Tell me about your internal layers

[kayri]

Glad to hear that you have a success story with an internal layer. Did they do a hysterectomy too? What will prevent her from laying internally again? It does give me hope if it ever happens again. I'm glad for you and your hen and I do think it is money worth spending on your pet. The way I see it, once I take on the responsibility of an animal, that animal becomes part of my family and I'll do what I can to give it the best life I can, that said, our new "special needs" gecko is killing me- we have to kill the crickets for it because it is too slow to catch them if they aren't dead- Sigh.... of well, I will keep on doing what I can to keep my "family" happy.

 

[chickenlady08]

Quote:
No she didnt have to do a hysterectomy. I was hopin she would have because I am scared of it happening again. The vet said that the egg just got 'stuck' not sure what that means but luckily I took her last week. the vet said she had never seen anything like this. She has never done this type of surgery before. (that was she told me this after i picked up my girl) I wish I could post a picture cause I am utterly amazed she was in such good shape after the 2 lb of egg came out of her. she has no rear end now and before she had a huge 'booty' (sorry

) She is doing really well. I think that I had her on antibiotic long enough that it kept it from getting infected.

I guess that there is always a chance that it could happen again but I am praying it doesn't for her sake. It sounds like you have a succes story as well, it is great that she was able to pass hers.

Oh my son has a gecko as well and we enjoy him, he is pretty friendly and my son is afraid to pick him because he small and doens't want to drop him. the guy we got him from said that a friend of his dropped one and it broke his back and they had to euthanize him. that scared my son and me. So we are very careful with him.
that gecko is lucky to have you and I think that if the only way he will eat him is if they are dead then he is very lucky for you to kill them. My kids and I catch lots of crickets for the chickens and they go bonkers over them.

Hope your hen is doing ok!

from one animal love to another. it is great to talk with you.

 

[The Lisser]

Quote:
Mary, what kind of oats? rolled? whole?

Has anyone else tried this method?

Thanks
Melissa

 

[susancoyotesfan]

Ah, cripes. Now I know what's wrong with my girls, at least some of them.

I have four RIR's, all are over two years old. For the last three months or so I have been getting eggs with very thin shells, very pale - almost white - and weirdly shaped. Then they quit laying at all, except an egg every two days or so (between four birds). One bird has very pale feathers, the others look normal. I have been finding shell - less eggs around the chicken yard, and in the nesting box, thought they were needing more calcium so have been trying everything I can think of to get them to eat more. We even thought that perhaps our organic feed, having no preservatives, had become rancid and that's why they quit laying so I bought Layena, which didn't help.

Well, I was going to get more pullets anyway, I guess this makes my mind up for me. It just sucks though (sorry for the language...) because we were planning on having them for many years to come. The idea of culling them now makes me both sad and angry, because I can see from all of your posts that doing it now will save them suffering, but it just seems like such a waste of life, since I am guessing they can't be eaten. (I like my chickens, but they have always been marked for the stew pot after a long life).

 

[chickenlady08]

I have some bad news about my Trooper. She started to internal lay again and this time I didn't get to the vet in time. She died on Wednesday. I was going to take her back and have a hysterectomy done but didn't get there in time. She was a good happy girl and will miss her but now she isn't suffering anymore. I hope everyone elses girls are doing ok.

 

[emys]

I've dealt with this twice. First time I was new to chickens and it was a hatchery Buff Orpington. She was a July chick who didn't begin laying until January of the following year (so not an early layer). She laid for a few months until April. Then I was sure she began hiding her eggs because they free ranged and she still looked good. On and off I searched for possible nest sites, but concluded that some predator must be making off with the eggs. Finally in June I realized something wasn't right with her. I caught her, crated her for a week and confirmed my suspicion that she wasn't laying at all. I took her to a veterinarian who confirmed peritonitis probably from internal laying and put her to sleep and autopsied.

Second time was a hatchery red sex link I purchased at 5 months old. She was just beginning to lay pullet eggs at that time. She quickly began laying very large eggs, but not double yolkers. She laid right through the winter even in deep cold when all my other hens quit. She and a few others I purchased at the same time, same age and type molted in the early spring. The others began laying again after the molt. This one did not. She began laying internally. She was under one year old.

 

[seminolewind]

I'm not sure what's wrong with my Valerie (black Ameraucana). Not a hatchery girl, 3 years old. Laid 2 eggs last year, maybe 10 the year before. She is always closing her eyes the last few weeks. Sometimes she looks up and closes her eyes. I've seen her peck around and eat, but it seems that she is chunky and fattish, but her crop is never full (?). She will take a small piece of bread, but it seems that her beak is real weak. She has never liked being touched, but I can now just pick her up and hold her. Other than that, she looks like the picture of health.

Do you check their abdomen from the sides for swelling? I will have to check for poop tomorrow. She is not fluffed up, but I do wonder if she's in pain.

 

[peepacheep]

After reading through this thread I think my 20 month old hatchery BA hen, Pinkers, has internal laying. She molted early in December, lost her appetite along with her feathers. Her feathers have grown in but her appetite has been slowly declining. Past few days her tail had drooped, she is waddling with an enlarged abdomen. This morning I think her breathing looks slightly labored. Will pick up some penicillin tomorrow and give it a try but the kindest thing I can do for is to not let her suffer. Can anyone tell me what the dose is for penicillin? Thank-you.

 

[Curlita]

I just lost a hen, who I suspect was an internal layer.

Age: 3 years
Breed: Black Sex-Link
Origin: local breeder (who I later learned had a poor reputation)

She was my most prolific layer. This spring, when all the other girls started laying, she didn't. About five days ago she started limping and looking droopy. Her bum was a mess, but I couldn't find anything specifically wrong or tender when I examined her, so we gave her a warm bath and some treats. A few days later she was still doing poorly and I checked her abdomen and it felt swollen. I gave her another warm bath and massaged her abdomen in case she was eggbound (although I couldn't feel anything hard). She declined rapidly and died in the night.

I think that when the days started lengthening, she started laying along with the rest of the girls, but way laying internally.

 

[FisherMOM]

We just put our Leghorn hen down today. She was 3 (I think) got her from a feed store, so I guess that means hatchery.
She stopped laying eggs this fall. Her sister is starting to show the same symptoms.
I haven't gotten a leghorn egg in about 2 months. and the very few that are laid - break in the coop.

My laying flock is shrinking. I have to decide what to do; meaning am I going to continue to keep chickens.
I do love them, but these internal layers is discouraging.