Silkie down and just laid a soft-shelled egg

[LeaPea]

Hi All,

This morning I found my 5 year old silkie lying down inside the coop. I took her out, but she refused to stand. I placed her in a comfortable shaded spot with some pellets and water nearby. A few hours later, she produced a soft-shelled egg with a yolk. She is drinking and her head is up, but still refuses to stand. She is fat and fluffy and has no visible signs of injury. She does have quite scaly legs, but this has always been so. Mozzies have been very bad lately due to rain (could this be a problem?). Diet is pellets plus a bit of scratch mix and scraps. She free ranges daily. She has just weaned 3 chicks (14 weeks) and I think this is only her second egg since then (both soft).

The only other egg layer in my flock of 5 has been producing small, hard-shelled, yolkless eggs lately (about 8 in total). I'm not sure if this is related to my silkie's condition though.

Any advice would be much appreciated. I would be very sad to see either of them go.

 

[sunshine ducky]

Hi,
i'm sorry to hear about your hen. Judging by her symptoms of not walking and soft shelled eggs, I feel like she needs more calcium in her diet. Maybe incorporate alfalfa into her feed, alfalfa provides a great natural source of calcium. And still give her oyster shell and grit for calcium and proper nutrition. Also I would give her an electrolyte supplement in her water. The best supplement I would give to a sick hen is the "SAVE-A-CHICK" powder. All you have to do is pour the contents of the vitamin inside the water you give her. You could also try putting a small amount of apple-cider vinegar in her water as well. Lastly, if you can show a picture of your silkies legs to see what we are dealing with that would be great. I hope I gave you some pointers or steered you in the right direction, good luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

Egg binding can cause a temporary paralysis in chickens feom pressure on the sciatic nerves. Hopefully, she will recover the use of her legs. It would be good to give some calcium in her diet by giving a human calcium tablet, or a calcium stomach antacid, such as Tums or Rolaids for a few days.

 

[LeaPea]

Hi All,

This morning I found my 5 year old silkie lying down inside the coop. I took her out, but she refused to stand. I placed her in a comfortable shaded spot with some pellets and water nearby. A few hours later, she produced a soft-shelled egg with a yolk. She is drinking and her head is up, but still refuses to stand. She is fat and fluffy and has no visible signs of injury. She does have quite scaly legs, but this has always been so. Mozzies have been very bad lately due to rain (could this be a problem?). Diet is pellets plus a bit of scratch mix and scraps. She free ranges daily. She has just weaned 3 chicks (14 weeks) and I think this is only her second egg since then (both soft).

The only other egg layer in my flock of 5 has been producing small, hard-shelled, yolkless eggs lately (about 8 in total). I'm not sure if this is related to my silkie's condition though.

Any advice would be much appreciated. I would be very sad to see either of them go.

Update: Took her to the vet today. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do; she had a very swollen oviduct with some solid mass inside (probably broken eggs). The vet said this is quite common in older birds and couldn't say what the cause was. We had to put her down Rest in peace little Snowy x

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry for your loss. It sounds like she had a large amount of lash egg material in her oviduct, which is salpingitis, and a common cause of reproductive problems. That also could put pressure on her leg nerves causing lameness. Glad that she is not suffering.

 

[sunshine ducky]

I am incredibly sorry, looking at the picture she looked like she was a gorgeous and friendly bird.