The Mysterious Case of the Egg Yolk Stains

[CHlCKEN]

That's what I'm thinking. I mean she was in a deep molt and not laying (nor eating much) when I switched feed, so I was surprised she then started trying. But she's stopped again. Seems healthy/active though. So I assume she's taking another break.

The eggs referenced in my post seem to have been almost entirely eaten--only evidence being yolk stains). Typically if a hard shell accidentally breaks and is eaten there are some remnants of shell. But, my BO, who is roomies with the hen in question, does have a history of being clumsy/breaking eggs and then eating them (I've just always caught her and stopped it).

I had a hen whose softshell broke in her a couple months ago . Similar to yours, she was dripping egg material from vent, very lethargic/clearly straining to expel content, and I saw the remnant of a soft shell as evidence. Got her to pass the rest through epsom soaks and then had her treated for EYP. So that experience had me on high alert--the yolk stains made my heart drop! How is your hen? Did she recover?

Ya, the hens dive right into the broken eggs . My guess is that, rather than breaking internally, it was broken on impact when it was laid. I have to say that whenmy hen broke an internal egg, it seemed as if she had gone many different places to try and expel the uncomfortable broken egg- the egg yolk stain was on top of the waterer so at least we knew she was still able to jump up there! I found her on a log with her tail droopy, I lifted it to find her vent feathers/area sticky and covered in yolk, plus her vent blocked by a shell, which I pulled out- this is an obvious sign it broke inside so without seeing this you would go to assume it broke externally. Despite the fact that during treatment and recovery, she was getting tons and tons of calcium benefits, her soft shelled eggs where they only ones she was producing- and breaking internally every time. It finally came to the point where she passed a bloody egg shell (I will mention that for a period of 3 days every poop that came out included yolk which hardened on the floor of her crate ) and at this time we were considering our 4 options-

1. Spay her
2. Hormones to stop her reproductive cycle
3. Put her Down
4. Continue to treat her with the meds
   
   We chose to continue treating her but after Passing that final Bloody egg shell her body stopped laying on its own! Saved us money since options 1 and 2 were impossible for us. She is recovered as a non-laying hen (although head hen still) and is as spunky as she was before! She lets nothing stop her and we love her to pieces. Her name is Joy and she is a 3 yro SS, who we call our Wonder Chicken, as she lets nothing Stop her!
   ​

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Ya, the hens dive right into the broken eggs . My guess is that, rather than breaking internally, it was broken on impact when it was laid. I have to say that whenmy hen broke an internal egg, it seemed as if she had gone many different places to try and expel the uncomfortable broken egg- the egg yolk stain was on top of the waterer so at least we knew she was still able to jump up there! I found her on a log with her tail droopy, I lifted it to find her vent feathers/area sticky and covered in yolk, plus her vent blocked by a shell, which I pulled out- this is an obvious sign it broke inside so without seeing this you would go to assume it broke externally. Despite the fact that during treatment and recovery, she was getting tons and tons of calcium benefits, her soft shelled eggs where they only ones she was producing- and breaking internally every time. It finally came to the point where she passed a bloody egg shell (I will mention that for a period of 3 days every poop that came out included yolk which hardened on the floor of her crate ) and at this time we were considering our 4 options-

1. Spay her
2. Hormones to stop her reproductive cycle
3. Put her Down
4. Continue to treat her with the meds
   
   We chose to continue treating her but after Passing that final Bloody egg shell her body stopped laying on its own! Saved us money since options 1 and 2 were impossible for us. She is recovered as a non-laying hen (although head hen still) and is as spunky as she was before! She lets nothing stop her and we love her to pieces. Her name is Joy and she is a 3 yro SS, who we call our Wonder Chicken, as she lets nothing Stop her!​

What an amazing story (and chicken and chicken mama)! Thank you for sharing. That gives me hope. It's been touch and go with my girl for a while, the antibiotics curbed the infection but I think they took a toll on her digestive system and she was not bouncing back. Crop wasn't working, low appetite, etc. Frequent coconut oil crop massages kept her hanging in by a thread. I'd already run the gamut with antibiotics, so, running out of options, I started adding colloidal silver to her mash. Not sure if it was just a coincidence, but she did a 180 in 24 hours. This was after a month of her wasting away with little improvement. I had been expecting to take her to the vet to be euthanized each day at that point (I'm so glad I didn't--came close multiple times!).

She's now energetic, eating, and pooping beautifully. Crop works 100%. I'm working on getting her weaned off mash and have been free ranging her with the girls to slowly transition her back into the fold. What might have saved her is that she started molting in the middle of all this, so she's been able to take a long break from laying. Like your hen, she would only lay soft shell eggs--every day, too. Until it finally broke in her.

Anyway I've been hoping and praying the trauma of the infection might prevent her from laying again (I've heard some stories like yours in which that happened). Or, the time she's been given to reset will help her iron out the kinks. I can't imaging going through this rollercoaster with her again. We've grown so attached through it all and I will do whatever I can to keep her around and healthy. (Example of attachment: since I started free-ranging her she has fun but gets a bit nervous. I'm nudging her to go out on her own and gain confidence, like a kid at a playground lol, and she does but keeps a close radius. When she is ready to go back to her pen, she comes to my ankles, looks at me and chatters, and I squat down, hd my arm out, and up she goes. She walks up my arm, leans on my chest, and I walk her back in.)

So, again, thank you for your story--I know it doesn't always happen like that but I am happy for you and your hen, and my fingers are crossed! What type of chicken is yours, and how old? When did her laying issues start? Just curious.

 

[buffy-the-eggpile-layer]

Ya, the hens dive right into the broken eggs . My guess is that, rather than breaking internally, it was broken on impact when it was laid. I have to say that whenmy hen broke an internal egg, it seemed as if she had gone many different places to try and expel the uncomfortable broken egg- the egg yolk stain was on top of the waterer so at least we knew she was still able to jump up there! I found her on a log with her tail droopy, I lifted it to find her vent feathers/area sticky and covered in yolk, plus her vent blocked by a shell, which I pulled out- this is an obvious sign it broke inside so without seeing this you would go to assume it broke externally. Despite the fact that during treatment and recovery, she was getting tons and tons of calcium benefits, her soft shelled eggs where they only ones she was producing- and breaking internally every time. It finally came to the point where she passed a bloody egg shell (I will mention that for a period of 3 days every poop that came out included yolk which hardened on the floor of her crate ) and at this time we were considering our 4 options-

1. Spay her
2. Hormones to stop her reproductive cycle
3. Put her Down
4. Continue to treat her with the meds
   
   We chose to continue treating her but after Passing that final Bloody egg shell her body stopped laying on its own! Saved us money since options 1 and 2 were impossible for us. She is recovered as a non-laying hen (although head hen still) and is as spunky as she was before! She lets nothing stop her and we love her to pieces. Her name is Joy and she is a 3 yro SS, who we call our Wonder Chicken, as she lets nothing Stop her!​

Also, just realized we've been chatting on multiple threads! As you can see I have multiple things brewing at once lol. Does that happen to you, too? I'm hoping for an uneventful few months anytime now.... Or at least one chicken issue at a time

Thanks for your help in both places!