Mystery Hen

[Stephoney]

Thank you so much, in advance, for reading this over. I’ve searched all through the forum looking for something that would help explain my hen’s issue. I’ve found bits and pieces, but thought maybe someone had been through something similar.

I got my first 4 hens last July. The one in question was already 1 1/2 old and laid an egg every few days. She’s a Speckled Sussex with crooked toes on one foot. Though she’s a little slower (and smaller) than the other 10 hens I now have, she still manages to stay on top as head hen. She stopped laying in early September when she started to molt. Once the cold weather hit all of my hens stopped laying so I didn’t think much of it at the time. She came through her molt fine. I guess it was in late December that I noticed she was breathing hard after I picked her up. It took her a minute to catch her breath from just being lifted and carried a short distance. I also noticed that when she was sitting on the ground resting that she rocked back and forth (head to tail, head to tail- not side to side). She eats normal, regular layer crumble and dried soldier flies for extra calcium. She has full access to water and oyster shell as well as crushed eggshells. The hens free range for part of the day and have a large indoor and outdoor run when they’re penned up. I have Eglu coops and they’re kept very clean. I also have several Chickboxes for them to lay in if the Eglu coops are occupied. I wormed the hens in the fall and this spring and also put probiotic in their water. Though she doesn’t drink as much as I’d like, she does eat and drink like the rest of the bunch. If they get treats, she’s right there, trying to get her share. Her droppings are small, but normal looking (dark green with white cap). Here eyes are bright, comb nice and red and she doesn’t have any crackling or discharge. Her tail is always in the upright position- not like I have read and seen with tails down for egg bound hens.

She still hasn’t laid an egg since the daylight has lengthened. All of my other hens, including the other 3 that she arrived with, started laying about a month or so ago. A few days ago I started researching again to see if I could figure out what’s going on with her. I checked her for water belly, but accidentally felt around the left side of her abdomen instead of the right. She wiggled a bit like she didn’t like it. I checked the other side, but there was really minimal squishiness- definitely not like a water balloon. The next morning I cleaned out the tray under the coop roosting bars and found 2 shell-less eggs. One was scrambled looking and had something that looked like a thin, crackled shell mixed into the goo (kind of leathery like a snake eggshell might be). The other was just a yolk, no white. They were both regular sized. I realized that maybe she was somehow not getting enough calcium so I picked up a bottle of Calcium Gloconate from Wilco. After reading about egg bound hens I gave her 2 mL’s + some extra water for the past 2 days. She’s still behaving normal- eating, pooping, free-ranging. She still rocks when she sits. I checked the coop this morning and there were no more shell-less eggs and she hasn’t laid any new eggs in the nesting boxes.

Does anyone know what might be going on with my hen? Should I keep giving her Calcium Gluconate? If so, for how long? We don’t have a poultry vet around where I live and I don’t want to take her to someone who doesn’t have a clue. Hoping someone on the forum has experienced something similar. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. This is the first time I’ve posted a question and I deeply appreciate anyone who can offer any ideas on how to help my girl.

 

[azygous]

There are three different sources of calcium, all different, all digested and absorbed at varying rates of effectiveness. The most common source is calcium carbonate. This is what egg shells, oyster shell, and calcite derived calcium supplements are. It's the highest in calcium, but it's the most difficult to digest and absorb. Some hens absorb it so slowly and inefficiently that it's not able to adequately supply their shell gland. So, they often produce shell-less eggs or very thin shell eggs.

The second kind of calcium is calcium gluconate. It comes from fruits and vegetables. It's not very high in calcium and still hard to digest and absorb.

The third kind of calcium is calcium citrate. It's the by-product of the manufacturing process of making citric acid. This form of calcium is very easy to digest and absorb. For this reason, it works much, much faster than the other two types of calcium. This is the form of calcium that's best to use when a hen is having reproductive issues from the relatively minor one of shell quality to the most serious and life threatening one of egg binding.

One calcium citrate tablet with vitamin D given right into the beak once a day until the issue is resolved is what I strongly recommend. Here's what to buy.

Calcium citrate is not meant for daily use as a calcium source, only a temporary intense calcium boost in a reproductive crisis. Good quality oyster shell is still the very best source of calcium you can provide for laying hens. But be sure they're getting the large oyster shell particles and not the powdery residue left in the bottom of the container as it runs through a hens system much too fast to be properly absorbed. The larger particles remain much longer in the digestive tract allowing for much greater absorption. This will help to assure your hen is keeping her calcium stores topped off and will have less tendency to have egg issues.

 

[sourland]

She looks good in the picture. I'd keep giving calcium supplementation every couple of days. Good luck with her.

 

[rayrose]

I give mine plain calcium 1200 mg plus 25 mcg vitamin D3.
It's a LARGE pill, but they'll swallow the whole thing. Works
every time for my hens.

 

[azygous]

No. Only continue it for as long as she's behaving "off". Once she behaves like she's feeling well again, even though she may not be laying, it's best to discontinue the citrate.

If she does begin to lay again and the eggs are of poor shell quality, then give the citrate for a few days until the eggs are of good quality.

 

[azygous]

I feel deficiencies can be adequately resolved by feeding a well balance commercial feed that has all the minerals and nutrients she needs, along with good quality oyster shell with good size particles, not powdery residue. Calcium citrate is for reproductive crises and for correcting shell quality. Once those are achieved, the citate is too potent to continue as a calcium supplement.

But there is no harm in keeping her on it for another week if you wish. The worst that would happen in that length of time is if she were to lay eggs again, they might be covered in calcium deposits from the excess in her system.

 

[Stephoney]

Alright- thanks. I wouldn’t have considered her in reproductive crisis until I found the two shell-less eggs. That was definitely eye opening. She has access to Purina Layena Crumble, oyster shell and dried, crushed eggshells, too. She gets a snack around bedtime of dried soldier flies and darkling beetles for an extra calcium/protein boost. I was honestly surprised that she was deficient at all. The flock does free range quite a lot. It’s possible she just wasn’t eating enough before moving outside. At any rate, I’ll keep her on the supplement for another week and keep an eye out for calcium heavy eggs. Fingers crossed that’s sooner than later!

 

[jrichter67]

There are three different sources of calcium, all different, all digested and absorbed at varying rates of effectiveness. The most common source is calcium carbonate. This is what egg shells, oyster shell, and calcite derived calcium supplements are. It's the highest in calcium, but it's the most difficult to digest and absorb. Some hens absorb it so slowly and inefficiently that it's not able to adequately supply their shell gland. So, they often produce shell-less eggs or very thin shell eggs.

The second kind of calcium is calcium gluconate. It comes from fruits and vegetables. It's not very high in calcium and still hard to digest and absorb.

The third kind of calcium is calcium citrate. It's the by-product of the manufacturing process of making citric acid. This form of calcium is very easy to digest and absorb. For this reason, it works much, much faster than the other two types of calcium. This is the form of calcium that's best to use when a hen is having reproductive issues from the relatively minor one of shell quality to the most serious and life threatening one of egg binding.

One calcium citrate tablet with vitamin D given right into the beak once a day until the issue is resolved is what I strongly recommend. Here's what to buy. View attachment 2613966

Calcium citrate is not meant for daily use as a calcium source, only a temporary intense calcium boost in a reproductive crisis. Good quality oyster shell is still the very best source of calcium you can provide for laying hens. But be sure they're getting the large oyster shell particles and not the powdery residue left in the bottom of the container as it runs through a hens system much too fast to be properly absorbed. The larger particles remain much longer in the digestive tract allowing for much greater absorption. This will help to assure your hen is keeping her calcium stores topped off and will have less tendency to have egg issues.

Wow! That was super informative! Although I am not the OP, I am grateful for this information!

 

[Stephoney]

A quick update: I gave my hen the calcium citrate for the full week. No change in her behavior since- eating fine, drinking plenty, foraging with the rest of the flock (still slower like before), continues to rock front and back while resting as if she’s breathing hard. She has a full crop at night and an empty one in the morning so it seems she’s digesting just fine. No decline that I can see. No new shell-less eggs in the coop. I haven’t been able to do the fecal float test yet, hopefully this week, but no evidence in observing her poop that she’s sick. I’ve learned to, when I pick her up, lean her forward on her keel bone to keep from putting pressure on her respiratory system. This helps with doing quick checkups on her. My assumption is that she has some reproductive system issue. Since she seems to feel fine, I’ve decided to just let her be. If anyone has another suggestion, I’m all ears.

 

[aart]

Should I keep giving her Calcium Gluconate?

There might be a better supplement.
@azygous is the master on this topic.