Is my hen ok? 2 eggs at once?!

[chickity-chick]

I'd break the tums in half to give it to her. @azygous has a great pic of anatomy. Phone is dying so sorry. I'll check back asap

Ok! Thank you so much!!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@chickity-chick I certainly don't claim to know much, so there's a chance I'm wrong. It seems like the shell process happens at night, so if she were my pullet (and she's not so please don't think i am trying to tell you what to do either way) I'd get her off the roost tonight and pop that calcium in her as soon as possible. That's just an uneducated suggestion though, so keep that in mind

 

[azygous]

I agree with @HeatherKellyB that tonight wouldn't be too soon to pop a calcium into her. I didn't mention that because she isn't in a reproductive crisis as she would be if she had a stuck egg. But a shell-less egg can become a stuck egg very quickly. If she were mine, I wouldn't wait.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Here is the picture of the mouth and an article on how to administer meds by mouth.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I agree with @HeatherKellyB that tonight wouldn't be too soon to pop a calcium into her. I didn't mention that because she isn't in a reproductive crisis as she would be if she had a stuck egg. But a shell-less egg can become a stuck egg very quickly. If she were mine, I wouldn't wait.

Thank you for the clarification! You know that I love learning from you. Thanks again! Now if i can just remember it

 

[NatJ]

My pullet now hen as of today laid her first egg

Pullets become hens at one year old, no matter when they lay their first egg.

Lots of female animals get the grown-up form of their name when they have their first foal or calf or piglet or whatever, but chickens do it by age instead.

 

[britinpa]

I'm for getting proactive when any sort of egg anomaly arises. It's so much easier to pop a calcium tablet into a beak than it is to treat an egg bound hen or worse. Here's my newest article on this subject. https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

If this novice layer were mine, I would give her a calcium citrate tablet right now, another tomorrow, and stop when she appears to be laying a normal egg within a normal 25 hour cycle.

When I opened up our coop this morning to let our pullets out, there were 2 soft shelled eggs that had been laid in the same spot (so assuming these were from the same hen and am guessing a new layer). Our 8 pullets are 26 weeks old, and all eggs that have been laid so far have been good hard shells. Up until today 6 good eggs is the most we have been getting in a day. Ours are all the same breed (asian blacks), and there is one more recently I have noticed that isn't quite as big as the rest, so am wondering whether it was her that laid these 2 soft ones this morning. I'm a little nervous about putting anything directly into their throat, being inexperienced. Can the calcium tabs be broken up and hand offered to her?

 

[azygous]

Here's my tutorial on why chickens have an easier time swallowing a bulky pill than humans do.

We think chickens must have a problem swallowing a large pill just because we do. But their digestive process is different from ours. We begin the digestive process by chewing first, then swallowing. We aren't meant to swallow large chunks. We naturally choke.

Chickens don't have teeth for a good reason. They don't need them. Their digestive process begins after they swallow. The food goes directly into their crop without passing "Go", and then it trickles down into their gizzard where the "chewing" action goes into full swing.

Therefore, chickens can amaze us by swallowing things that we think would choke them, large pills included. But they actually have no problem. Slip the pill into the beak and you'll see it disappear like magic. Unless you don't get it far enough back on the tongue. Chickens can rival dogs and cats at firing a pill across the room like a guided missile, but it's not because they aren't able to swallow it easily.

 

[chickity-chick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Here is the picture of the mouth and an article on how to administer meds by mouth.

@azygous ok you guys! So this is how it went- I grabbed her off the roost with my tums in hand. And tried to shove half of it down her throat like the article showed however it did not work. She was screaming and moving her head and neck in ridiculous ways. She would stretch it out like a girafe move it to each side unexpectedly and suck it in as if she had no neck at all!! Ahg! That coupled with the wings and trying to pry her mouth open didn’t work so I trucked her back to the house and tried mushing up a tums in some mushed fruits which she normally likes which she wouldn’t eat!! I tried again with shoving the pill in her mouth while she was wrapped in a towel and still no luck. I ended up grinding half a tums so (500mg) into a little bit of water and squirted it with a syringe slowly along her beak letting her drink it a tad at a time. This took my like an hour! Ahg! I’m not sure what to do and I am now worried that the stress of the new location and the whole ordeal made the situation worse!! I really am so grateful for your advice and everything and I want the best for my babies. Oh! And one more thing this same chicken has been having really liquify poop and it’s sticking to her butt feathers but it’s too cold to wash her butt and put her outand she isn’t seeming to clean it her self. Could I just trim those fluffy butt feathers slightly shorter where the poop is getting stuck? Also could the really liquids poop be a sign something is wrong coupled with this egg issue? I might be looking to far into it but I really worry about my baby birds and want them to be 100% happy and healthy

 

[chickity-chick]

Pullets become hens at one year old, no matter when they lay their first egg.

Lots of female animals get the grown-up form of their name when they have their first foal or calf or piglet or whatever, but chickens do it by age instead.

Oh! Thank you for this! I never knew that! Thank you!