Now What?! The hen with yolk discharge and droopy!<GROSS PIC>

[thegoldengirls]

I have had 9 perfect girls for a year now, and this is the first time I've had one ill.
I had thought she had an egg break inside. I came home about an hour ago to find her away from the others standing on the nesting boxes with yolk and poo under her. I counted eggs for day and am one short. Not unusual for them to switch days off, but that confirmed there could be one in her.
I brought her in to soak for a few minutes. She poo'd in the water and it looked normal, but some slime came too. Then I noticed something white poking out. When I felt it, it felt soft. I pulled gently to see if it was loose, and she tried pushing at the same time.
When it came out, it looked almost like the beginnings of an egg.
Hopefully these pictures will come through.
Please, can someone tell me what they think this is in the last photo??!!

 

[patnjess]

ok I am far from a chicken expert so either the yolk was from a chicken getting to the egg and breaking or one broke inside of her and is stuck up in there, and that thing is some kind of worm parasite or I have not a clue

 

[CathyRN]

I think that it looks like an egg without a shell, someone a month or two ago posted a pic of an egg that came out without a shell, looked similar to your picture.....looks like either shell came after the egg or vice versa. or perhaps its a soft shell egg that just popped prior to her expelling the soft shell.

 

[thegoldengirls]

Kept her in bathroom all night, and she's still with us this morning and seems alert.
Gave her some scrambled egg and water, but I don't think she's touched either.
I need to put her back in coop this morning, and of course, it's not even 30 deg out yet.
Just not sure if she'll go inside next to the pen, or in with the other girls. I think I'll decide when I see how she acts out there.
I really hope she'll mend from this.

Update:
Got a large pet carrier set-up so she would have room to move, but still be kept quiet.
Had my girls help me carry everything out to coop. When I opened her box, she was standing straight up looking out at her sisters.
I lifted her out and set her on the floor, where there was just a chicken wire gate between her and the others and she wanted in.
Meanwhile, I had made them all some oatmeal, with applesauce and leftover scrambled egg and made sure the one had her own dish.
So, I had my girls wait with her while I went around to the gate to the run to give the other girls theirs.
Well, as I walked around to the gate, she jumped out the coop door and ran around following me, with tail feathers up in the air.
Needless to say, she is very happy to be back with her sisters.

With slight reservation, I do believe she is on the mend.

 

[Britney]

Just a few times One of my hens laid an egg with out the shell but the membrane held it together. I am not sure if that is the situation in your case. I hope that it is. How is the hen now?

 

[chuckzoo]

I had one EXACTLY like that. I don't know if she got a fright while on the nest or not, but she laid the egg (yolk and white in the box) and came down from the coop. I saw something hanging from her bottom and gently pulled it out. Then they wanted to eat it so I removed it right away. It was identical to the membrane in your photo.

She was perfectly fine after that, and has had no more incidents since then.

I did not isolate mine or feed her anything special.

My suggestion - put her back with her flock mates - she is OK.

 

[thegoldengirls]

Quote:
Thanks so much for the info.
Maybe the membrane would have held this one together if she hadn't been standing on top of the nesting box. When I found her, she was still standing right where she expelled it and looked very droopy and pathetic.

When I put her out this morning, she seemed almost 100%.
Hopefully she's okay because my kids get home before me. They were very worried.

 

[thegoldengirls]

Quote:
Oh, chuckzoo... thank you soo much for telling me this!

I do feel so much better now.
I'm glad I put her back in this morning.

I'll have an update later when I get home.

Thanks again!!

 

[thegoldengirls]

My kids are doing the Happy Dance!
She's better!

In this pic she's the one to the left of the two standing in front.

Or the gold one showing her profile just behind the red.

Hard to tell it's the same bird.
Thanks everyone!

 

[thegoldengirls]

So much for the happy dance...

She was great for 2 days, and now I just found her under the perch, standing with her tail drooped.
I didn't feel anything like an egg, but I'm thinking whatever happed a couple of days ago may have been just the beginning of a problem.
I did take her out and put her in a carrier for the night. I think she would have peferred where she was, but I didn't want her to get poo'd on.
Now I don't know what to do.
Any suggestions??