Laid 2 soft-shelled eggs overnight and is now acting ill

[dedicateddourly]

Hi there,

So I found 1 intact soft-shelled egg as well as some yolk in the coop this morning. I couldn't tell if there was shell anywhere or not as I just scooped everything up too hastily. But I know it was from my Delaware because of the brown shell. Anyway, Bridget is 38 weeks old and has laid almost everyday. Her shells aren't as hard as my EE's, but I've never had issues with her shells before.

She is acting sick. Lethargic, just standing in the corner of the run, tail down, feathers fluffed. I thought that maybe she had some shell still stuck inside, so I gave her a warm bath. She's in my enclosed shower now. But she won't let me prod around her vent, and honestly, I'm a bit squeamish to do so.

Another concern I had was that she had an impacted crop. I made the mistake of giving the girls overgrown clover that I pulled from my garden. I noticed later the Bridget was eating the long strands of stem like spaghetti. I freaked out and watched her for a couple days. But she was fine and this was 2 weeks ago. Is it possible that it could be an issue now? Right now her crop feels very hard and is more than golf ball sized. I'm a newbie so I really don't know what a normal full or normal empty crop feels like.

Anyway, I'm keeping Bridget inside today, but I have to go to work soon. If anyone has any insights, I'd appreciate it!

 

[easttxchick]

My concern would be that she didn't pass the shell of the egg.
I'm going to bump you because other than warm baths and trying to, like you said, gently see if you can get the shell out, I really don't have any advice for you.
If it's her crop, you can soak some tiny pieces of bread in olive oil for her to eat. That's good for impaction.
I sure hope she's OK.

 

[Jesseschickens]

She might be egg bound and if she is and you want to save her life the first thing I recamend doing is fliping over on her back(if she struggles with you this is good) and massage in between her legs to see what comes out of her vent if it feels clear (nothing sharp or rough feeling) there a good chance your hen will make it if there is you might have some problems! But try to offer her treats that she likes and make sure she has water make sure that you dont put her with other hens ether I had a hen become eggbound overnight in -5 degree weather and she is Alive and very very well and I did exactly what I typed above! Good Luck with your little girl hope this helps!

 

[dedicateddourly]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your responses. I took Bridget to the vet and she was able to feel that there was NO obstruction in the vent. She didn't seem too concerned about the crop either, but I think for my sake, she syringed in something call Emer-aid. She did think the abdomen was a bit enlarged and it felt like liquid was in there, hopefully not shell-less eggs though. Internal laying is a big fear of mine. I had bloodwork done but the vet won't be back til Tuesday. She wanted to be cautious since she'd be away so long and prescribed Baytril in case there's an infection.