Soft Shelled Egg

[teira]

My pullet just started laying eggs, about two days ago she laid me a lovely little mint egg, tonight I checked on her and she was standing there with a soft shelled egg on the ground. She seemed a little bit in discomfort and me being a worried chicken mom I decided to look up her symptoms and saw that it has happened to other people's new layers and they eventually snapped out of it, which she did. I checked on her again and noticed yellow poop and long stringy membrane looking pieces that she ended up eating and she's acting fine, drinking some water, pooping normally again, she's very alert. I don't really know much about being egg bound but I'm worried and I don't want her to end up with an infection or something. She is a house chicken by the way, and she is on layer pellets.

 

[Saaniya]

Ohh seems like she's low on calcium what you feed her ..
I don't have much knowledge in layers tagging some experience people hope you get help

@staceyj
@casportpony
@KikisGirls
@Eggcessive

 

[teira]

Ohh seems like she's low on calcium what you feed her ..

I agree that she's probably low on calcium, I'm just very worried about what she pooped out after the soft shelled egg and why

 

[Saaniya]

I agree that she's probably low on calcium, I'm just very worried about what she pooped out after the soft shelled egg and why

You should bath her and see if any broken egg or membrane stuck there ..if she's mine I'll feed her layer pallets and boost her calcium with oyster shells in moderation don't worry she'll be fine she's young new layer she need some practice and care for becoming a champ layerdont worry

 

[teira]

You should bath her and see if any broken egg or membrane stuck there ..if she's mine I'll feed her layer pallets and boost her calcium with oyster shells in moderation don't worry she'll be fine she's young new layer she need some practice and care for becoming a champ layerdont worry

Thanks lots! I'll give her a little soak and boost her calcium up!

 

[staceyj]

Hi there. (And hi @Saaniya) Once a pullet starts laying, it’s a good thing to offer free choice oystershell. They know when and how of it much to eat.

It takes a little while for the egg factory to get all the stations working properly!

She’ll get things worked out I’m sure but in the meantime, do you have any human calcium supplements in the house? Like caltrate?
Or calcium based antacids?
Like tums or rolaids?

If you smash one into bits and offer them in your hand like a treat, she’ll probably eat it in chunks, if not, stirred into a tiny amount of something she really likes...yogurt, applesauce, etc. will work.
In emergencies- pulverize into a powder add tiny bit of water, dose directly to the beak.

 

[Saaniya]

Hi there. (And hi @Saaniya) Once a pullet starts laying, it’s a good thing to offer free choice oystershell. They know when and how of it much to eat.

It takes a little while for the egg factory to get all the stations working properly!

She’ll get things worked out I’m sure but in the meantime, do you have any human calcium supplements in the house? Like caltrate?
Or calcium based antacids?
Like tums or rolaids?

If you smash one into bits and offer them in your hand like a treat, she’ll probably eat it in chunks, if not, stirred into a tiny amount of something she really likes...yogurt, applesauce, etc. will work.
In emergencies- pulverize into a powder add tiny bit of water, dose directly to the beak.

I'll need to enhance my hen knowledge hehe

 

[Eggcessive]

Hopefully, she will start feeling better after laying a soft egg. New layers can have blips getting started. Soft shell-less eggs are difficult to lay, and they may feel lousy if more eggs are in the egg tract. Any human calcium with vitamin D3–1/2 to 1 tablet daily for a couple of days to jumpstart her calcium levels might help. Are your pullets on layer feed and do they have some crushed oyster shell available? Here is a link to read:
https://poultrykeeper.com/egg-problems/soft-thin-or-missing-egg-shells/

 

[teira]

So she's not acting sick or anything and I gave her some oyster shell that she nibbled on a bit but I believe she has passed some broken membrane pieces?? This might have been from another soft shelled egg she laid and then ate. She's totally fine eating, scratching, clucking, drinking but I don't want her to get an infection, is there anything I could give her or am I overreacting?

 

[Eggcessive]

Some people use antibiotics, such as Baytril, after an episode like this. I am not sure that it would prevent a future infection in the egg tract, but it is up to you. Salpingitis can occur from infection in the oviduct. Using Baytril (or other antibiotics) in egg layers is controversial, since it is not approved for hens in the US. Many do use it though with a long egg withdrawal time. Here is a thread about baytril sources online with dosage is post 3:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/baytril-enrofloxacin-sources.959119/