Labor day and my first egg!

[SurferchickinSB]

Hi

I would agree that it sounds like an egg has broken inside her and there is the potential for this to result in an infection. Whilst I am generally not in favour of using antibiotics to treat animals without there being clear signs of infection, if an infections sets in, in the oviduct, it can be very difficult to clear up and once it gets established will usually prove fatal, so it might be worth enquiring with your vet about antibiotics in this case. It is common for pullets to lay shell less eggs off the roost or in the run etc when they first come into lay, but having a one break inside them is a concern. I wonder if one of the other birds may have pecked at it as she was laying it, causing it to collapse inside her, since I think you mentioned one of them was investigating her back end. It doesn't take them long to figure out that tasty things sometimes appear from there, once they have had a taste!

I have serious concerns about your choice of feed, that you have swapped to. Grain mix feeds can cause a number of very serious health issues, particularly if they are fed free choice from a feeder. They need to be rationed and scattered to reduce the risk but I still have reservations about their use. The problem with them is that birds can selectively eat their favourite components of the feed and they are usually the high carbohydrate grains. They will often bill the food out of the feeder onto the ground to get to the "best bits" and leave the rest, usually the higher protein pulses etc for lower pecking order birds or rats to clean up, or it goes mouldy. The powdery fines which contain the trace elements and minerals like calcium and essential amino acids often get wasted too, so some birds end up with a dietary imbalance where they are getting lots of carbs and not enough protein and minerals. The carbs are converted into fat which gets deposited in a thick layer in the abdomen, around the vent but also around the heart, gizzard and intestines and sometimes the liver becomes impregnated with fat molecules, leading to it's structure becoming weak and an increased risk of a haemorrhage or in severe cases a major rupture which causes sudden death. The fatty deposits around the vent also lead to an increased risk of prolapse and can also cause other ailments like salpingitis (infection of the oviduct) or internal laying. Yes they love mixed grain feeds..... it is like giving children the choice of fries and cake or a proper meal. Many will chose the "bad" calories. Add to this that you are also giving them corn and bread as treats and you are heading for serious health issues in your flock in my opinion. There have been several threads on this forum about people who used organic grain mix feeds losing birds to Fatty Liver Haemorrhagic Syndrome. Please do not become another one of them.

They might not care for the pellets but in reality they contain all the same ingredients as the grain mix, but micronized and pelleted so that they have no choice but to eat a balanced diet. Fed like this free choice, they will only eat as much as they need to be healthy and produce eggs with good strong shells. If they also get to free range part of the day, that should be more than enough of a treat. Feeding some fruit and veggies in the pen will help relieve boredom, but corn and bread need to be cut out or very severely restricted. They may be more receptive to the pellets if they are soaked in water to make a mash, or fermented. You could go back to the crumble they were on and start making a wet mash with that and then slowing adding pellets to the mix. Like children, they will hold out for treats unless you are firm with them. Don't assume that just because they like something that it is good for them.

I am not saying that your current problem with this pullet is as a result of their feed change since you have only recently changed to a grain mix feed, but if you have been feeding them bread and corn as treats since they were little, it could be dietary.

If the egg has broken inside her and it was a soft shell egg, shouldn’t I see a membrane somewhere in the poop? Or can they just poop out a broken yolk and egg white? Thank you for reading the posts and giving me insight into this problem.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

If the egg has broken inside her and it was a soft shell egg, shouldn’t I see a membrane somewhere in the poop? Or can they just poop out a broken yolk and egg white? Thank you for reading the posts and giving me insight into this problem.

I saw her poop today and it looked totally normal. The poop inside the crate from last night was also really normal looking, so maybe I have the wrong chicken? She was the only one with the poopie butt though. All the poop from my other chickens on the poop board also looked totally normal.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I saw her poop today and it looked totally normal. The poop inside the crate from last night was also really normal looking, so maybe I have the wrong chicken? She was the only one with the poopie butt though. All the poop from my other chickens on the poop board also looked totally normal.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Congratulations!!!
Sometimes the first ones are softies....it just happens. Be thankful she passed it that’s the good news. She’ll get harder shells...that’s the better news. Still exciting!!!

 

[aart]

If the egg has broken inside her and it was a soft shell egg, shouldn’t I see a membrane somewhere in the poop? Or can they just poop out a broken yolk and egg white? Thank you for reading the posts and giving me insight into this problem.

The poop chute and the egg chute are separate, until just inside the vent.
Think it's shown here in this amazing video:

If there is a soft shell in there it will come out with the nest egg laid. If the soft shell did come out it likely got gobbled up.
Just keep a close eye on things.

As to scattered/wasted feed...this took care of that problem for me:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-almost-waste-free-funnel-bucket-feeder.67218/