Milky poo and yolkless eggs-possible internal laying

[abserbean]

I have a RIR, about 19 mths old, who is having some issues. For a few months she has been laying thin shelled eggs. I added oyster shell, and it was a little better, but still thinner than her flock mates. Her last three eggs have been yolkless eggs.

Shown with a normal for size comparison.

Shown with a normal egg for size comparison. Her's are the top two in this bottom pic, and the middle one has swirly appearance in the shell.
I have also noticed her having a milky color to her poos. I have read that high urates can cause this. She does not seem sick, is eating and drinking normally. Her weight is steady, she is overweight, but has always been. Her comb is nice and red, and she was dewormed about two months ago, precautionary, did not have obvious worms. I did notice some blood in her eggs before the yolkless eggs started. Is this just normal aging in a hen? She isn't that old, but this is her second laying season. I have read that yolkless eggs can be a sign of a hen reaching the end of her laying cycle. Any thoughts? The milky poo isn't solid milky, kind of a thin white color. I did check the poo chart, similar to the high nitrate poo seen in an older hen, but not that thick or white.

 

[hennible]

I don't think she is old enough for those issues, I have 4, 4 year old red sex links and those girls lay normal eggs ( not daily) and a 5 year old black sex link that lays the occasional egg that looks something like the middle egg from you second photo....
But she still has yokes. In any case I hope you solve this and I am very interested to see what the cause may be.

 

[abserbean]

Thanks, I hope it is nothing, but a little worried. She does seem too young for these issues.
Here is some poo, gross, I know, but maybe it will help.



And here she is, looking sassy!

I am hoping she is just shutting down for the winter or something. She did not do this last year, but it was her pullet laying season and all of my girls layed through the winter.

 

[hennible]

Sadly I have no clue about the poo...
@Eggcessive or @casportpony those guys may be able to help... Very knowledgable. In the mean time I wonder if a search on the Merck Manual vet sight would yield any info.

 

[Eggcessive]

She is on the young side for internal laying or egg yolk peritonitis, but it can be starting. Her poss look a little like pictures of EYP, and sometimes they will have poos that resemble cooked egg. Hens with thin-shelled eggs or who have laid had a broken egg can develop these problems. I had a BO that died just under 2 years old from this. I would give her some crushed egg shells since those are sometimes taken easier than crushed oystershell--this may help to harden her eggs. Worming her may also help. Here are several links about egg problems, EYP, and a poo chart to help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/526089/egg-yolk-peritonitis
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/02/whats-scoop-on-chicken-poop-digestive.html

 

[abserbean]

The blood we were noticing in her eggs looks like the meat spots, but that is usually seen in older hens as well. I had read that EYP can be more common in overweight birds, but I have no idea how to put a chicken on a "diet"! I hope it isn't that, not a good prognosis for our girl. Her abdomen isn't distended, and she seems overall healthy, but this is pretty early in it starting. If she seems to develop signs of EYP, we will have to decided to treat or cull. Our girls are pets, not food, and I have never had to end a bird's life, but I don't want her to have a horrible end full of suffering. From what I have read, EYP is usually fatal to the bird, although I have read of a few recovering. She is hatchery stock from the feed store, and they do seem to have more issues b/c of no selection in the breeding process. It will be so sad if she is that sick, she is our friendliest bird, loves to sit in our laps and even my three year old can carry her chuncky self around.

 

[abserbean]

So I just went outside and picked her up to examine her. Her lower abdomen isn't hard, but does feel spongy/squishy, and she seems to be walking slower than normal. She didn't run up for treats, she did come to me, but slowly. Uggh, I'm afraid we have the worst. I don't know if we should even start the antibiotics, since from what I'm reading it just etends the inevitable.

 

[toynutz]

EYP can strike at any age... I lost two girls to EYP over the past couple months, one had not started laying and the other had only laid for about a month. One day they just weren't their normal peppy selves... then they started going downhill pretty fast, so we took them to the vet and got x-rays which showed EYP. If you can take her to vet, do it... my other girl was displaying similar signs so we took her in for x-rays too and she had pneumonia. Got meds for her and she is doing great now. I hope your girl gets better... good luck.

 

[abserbean]

Yeah, her poor belly feels like a water balloon. She is so naturally chuncky that I didn't notice before, but when I picked her up she is heavy even for her. I don't think she necessarily has the peritonitis yet, just maybe the internal laying, but does seem to have ascites. This is after three days of yolkless eggs, I had a normal egg from her just five days ago. I didn't worry when I saw the first one, b/c I know they can happen sometimes, but three without yolks and other symptoms is no good. I could take her to a vet, but from what I am reading on EYP and internal laying, I"m not so sure it would do much good. I don't want to just treat her symptoms if it is just prolonging suffering. I haven't read of many cases of the internal laying being correctable, just treating the infection. My vet does see livestock/chickens, but I would have to wait for Monday and make an appointment.. An emergency vet wouldn"t make any sense, b/c they don't know much about chickens and are really expensive to tell me what I already know. Of course this happens on a weekend, poor baby girl.

 

[Eggcessive]

Speckled Hen is a good source on internal laying/EYP/ascites/reproductive cancer, and has numerous threads to read about it. Some symptoms can appear like internal laying, and you can do a necropsy on a hen which should confirm it. If you suspect ascites which can be a symptoms of reproductive disorders as well as from fatty liver disease and heart disease, you can try to remove fluid yourself from time to time, which may provide some comfort to her. I'm not an authority on any of this, but can provide some links to read about some of these problems.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/362422/drained-a-hens-abdomen-rest-in-peace-olivia-11-5-10
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/853726/ascites-in-desperate-need-of-some-help-and-guidance