One of my chickens laid this?

[Charwend]

This is my first thread and I guess a strange one can any one tell me what one of my chicken laid.It was slime to touch and we disposed of it, but still wonder what it was. We have 4 chickens so don't know which one laid it.One chicken has not laid for some time now but we normally get 3 eggs a day on average. Many thanks for any idea. Looks like a small Hippo.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

This is not a good sign. It is actually a pus packet referred to as a "lash egg."

It means there is serious inflammation inside the ova duct. The overall prognosis is not good for most hens.

You can read more about it here:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/12/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard.html

Sorry. Hopefully with a good round of antibiotics the hen can be helped, but often scarring is permanent and culling may be a kindness as the hen is ripe for egg binding or more internal infection.

Look at the hen that has not been laying as she is most likely to have laid the lash egg. She probably has had an infection for weeks which is the reason she has not been laying.

LofMc

 

[Charwend]

We only have 4 chickens so looks like we should get rid of them all. this would be a shame as 3 of them lay almost every day. If we can work out which one has the problem can we keep the other 3 without issues? It says to remove them all, but is this really necessary? thanks again for your quick and very informative reply.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I wouldn't cull them all. Goodness no. Depopulation was only one possible solution given in the article and that presumed need after necropsy and discovery of a serious flock ailment.

If your hens are laying well and look healthy, keep them.

I would put them 1 by 1 in isolation, like a dog crate, until you figure out who laid the lash egg, then cull that one hen.

I would start with the hen that is not laying eggs as it is likely her.

This could be caused by so many things that would be singular to a bird. Only flock cull for serious flock illness that risks safety of humans or is government required (such as avian flu) or risks your livelihood from your flock.

With pet hens used solely for family pleasure, if this is caused by a resistant disease, you may need to continuously treat and keep a closed flock. That simply means birds may come into your flock but you never sell or travel with your birds.

Chances are the infected hen is a one time thing brought on by weakening internal mechanics, egg impaction, imperfections in the egg track. It may be worthwhile to have her inspected by a vet or obtain a necropsy to find cause so you can know what you may be dealing with for treatment purposes.

A little extra cleaning after any incident is good protocol, but I doubt will require flock culling (assuming no avian flu etc.)

Let us know how it goes.
LofMc

 

[Charwend]

Many thanks for the reply. I do hope this helps anyone else with a simular problem.

Will try and work out which one is the problem.

Thanks again