another factor is calcium particle size. Despite the source, whether it's oyster shell or ground up limestone, studies have indicated that the larger particles of calcium remain in the digestive track longer than small particles, and result in a higher absorption rate. Commercial layer feed contains limestone calcium, and particle size may make some brands more effective than others.

This brings to mind the powdered mess most oyster shell particles are reduced to over time, leading to a substandard particle size, thus rendering you oyster shell you are providing your layers into a less than optimally effective calcium source. You might wish to check on the condition of the oyster shell you've got in the run to be sure it's full size particles.

If your eyes and brain don't freeze up at the thought of an academic article, here's a good one on the subject. https://academic.oup.com/ps/article/88/2/338/1562994