our lady is not acting correct

[DeYoungs]

Yesterday she was walking along and she let out what appears to be an egg sac and egg white. I cleaned her bottom and put her back with the others. Today she was trying to lay and you can see her flexing her tail. she moved to another box and tried again, but no egg. Her bottom is messy. Does anyone know what should be done to help her? She has been laying for months with no problems. She is an EE.

 

[Hishigata]

Hello,

I do not have much experience with laying problems other than an occasional soft egg. Chickens do sometimes lay eggs with only soft shells. You can treat this by adding calcium to their diet (crushed oyster shells, yogurt, etc). From your picture you could have just seen an shell-less egg that had ruptured upon exiting. My hens usually act lethargic and spend a long time laying in the nest box or loafing around the yard before they pass a soft shell egg. Its a stressful activity. Once I just found a mysterious shell-less egg laid by a young hen who seem utterly unperturbed, but that seems less common.

It could also be that your hen has become egg bound (an egg stuck in the oviduct) which you can usually feel as a hard lump along her ventral posterior end. You can try a warm water soak to clean up her backside and try to sooth her muscles and help her lay.

This site has some more information:
http://fresheggsdaily.com/2012/06/egg-bound-hens-how-to-recognize-treat.html


Another possibility is egg yolk peritonitis which is more difficult to treat but still treatable. There are lots of treads on it here on BYC or I found this page as well.

http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

I hope your hen gets better soon!