weird eggs, molting or sick???

[Wynette]

You can get calcium + D3 for humans at most any drug store, but you need to find out what the proper amounts would be. Darnit, I was hoping to hear she is doing better when I checked back in...maybe the thin shelled egg is the start? Does this girl have access to sunlight?

 

[PepsNick]

well it's good to at least know she's laying

 

[chickadeedeedee]

WOW... plz keep us informed.
Good luck and well wishes.

 

[LeezyBeezy]

Quote:
I'm following with interest. My 1 y.o. NHR is alying bumpy, thin, pale, eggs that often break. I have added oyster shell, doesn't seem to help. I will add some to yogurt and try that, BUT- since my other SS hen's eggs are super hard, I'm wondering if it is more the hen, vs. supplements/nutrition. My hens free range all day, with free feeding of layer crumbles, with oyster shell sprinkled on it, as well as a dish of it.

For the past two days, I haven't been able to find her eggs. (I had emptied out the shavings bag the two hens had decided to lay eggs in). Maybe she's mad, but maybe she's eating them?? I did catch her once- just once- eating an egg of hers that broke in the nest.

As a side note, I'll be so glad when they go back to using the nest boxes... Right now I have four 12 weekers who aren't allowed to free range, so the coop door stays closed all day and the hens lay in other places. Grrrr.

 

[newhenstein castle]

She is still laying these eggs. Mostly she makes it to the nest box and then tramples them and they break, too thin, bumpy etc. She still looks great and I am willing to give her another month. Here is a message I got from Birdvet about the D3 (Wynette, please read):


Tums can be a problem because it will change the acidity of the GI tract causing the death of normal flora, disrupting digestion, and potentially leading to yeast and other infections. Even though it contains a high level of of calcium,Tums is not a good source of calcium. For calcium to be absorbed in the gut it needs to be in a 2.5:1 ratio with phosphorus and there is not enough phosphorus in tums to match this ratio. Additionally, calcium cannot be assimilated without vitamin D3, and there is no D3 in tums. Without these and some other nutrients that are also not in tums, nearly all of the calcium in a tums tablet is going to be passed out in the droppings. Finally, excessive calcium in the diet can cause mineralization of organs, particularly the kidneys.

If some else mentions tums, you are welcome to share my email with them. I may even post it on BYC.

This problem is still possibly a nutritional problem. It can also still be the other issues I mentioned in my post, ovarian cyct or tumor, egg yolk peritonitis, or other reproductive problem. You should find an avian veterinarian that can examine and x-ray your bird to get a diagnosis and provide appropriate treatment.

If she is eating mostly pellets and you are supplementing oyster shell, then you do not need to supplement with calcium. In fact if you do she can be over dosed and cause other problems. As for the Vitamin D, birds ned a different vitamin D, they need D3, which can not be supplemented in a pill form. If she is outside and is getting sunlight, she will make D3 on her own. Do not supplement with the calcitrate. This is going to cause harm not prevent it.


So there you have it. I am seriously considering adding a couple of chicks to the flock. My Sexlink isn't broody anymore, now I think that is a big bummer!! Lorelei will have to prove to me that she can do her job. Poor thing. I really love her.

 

[Wynette]

I don't think you have peritonitis in this bird; if you did, she would not be laying, in my humble opinion. That is caused when an egg breaks inside, causing infection. It doens't sound like she's having issues LAYING the egg, it's just that the egg shells aren't hard enough - correct?

Goodness, from what Birdvet says (and this seems like sound advice), there may not be anything further you can do for her, darnit!

 

[newhenstein castle]

Oh noooo. This is what I found in the coop this morning.

Looks like an egg cracked inside her?!


And this is her standing in the same spot completely lethargic.

I will find somewhere to take her and then that's it...

 

[Wynette]

Oh, goodness....if she's laying internally, she will get a bacterial infection and will pass away slowly...she will suffer, I'm sorry to say. There's nothing that can be done at this point. I'm so very, very sorry....

Please find someone who can humanely euthanize her for you...and please accpept my heartfelt sympathy!! Poor girl!

 

[newhenstein castle]

Quote:
Wynette, thanks for the condolences. I am a wreck. I called the butchers around here but no one does this kind of dirty work. I am willing to toughen up and do it myself. I called my husband to get me an axe. I am still hoping that he will do the job. I won't be able to eat her though. Might not be healthy anyway, right? I am so grateful for all of your (everyone who posted) advices. I learned quite a bit.

Best,
Conny

 

[Wynette]

Gosh, Conny...I've got tears in my eyes. You are doing the right thing by your girl. I just hate seeing it when folks allow their livestock to go on & on, slowly dying...I think for sure we now know that she's either just begun laying internally, or may have done so on a number of earlier occasions. BEST of luck in dispatching her...KUDOS to you for being strong enough to do this sad deed, but again - you are doing right by your girl, and hopefully, others will glean some useful information from this thread in the future.