Lash egg? Or something else? Is this urgent?

[Martaals]

That chunk with the white inside could be lash material.
The 'balloon' contents look very strange, did you(could you) spread it out more?
This also very strange:
View attachment 3078998

Hopefully the avian vet will have some insight.
If none are acting ill, could just be a very big glitch.

I tried getting some better photos.

The white goo is relatively firm so I tried rinsing it a bit with water. It has a thin thread coming out of it which I think might have been attaching it to the egg. You can not see it very well in the photo but it has sand grains attached to it and I made an arrow sort of from where it starts.

I was also wondering if it could be the chalaza? I mean it should then be inside of the egg, but there also wasn't any yolk, so there isn't much about this egg that seems right

And I opened up the balloon more. All the dark stuff is sand which stuck to the outside.

And some of that wrinkly stuff is the membrane folding up underneath I think. But basically I wonder if the white string is similar to the white string on the "outside goo" (the potential lash material).

(i made that cut to look inside of the bloody stuff, it was one piece before)

 

[Martaals]

Another angle

(Ps that black stuff on the bloody part is also dirt)

 

[Martaals]

@aart @Eggcessive I do find my white goo part very similar to this example of lash egg....

 

[Martaals]

@Eggcessive @aart @ChickensComeHome2Roost thanks a lot for looking along! The avian vet says it is an inflammation of the oviduct. Inflammatory material stimulates the oviduct, which forms egg white/protein (not sure which is the right translation as eiwit is the Dutch word for both "egg white" and "protein") around it and then an egg membrane. Treatment will be antibiotics and anti-inflammatory painkillers. The reason for the inflammation is not known.

I am today quite confident of which hen it is, it's not obvious in how she acts but I saw her dropping a very liquid poop and drinking quite excessively. It's now also the second day in a row she doesn't lay an egg, although she went to sit on the nest. All the others are laying good looking eggs.
I don't have 100% proof, but I did see her in the neighbourhood of where I found the inflammatory material. She's also the one who didn't molt yet. And lowest in the pecking order, so I think she might do her extra best to hide any discomforts. I'll keep studying then all until I receive the meds, but especially because I can not find anything wrong on any of the others, I guess I will otherwise go with her. Are there other giveaways I can look out for?

 

[Martaals]

So that basically means it's the same stuff as a lash egg consists of, right?

 

[Martaals]

From today I have received the meds. She is on amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (antibiotic) and meloxicom(anti-inflammatory) for 5 days. Hopefully she will recover... At least its not infectous and she gets to stay with her sisters and do her chicken stuff.

 

[Martaals]

@Eggcessive @aart @ChickensComeHome2Roost and anyone else who might end up reading this thread ever.

Just an update:

It's been nearly 3 weeks since I ended the treatment. The hen seems to have recovered, as far as I can tell. She seems fit and well, no excessive drinking, no more diarrhea, and I haven't found any other lash material. She is laying seemingly normal again, sometimes with minor calcium deposit "bumps".

Two days ago I got another sick chicken though.... But with completely different symptoms. Not sure if they could be related (as in that there is something else going on, which was an underlying cause for the oviduct inflammation?). Or if its simply bad luck. I'll make a seperate thread for the other hen though.

Thank you for all your advice!

 

[Martaals]

Oh yeah, and her comb is much brighter now. She doesn't have the biggest brightest comb in the group in general, but now it "bloomed" so to say.

 

[Eggcessive]

So glad to hear that she is laying again and feeling better with a nice red comb. The vet must have thought it was salpingitis. That is very common in hens. Treating early with antibiotics may be helpful as in your hens’ case. Hopefully, she will live for many years more.

 

[Martaals]

So glad to hear that she is laying again and feeling better with a nice red comb. The vet must have thought it was salpingitis. That is very common in hens. Treating early with antibiotics may be helpful as in your hens’ case. Hopefully, she will live for many years more.

Yes, I hope so too! She is a lovely little cookie, I'm very relieved she seemed to recover, as far as I understood odds are not that great with salpingitis.... Also the reason why I wanted to really see how she would hold up a few weeks after treatment in case it was a temporary feat. I have stopped worrying now, just keeping a bit of an extra eye.