Please help! Chicken laying mis-shapen empty eggs

[chris503632]

Hi,

I'm hoping that someone can help. A few weeks ago, one of out chickens laid what looked like a sausage skin - we didn't find it until evening though.

She was fine ever since, laid normal eggs (maybe not as many as normal though). A couple were rounded at both ends rather than pointy at one, but nothing else odd.

Then on Sunday we came home to find her hiding in the coop. When she came out she has a string off egg white and blood hanging out her vent. We rushed her to the vet who checked her out. Whilst there she passed another empty egg (very soft) and the vet thinks she may have prolapsed a bit and either pecked herself or have been pecked accounting for the blood. After passing the empty shell, she perked up and was racing round the garden like normal.

We had no egg the next day, then a lovely normal egg. Then tonight she has passed another empty sausage skin.

As soon as she has passed this she is fine.

I've been making sure she is eating plenty of shell (mixing ground up chicken shell with scrambled egg for her) and putting plenty of oyster shell and grit out for them.

Can anyone help? Any idea what is going on with my poor little girl.

Thanks so much,

Chris

 

[tlb625]

have no idea does she have worms other than that i don't know. could just be her body as long as she is eating running around and drinking and shows no sighs like of illness she should be fine.

 

[chris503632]

Fairly sure she doesn;t have worms. Anyone else got any ideas?

 

[peckyscotch]

Does she have enough grass? I think grass helps with making the egg better quality? Also, how old is she as young hens can have odd eggs?

 

[chris503632]

She gets access to grass for half an hour in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening, and for most of the day 3 days a week when someone is home.

Age wise she is just over a year old - she has been with us for about 13-14 motnhs and we bought her at point of lay.

 

[peckyscotch]

OK I have no idea what's happened then, sorry

 

[LaPouletteGrise]

What did the vet say?

 

[chris503632]

The vet suggested one of three things:

1) Stress had caused her to "abandon" the egg part way through development - possibly as a result of external influences.
2) A lack of calcium in the diet - I have started to mix ground up egg shell into their feed in case this is the case.
3) Infectious bronchitis - although she thought this was unlikely as Clara wasn't showing any symptoms.

She is fine tonight - I have been out with the girls playing with them and they seem in good spirits. Fingers crossed it is just a blip - hoping it isn't something horrible like peritonitis.