Is she okay? What is this?

[tiffanylongwith]

I’m at the kitchen table and heard a noise, assuming she was coming up for food. (We have one chicken who has food in her run but chooses to come up to the porch to say hi and get seeds and such. Anyways, I walk out and it reeks, there’s this white fluid everywhere with egg shells and black pieces in it. There’s an egg about two feet from that and she’s about 2 feet from that on a chair with fluid coming down her leg and pooping on a chair with eggshell pieces on it (her feathers wooshed the eggshell away before photo). Her coop is about 10 ft from the porch so I’m not sure how she brought one of her eggs from there to here unless she laid it there which I highly doubt unless she’s sick. Anyone know what’s going on here? She’s been broody and not wanting to leave the cage for weeks but has been coming out once a day or every few for food water potty and air. I had been out on the back porch maybe 20 min before this happened so I caught it right after she did so I’m pretty certain it’s her.

 

[azygous]

Taken all together, it adds up to a probable stuck egg suddenly breaking loose and sliding out. The crisis may be only half over, however. Often, two eggs back to back are involved. So there may still be an egg that has to come out. To help her get it out, give her a calcium tablet, preferably calcium citrate, directly into her beak right away.

If it appears an egg broke inside her, she will need an antibiotic. What do you have on hand?

 

[tiffanylongwith]

Taken all together, it adds up to a probable stuck egg suddenly breaking loose and sliding out. The crisis may be only half over, however. Often, two eggs back to back are involved. So there may still be an egg that has to come out. To help her get it out, give her a calcium tablet, preferably calcium citrate, directly into her beak right away.

If it appears an egg broke inside her, she will need an antibiotic. What do you have on hand?

okay that makes sense. My guess was maybe she ate a spoiled egg and it came back out but what you said makes sense. Thank you so much for helping us! I have an off brand “Tums” Calcium Carbonate Tablet. And for antibiotic, all I have is Garlic. Will those do? This is our only chicken she showed up in the backyard one day so I don’t have a ton on hand I guess. I tried putting them in her bowl today but she only leaves her coop for like 2 minutes before rushing back in so she’ll probably come back out for it tomorrow.

 

[azygous]

That will have to do. Hopefully, this is not something that will be a chronic problem.

 

[tiffanylongwith]

That will have to do. Hopefully, this is not something that will be a chronic problem.

It worked! She ate the garlic and calcium because it’s not in her bowl anymore or knocked out. Then I saw this, this morning! Yay! Thank you so much for your help Debbie thanks you too I’m sure. Do you think I should keep giving her garlic for a few days for antibiotic? I’m assuming she doesn’t need more of the calcium tablets (off brand tums is what I used) but if I’m wrong let me know I trust your advice!

 

[azygous]

That's great news. Yes, continue the garlic water for another week. Oil of oregano would also be a good idea.

 

[tiffanylongwith]

That's great news. Yes, continue the garlic water for another week. Oil of oregano would also be a good idea.

Thank you! Will do. She laid another egg today (the first egg could’ve been yesterdays that I missed after feeding ) this egg I saw come out of her, it looked like it was hanging out of her and she ended up dropping maybe less than 2 ft from where I saw her eating her food with it hanging out within like 30 seconds from me seeing her. This egg is like kind of cracked with feather holding it together and it reeks. Her cage now also has a fowl smell all of a sudden. To be fair, it needs cleaning but the smell came on quick. She had 10 eggs in her cage march 6 and today she has 7. One of which is maybe new, it looks different and is kind of like the egg that came out today like patched. I’m worried for her health with the smell. I will have to go get new hay to lay down for her and clean it out but she doesn’t come out of there for but 5 min max maybe once a day and she’s a wild chicken so I don’t think she’d take kindly to me touching her. Is sticking to the garlic okay? I’m sorry if it’s a bother, I extremely appreciate your help!

 

[nuthatched]

Garlic is toxic to chickens, if you have oregano oil caps, that would be much better.

 

[Loving my girls]

Garlic is toxic to chickens, if you have oregano oil caps, that would be much better.

I have been giving ground garlic to my hens for over twenty years, why do you believe it to be toxic ?
Perhaps in whole cloves or large (in relation to a hen) quantities ?
Hugz

 

[azygous]

Garlic is in the Allium family and there is a chemical oxidant in garlic and onions that in large quantities can be toxic to poultry. But as @Loving my girls mentioned, it is fed to poultry all the time in modest amounts as a natural antibiotic with no problem.

It sounds like our patient has a blockage in the oviduct. If the odor is acrid and unpleasant, and the discharge is thin and watery and slightly white, that's a sign she needs more calcium. If the discharge is yellow, it means infection may be already a problem and she would need a real antibiotic. You would need to ask a vet for the med.

What is your reason for allowing the eggs to accumulate rather than picking them up each day?