Soft eggs then death

[Chebird]

Were you feeding spinach?

Is Spinach bad for chickens?

 

[Kathy Golla]

Is Spinach bad for chickens?

Yes. It blocks calcium from being absorbed.

 

[chickens really]

Is Spinach bad for chickens?

Yes it's one green that blocks the absorption of calcium

 

[casportpony]

Zoologix will test for Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) and Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) virus as well as several others. A friend of mine has used them and it was quite helpful in determining the illness in their flock. The nice thing about testing this way is that there is no need to euthanize the bird for testing, it just requires 3 tracheal swabs from each bird to be tested.:
https://www.zoologix.com/avian/Datasheets/PoultryRespiratoryPanel.htm

This is a copy and past from their site:
Poultry respiratory PCR panel

Test code: P0018 - Poultry respiratory panel detects and differentiates eight clinically significant respiratory pathogens:

Avian influenza
Aspergillus fumigatus
Bordetella avium
Infectious bronchitis
Infectious laryngotracheitis
Infectious coryza
Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale
Mycoplasma gallisepticum

Respiratory symptoms in poultry can be caused by various viral, bacterial and fungal agents. Treatments and quarantine protocols differ among these pathogens, and some can be quite expensive -- not to mention stressful for birds and staff!

The Zoologix respiratory PCR test panel for poultry is a powerful but economical tool for diagnosing respiratory cases in poultry. The entire panel is run from three tracheal swabs, eliminating multiple sampling requirements. Highly sensitive and specific results are reported by email or fax three business days after sample receipt.

Utilities:

• Help confirm the disease causing agent
• Shorten the time required to confirm clinical diagnosis and differentiation of infection by several clinically significant respiratory pathogens of poultry
• Help ensure that flocks are free of these pathogens
• Early prevention of spread of these pathogens among and between flocks
• Minimize human exposure to the pathogens
• Safety monitoring of biological products and vaccines that derive from birds

Preferred specimen: 3 tracheal swabs.

Contact Zoologix if advice is needed to determine an appropriate specimen type for a specific diagnostic application. For specimen types not listed here, please contact Zoologix to confirm specimen acceptability and shipping instructions.

For all specimen types, if there will be a delay in shipping, or during very warm weather, refrigerate specimens until shipped and ship with a cold pack unless more stringent shipping requirements are specified. Frozen specimens should be shipped so as to remain frozen in transit. See shipping instructions for more information.

Turnaround time: 3 business days

Methodology: Qualitative multiplexed real time PCR and qualitative multiplexed reverse transcription coupled real time PCR

Normal range: Nondetected

 

[TiaMaria413]

Vitamin D3 and phosphorus are important as well...

Mycoplasma or E.coli bacteria can enter the oviduct, and those could also be causes of some reproductive...

Hi Eggcessive, is there enough Vitamin D3 and phosphorus in regular layer pellets? (That’s what I feed mine who also is having soft shelled eggs currently) Also, what would be some warning signs that there could be Mycoplasma or E.coli bacteria in ther oviduct? Do you happen to know what is a likely cause for it to grow in there?

 

[Eggcessive]

There should be enough of D3 and phosphorous as well as calcium in layer pellets, but some hens may need a little more D3 and calcium if they are laying shell-less or soft eggs. Sometimes they may have shell gland damage earlier in life from infectious bronchitis, and may never lay hard shelled eggs, no matter how much calcium is taken.

E.coli and mycoplasma gallisepticum can easily be introduced into the oviduct from the vent. Mycoplasma might be something aroundfrom wild birds or a carrier. It can be common in backyard flocks. E. coli is in the intestinal tract normally, and is pretty much everywhere in a chicken coop and yard.

 

[Cla]

Hey everyone, So this has been my third year with chickens and this summer has not been going very well for me. I've had five hens die on me and they all show the same symptoms before they pass: Soft shelled eggs and lethargy. First they have the soft shelled eggs and then about a day or less before they pass they just get super lethargic. I don't know what to do and am super stressed about it. They have access to oyster shells, I feed them their egg shells crushed up, I thought maybe it was coccidiosis so I put them on corrid, I also thought it was maybe worms so I dewormed them but no luck with that either. I completely cleaned the coop and even laid cement down, they all free range and I am just desperate for some help here and feel so overwhelmed with all of it cause I hate seeing my chickens suffer. If anyone could help me I would greatly appreciate it. I have two that are laying soft shelled eggs, and when I say soft shelled I really mean like no shell. PLEASE HELP ME

I was told that egg shells are not good only oyster , I lost a hen this morning same way.
I feel the same , they told me to get the vet as they can die within 24-48 hrs and I didn’t…
Blessings to you
good gmo pellets and oyster shells are suppose to be sufficient. but it needs to be 95% of their food .
to much scraps will reduce that
I only do small scraps maybe twice a week now

 

[casportpony]

I was told that egg shells are not good only oyster , I lost a hen this morning same way.
I feel the same , they told me to get the vet as they can die within 24-48 hrs and I didn’t…
Blessings to you
good gmo pellets and oyster shells are suppose to be sufficient. but it needs to be 95% of their food .
to much scraps will reduce that
I only do small scraps maybe twice a week now

Welcome to BYC, and so sorry for your loss.

 

[Cla]

Welcome to BYC, and so sorry for your loss.

Thank you , hard lessons , excited to be here

 

[rachel13helene]

Egg Yolk Peritonitis and most reproductive disorder cannot be cured. You can try treating with an antibiotic to help with infection though. I would not use Penicillin, instead I would use either Baytril or Amoxicillin.

It's good that you performed a necropsy - nothing abnormal? No excess fat in the abdomen, ovaries all looked normal, nothing wrong with the liver, etc.? If you happen to lose another one, do another necropsy and take some photos.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poul...eproductive-system/egg-peritonitis-in-poultry

You may also find this thread helpful, quite a few different illnesses/conditions identified here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ning-contains-graphic-necropsy-photos.823961/

You asked about excess abdominal fat. I had a hen die after dropping shell-less eggs for about a month and she did have excess abdominal fat. The avian vet tried antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds and they seemed to help (started laying eggs with shells, not good quality shells though) after a week, but then the second week she went back to dropping shell-less eggs and died two weeks after the vet visit. She was a Whiting True Green, two years old, ate layer feed. My 5 other hens are all different breeds. One or more (can’t tell who) is now dropping shell-less eggs and I’m worried it’s happening to another hen. I felt all their abdomens and two might be extra poochy but I could be wrong. Two hens are currently laying normal eggs. They all molted so I thought they stopped laying for that reason. But three are still not laying (and might be dropping unfinished eggs).