My chicken laid 3 eggs this morning :(

[lightm]

On August 13th 8am, my hen laid a normal egg.

August 13th afternoon, she started to feel weird. It appeared to be a crop issue. She seems better on August 14th and 15th, but did not lay.

August 16th (today) morning 8:30, we saw her laying her egg. She was really struggling. Then we saw this

We thought she laid a good egg and a broken egg.

Upon close examination, the "broken egg" is really two eggs

It appears that the middle egg got crushed by the two surrounding eggs. I am glad that the shell all got out but obviously the middle egg yolk is left inside, right?

Should we flush her vent? What will be the best course of action? Thank you.

 

[azygous]

This is indeed cause for alarm, but you shouldn't try to flush the oviduct from the vent end. It can result in bacteria being forced up the oviduct from the cloaca, which also handles poop processing. Look at this diagram and you will see how risky that would be.

What your hen needs is calcium to reset her ovulation and also help expel any remaining egg material from this recent debauchal. I get this at Walmart in the people vitamins and keep a bottle handy in my run at all times. I pop a tablet directly into the beak at the first hint of a reproductive crisis. It can set right a lot of issues and head off tragedy.

 

[lightm]

Thank you. Much appreciated!