Labor day and my first egg!

[aart]

Looks like cecal poop to me.
Wipe it on a white paper towel to see if it's yellow(yolk) or brown(poop).
Was egg in nest or on ground or....?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Looks like cecal poop to me.
Wipe it on a white paper towel to see if it's yellow(yolk) or brown(poop).
Was egg in nest or on ground or....?

Thanks for looking out my pic! It was yellow egg yolk and I have sand in their nesting area.

Looks like cecal poop to me.
Wipe it on a white paper towel to see if it's yellow(yolk) or brown(poop).
Was egg in nest or on ground or....?

I have sand in the nesting box, but I scraped the stuff off with my fingernail and it was definitely egg yolk. Is that a health problem for one of my chickens? Should I be worried?

 

[aart]

I have sand in the nesting box, but I scraped the stuff off with my fingernail and it was definitely egg yolk. Is that a health problem for one of my chickens? Should I be worried?

Hard to say...if it came from inside the bird that laid the egg(check her butt),
or if another egg was in there and broke and was mostly eaten.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Hard to say...if it came from inside the bird that laid the egg(check her butt),
or if another egg was in there and broke and was mostly eaten.

Thanks, I just took a look at my gold lace Wyandotte and she has a super poopie butt. I gave her a bath last week after I saw her poope butt. is there anything else I should do for her besides give her another bath? I sort of think an egg may have broken inside her.

 

[aart]

is there anything else I should do for her besides give her another bath? I sort of think an egg may have broken inside her.

Either give her another bath and/or trim the feathers around her vent so loose stools don't stick as easily. Cut them to about 1/2" from the skin. Take a good look at her vent and keep an eye on her.

Might even want to isolate her for a time to see what goes in and what comes out.
I'd isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so you can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Either give her another bath and/or trim the feathers around her vent so loose stools don't stick as easily. Cut them to about 1/2" from the skin. Take a good look at her vent and keep an eye on her.

Might even want to isolate her for a time to see what goes in and what comes out.
I'd isolate bird in a wire cage within the coop for a day or two....so you can closely monitor their intake of food and water, crop function(checking at night and in morning before providing more feed), and their poops. Feel their abdomen, from below vent to between legs, for squishy or hard swelling.

Best to put crate right in coop or run so bird is still 'with' the flock.
I like to use a fold-able wire dog crate (24"L x 18"W x 21"H) with smaller mesh(1x2) on bottom of crate under tray.
Then you can put tray underneath crate to better observe droppings without it being stepped in. If smaller mesh is carefully installed, tray can still be used inside crate.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions you gave me! I gave her a bath and I trimmed her feathers and set up a crate in the coop so I can see what her poops look like in the morning. She seemed really good this evening and was running around and eating, but then I saw a poop on one of my patios that was egg yolk and egg white! I hope she will be OK, but could this cause an infection? Should I get her some kind of antibiotics from the vet? She is a super sweet chicken, her name is GIGi and I don’t want to lose her. Is this a common occurrence for young chickens when they first start to lay? It does seem a bit swollen under her vent, but I’m not really sure if that is just how her body is.

 

[aart]

Is this a common occurrence for young chickens when they first start to lay? It does seem a bit swollen under her vent, but I’m not really sure if that is just how her body is.

No, not common.
Compare how her belly(from under vent to between legs) feels to other birds.
She could have a broken egg inside, it should pass when the next one comes along.
Most likely, and hopefully, it's a softshell egg and not a broken hard shell that could possibly cause a cut and subsequent infection.
I'd give it a few days of isolation(for most the day and all night) to observe what she's eating and what comes out of her vent.
If at all possible, put some smaller wire(1x2 works best) on bottom of crate and then put tray under crate(see pic below), that's the best way to observe her poops.

I'm not one for AB's, so have no suggestions..nor have I ever dealt with . If you really think she may have a broken egg stuck and don't want to wait, I'd start a new thread in emergency forum with "broken egg stuck" in the title, you'll get lots of advice there.

 

[rebrascora]

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.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

No, not common.
Compare how her belly(from under vent to between legs) feels to other birds.
She could have a broken egg inside, it should pass when the next one comes along.
Most likely, and hopefully, it's a softshell egg and not a broken hard shell that could possibly cause a cut and subsequent infection.
I'd give it a few days of isolation(for most the day and all night) to observe what she's eating and what comes out of her vent.
If at all possible, put some smaller wire(1x2 works best) on bottom of crate and then put tray under crate(see pic below), that's the best way to observe her poops.

I'm not one for AB's, so have no suggestions..nor have I ever dealt with . If you really think she may have a broken egg stuck and don't want to wait, I'd start a new thread in emergency forum with "broken egg stuck" in the title, you'll get lots of advice there.

View attachment 1531051

OK, thank you for reading all of my posts and giving me so many great suggestions! I will post later on today in that section. This morning when I let out my chickens, her poop seemed totally normal inside the crate and she is out foraging with the other chickens right now and she seems like she has a really good appetite, hopefully that broken yolk and egg white I saw on patio last night was everything and it all came out! I will keep checking on her, because this is the second time she got the poopie butt.

 

[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.

Thank you, I was actually thinking about staying with the pelleted layer feed, but need to find if they make it in crumbles because they were just picking out what they liked and making a mess! I am pretty sure they make it in crumble form and that’s what I think I will get because they are used to eating their food in the crumble form and don’t like the pellets. They just started laying so I have not bought a 50 pound bag yet, just been trying out different ones to see what they liked, now I think I will just stay with the crumbled organic layer mix because they are throwing food everywhere and it is too hard to clean and I know that will attract rodents! I always try to put all the food away at night and only leave food in the coop because the coop has a wooden bottom mailed in and so I know there are no rodents able to get in. They only eat about 3, maybe 4 cups of their crumble or feed a day between eight chickens, so that is all I put out every day for them because I don’t want it to get stale outside. I know I give them a lot of treats, but just figured that they are out about five or six hours a day running around, so I thought they were getting enough exercise eating bugs, fruit and greens from the garden.