my favorite (of course) hen lethargic with soft shelled eggs- oh no!

[perl]

I've been reading up on the threads trying to find something similar to what's going on with my very favorite lady. She's been looking a bit...ragged lately - just not as fluffy as her peers. Her feathers, I mean. Last week I found a soft-shelled egg in the coop which I thought was probably from one of our younger birds getting started.

Well this morning I went to let the ladies out and this poor chicken had half of a soft-shelled egg hanging from her vent. I picked her up and pulled it out and she went off with the flock. I went to check on her awhile later and found her huddling, alone, by the house. I brought her in and gave her a warm bath, checked her vent (empty as far as I could tell), and watched her for awhile. She ate a small piece of egg but wasn't interested in the yogurt, cheese, or rest of my son's leftover omelette, which is *very* unusual. She wanted to go back outside so I carried her to the coop and she settled into the nest box where she still is now.

She's approximately 2.5 years old, black sex link, free-ranging, and the only one of the flock of 8 who is appearing ill. I have access to fluids and antibiotics if she needs them, and can get to the feed store quickly if there is anything else I should do. I don't know if it might be worms/parasites and am totally confused about how to handle those, even after reading lots of posts about them.

Any amateur chicken docs want to take a shot at this? Like I said, she is MFC (my favorite chicken) and is such a sweet lady! If there is anything I can do to help her I will do it but just feel kind of stuck. Is it better to bring her in (more stressful but she will be monitored and pampered) or leaver her outside (where she feels comfortable and safe)? Arrrgh! I just feel so helpless! TIA for any advice!

 

[Miss Lydia]

first of all soft shelled eggs are not that uncommon. my girls do it occasionally too. but the other symptoms laying around not hungry is worrisome.. If mine I'd bring her in, put her where she can have peace and quiet and food and water. do you give extra calcium along with the feed you give them? like oyster shell? at least if you have her in you can watch her closely, also if she has a bud maybe bring her in too that way shell be less stressed. If she did have something contagious the flock has already been exposed to it .. hopefully it's not the latter though. this might be a good time to worm if you've never done this before. also have you checked for lice/mites? seems like this time of year they can be on the birds and can make them very sick anemic.. after checking for parasites start giving her extra treats. like yogurt, kefir, butter milk, scrambled eggs. if it's worms you should noticed a difference in her appetite pretty quick.. hope this helps and please post back and let us know what you have found and if we can help with what type of wormer and insectecide to use. all the best..

 

[perl]

Thanks so much for responding, Miss Lydia. She perked up a bit this evening and was out scratching around for a bit. She went to roost with everyone else for the night so I figure I'll let her stay where she's comfortable.

I got some great information on this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=464851&p=2 from you and Dawg53 so that should get us started with the deworming/delousing.

Again, thanks so much for your response! I was sooo relieved to see her up and about this evening. I plan to check on her first thing in the am and offer her some more healthy treats. Afternoon will bring a trip to the feed store for some creepy medicines - yay!