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.

 

[sourland]

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

 

[Stephoney]

Thanks- that photo is from last summer. I didn’t have a current one on hand when I wrote the post. Here’s a few I just took. She acts normal in every other way. I just don’t want to let it go untreated and lose her when I could have done something to help. I just read this thread on double yolks which suggests using Calcium Citrate tablets/pills instead of the Calcium Gluconate. I ran to the store and purchased a bottle. Couldn’t believe it was so easy to give her. She never takes anything easily. Gave her a little water afterwards. I guess I just have to wait and see. Fingers crossed!

 

[aart]

Should I keep giving her Calcium Gluconate?

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

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Stephoney]

Thank you so much for your replies- I’ve been giving her the Calcium Citrate since yesterday when I read your post on double yolks, Azygous. It was a relief to find all that information that seemed to spell out what was going on with her. I was surprised at how easily she took the pill, too- much easier than the gluconate.

I work during the day and I’m not sure exactly how to tell when the problem is resolved given that I can’t watch her to see if she is one of my layers. I’m fairly good at identifying the owner of most eggs, but a few of mine lay the same size and color as she does. Is there any way to know besides seeing her do the deed? Also, is there a way to know how long it might take for her to start laying after beginning the calcium citrate or is it different for every hen? She seems to feel normal- eating, pooping, free-ranging, and hanging out with the flock. I don’t even think she had any breathing issues with me picking her up today either. Maybe that has something to do with a calcium imbalance as well?

 

[azygous]

Calcium blood levels affect every organ, especially the heart. Without proper calcium blood levels, organs are not performing efficiently. So, yes, low blood calcium could affect the ability of the heart to pump adequate oxygen to all of the tissues, resulting in breathing difficulty.

The extreme danger would be calcium blood levels being so low that laying one egg during this period of low blood calcium could result in heart failure as the shell gland pulls the only remaining calcium out of the blood stream, resulting in sudden death on the nest.

 

[Stephoney]

Well, that would make sense. I’m not sure how to prevent her from laying. She hasn’t been gasping when walking or after a quick run. It was mostly noticeable after picking her up and also when she sits down to rest in the afternoon with the rest of the flock (rocking forward and back with each breath). She rarely has an open beak. Hopefully, if it’s her calcium levels affecting her heart, the levels aren’t so low as to not catch it in time with the supplement. She was getting, albeit I’m not sure how much was absorbed, 2 mL Calcium Gluconate for several days and Calcium Citrate (600 mg) for the past two days. She isn’t physically acting like she’s interested in laying, but I can’t say what she will do at night. It almost seemed that she laid the double eggs only after I felt around her abdomen the other day.

 

[azygous]

Behavior will indicate her state of health. As her nutrients balance out, her behavior should become more normal. If this fails to occur and she declines instead, we would then suspect another more serious underlying issue such as a reproductive tumor.