Soft egg in old hen

[Eddie12109]

Hi everyone,
i have posted here before about this hen and i need help again. She is 8 years old and is still laying eggs. She is a black sex link and had a molt more than a month ago and is back to laying eggs. She has had them spaced out between two days or three but she has been laying nice eggs, no calcium deposits or anything.
today was about her third or fourth day without laying and when i brought her on my porch to sit down at about 4 pm and she had a normal poop. she went into her egg laying box to sleep like normal and the last time I saw her was 6 pm ish. i noticed her crop was a bit bigger than usual but I didn’t think much of it. When i went out at 9:30 pm I discovered a soft shelled egg, a clear and white poop that was liquid, and a normal poop right under her vent like she just pooped. i understand that she is 8 years old and this might be slightly normal but i want to catch this before anything happens that is worse.
Tomorrow i am giving her a calcium tablet and giving all my hens oyster shells in a separate bowl. is this going to cause any problems and is there any shell in her still? It was a normal soft shelled egg and i took a picture of what the inside of the egg looked like. my main questions are: is there anything else i can do? How many days and how many tablets should i be giving her calcium? Will this lead to future problems or cause her to die?
if anyone has any advice, please help!

 

[azygous]

I'm so glad you're aware of the problems associated with age and soft eggs. You're catching this early, so I think it's going to be under control. What form of calcium is your supplement? Citrate is the best, but carbonate will work in a pinch, though it will take longer to be effective.

One tablet every day until the eggs are normal again.

Watch her behavior. Lethargy, a full crop, weeping from the vent all are indicators of a blockage. The calcium will produce contractions to expel anything still in the oviduct, and there's a chance there is another egg in there if this hen is acting unwell. She needs to be kept under observation and confined so you will be able to see what comes out if anything. If it's a collapsed egg that emerges, you will need to treat ASAP with an oral antibiotic.

 

[Eddie12109]

Thank you for your response!
I have calcium carbonate but tomorrow I will get citrate. Is weeping from the vent when liquid comes out or her actual vent pulsates too much... ive never heard of that?
what is a collapsed egg and in case I need it what oral antibiotic would you advice me to use? I don’t have a vet to prescribe me anything.
also would normal poops be an indicator that all is well or could there still be another egg?

 

[azygous]

When there is a blockage in the reproductive tract, poop turns liquid. Crop backs up. There is a liquid discharge from the vent, and it sometimes smells awful. With a blockage, the cecum is blocked so excess fluids are expelled out of the vent instead of being distributed in the body. Dehydration can occur, and a hen is very thirsty. Since the cecum is blocked, no cecal poop is produced as long as there's a blockage.

A collapsed egg will appear as a stringy mass of membranous material. The contents of the egg, especially the yolk, can remain inside, starting to grow bacteria. This is why I always give a round of amoxicillin when I find evidence of a broken egg inside. Calcium citrate will help clear the blockage, and normal poop, including cecal, signals the end of the crisis.

This is the antibiotic I use, and I order it here. https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/ One capsule directly into the beak each day for ten days. It's a good idea to go ahead and order it and keep it on hand should this hen have a repeat performance, which, given her age, is very likely.

I have an eleven-year old Wyandotte hen that pulls this every spring, and gets an egg stuck since she no longer produces shells reliably. Her episodes, however, include vent prolapse, making for a very exhausting treatment process, sometimes lasting for two weeks. Older hens can be a lot of work.

 

[Eddie12109]

Wow I want my hen to live that long! But yes quite a few problems come with older hens, I have three who are 8 years old. I’m at school right now (only 16) and after I will give her the calcium citrate. I order the amoxicillin and she had a normal poop and crop this morning so I think she is currently fine. Thank you for all of the information and guidance!

 

[Eddie12109]

Ok so since about 10 am she has been in her egg laying spot and it is currently 12:50 pm and she is still laying there will nothing underneath her.
i am going to give her her calcium tablet but I’m slightly nervous to... should i just put the whole tablet In her mouth?
and should i stick my finger up her vent to see if she has an egg?
or should i give her a warm epsom salt bath?
she never takes that long to lay an egg and i dont think she is moving from that spot anytime soon.

 

[Eddie12109]

I offered her food and she ate it and she stood up and doesnt look too uncomfortable

 

[Eddie12109]

Here is the calcium I have

 

[Eddie12109]

Also I think I will give two pills to her today... would that be right? Because on the front it says 1000 mg per serving and the serving size is 4.

 

[azygous]

That would be 1000mg per pill. Ignore the serving suggestion. All health food vitamin companies want you to take far more of their product than is necessary.

Give a half a 1000mg tablet directly into her beak and she will swallow it with no problems.

More often than not, you will not be able to manually detect a stuck egg. This hen shows signs of having a problem egg in her oviduct. The calcium should help her get it out before it causes problems for her. Give the calcium and keep close watch on the hen.