Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: lynnsb on November 15, 2010, 22:53
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Hi
1 of my chickens does not seem well. for the last couple of days there has been an egg which has been passed in the roosting area with no shell, or with a soft shell, and 1 of the chickens is really not herself, so am assuming she has passed the shelless egg. she just stands by herself and will not mix in with the other 3 which is very rare for her because she always seemed to be the more dominant one at feeding, and making escape attempts etc, but she looks very down and miserable. Any ideas. she is still drinking and pecking grass and food but not as much as she was. could it be something serious. Today I felt inside her vent with vaseline on my finger to see if there was any shell inside and could not feel anything. I also fed her a bit of yoghurt as I have seen that mentioned on here.
Any help or suggestions appreciated.
Lynn
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besides their layers feed do they have access to greens and oystershell at all times during the day?
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If there is an egg bound in the oviduct and it's low enough you should be able to feel it towards the top of the duct (ie in the roof of the vent). Sometimes you can feel it on their back to the left just forward of their tail.
Hens always look very miserable if they are having problems with passing softshelled eggs.
Does her rear undercarriage feel bloated and soft or hot and is she walking in a bowed legged way which might indicate being egg bound. What do her droppings look like does she have a dirty rear end? What breed of chx is she, is she an ex batt and how old?
HF
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so much to check on-i will go out and have a good feel later. We got them all from a breeder at 16 weeks pol in July this year, so still quite young. I dont know the make and model, they are just brown/ginger think it may be hybrid or warren whatever. There is another pool of egg in the roosting area this morning. Yesterday she did have what seemed to be runny egg around her bottom, so stood her in a bowl of warm water and cleaned it off. Dont know about her poo as i have 4 and cant identify hers. When I have been out poo picking there has been a couple of soft runny ones, so i guess they could be hers. They have oyster shell available all the time, and do get the occasional treat i.e boiled up potato skins, cabbage etc. They are let out to roam the garden for at least 2 hours every day, so get lots of grass and plants.
Lynn
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You can give them the cabbage, cauli and broc etc raw so they get all the nutrients from it :) Laying softies can really make them feel off colour but as long as she has access to fresh water and good food, and plenty of day light, she should (fingers crossed) get over it once she starts laying normally
She's not an old bird so I think she should pick up. If not, you'll have to let us know as someone here will know what to tell you to do next
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having problems with photo-will try again
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I have had a good feel around her and cannot feel any unusual lumps and bumps, but not an expert so cant be certain. She seems a bit perkier this morning but there was a puddle of eggy poo in the hut this morning-photo above if it helps. she is still wandering about on her own rather than in the group, but has just faught off the others for a grape I threw, so is looking better. She seems to be walking ok
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here is a picture of her this morning-doesnt look poorly, just not her usual self
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I had a similar problem at the beginning of the month. One of my black rocks who is a very prolific layer and probably only 4 months or so older than yours started to lay soft or shell-less eggs. I started to give them more greens (they like broccoli and the bags of deep green 'spring greens' you can get from the supermarket) and managed to pick up some poultry spice (which they love if you mix into a mash of pellets & hot water in the cold mornings!) which is about 25% calcium. The egg shell quality gradually improved and she is (fingers crossed!) back to normal.
Like yours, and certainly when I am in work, my hens are only free ranging for about 2 hours a day which restricts the amount of greenery they can forage for, bearing also in mind that there is less grass etc around this time of the year. I think the greens they eat help with the digestion of calcium so it is probably good allround to give them a few extra greens until spring. Thats what I figured anyway!
It sounds that she is on the mend anyway which is great news. Hope this helps & that she continues to improve.
Helen
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I had a similar problem at the beginning of the month. One of my black rocks who is a very prolific layer and probably only 4 months or so older than yours started to lay soft or shell-less eggs. I started to give them more greens (they like broccoli and the bags of deep green 'spring greens' you can get from the supermarket) and managed to pick up some poultry spice (which they love if you mix into a mash of pellets & hot water in the cold mornings!) which is about 25% calcium. The egg shell quality gradually improved and she is (fingers crossed!) back to normal.
Like yours, and certainly when I am in work, my hens are only free ranging for about 2 hours a day which restricts the amount of greenery they can forage for, bearing also in mind that there is less grass etc around this time of the year. I think the greens they eat help with the digestion of calcium so it is probably good allround to give them a few extra greens until spring. Thats what I figured anyway!
It sounds that she is on the mend anyway which is great news. Hope this helps & that she continues to improve.
Helen
It's probably not the greens it's sunlight which is important for vit D3 a vital component for calcium absorption. The body produces this naturally with sunlight exposure and in these times of low exposure a supplement may be needed in the form of a vit drink. Other sources of Vit D3 are tuna (use the in brine type) and cod liver oil in moderation. you can forcefeed calcium as much as you like but without the right balance of other nutrients it won't be metabolised. Poultry spice isn't a great source of calcium and is only required as a extra mineral source if you are in the habit of overfeeding treats or other household scraps which compromise the balanced nutrients included in layers compound feed. Chx fed a staple diet of mash or pellets from a reputable source don't need PS. Chx can tollerate massive excesses of minerals and vitamins generally and what's not required is simply passed and not metabolised. If you have oyster shell ad lib and layers feed all the minerals needed should be present so I'd suggest a multivit.
Regards
HF
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Thanks HF, that is interesting & makes a lot of sense. So perhaps the odd vit supplement this time of the year is an idea? Looking specifically at vitamin D, I see that cod liver oil is a good source of D - I give them a few drops of this once or twice a week which may be beneficial - cheaper than a sunbed in the run anyway (only joking!). Thanks again.
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Thanks HF, that is interesting & makes a lot of sense. So perhaps the odd vit supplement this time of the year is an idea? Looking specifically at vitamin D, I see that cod liver oil is a good source of D - I give them a few drops of this once or twice a week which may be beneficial - cheaper than a sunbed in the run anyway (only joking!). Thanks again.
Cod liver oil is what I meant to say not caster oil which I've now corrected. I thought when I typed it that wasn't right. Yes give it a try anyway though the sunbed sounds like a good idea too :lol:.
HF
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Hi Lynsb, I was just wondering how your chook is doing? I've got an exbattie with exactly the same problem n poo..... She's been on baytril and Metacam (from a non chook vet) for a couple of days now and is looking a bit chirpier but still producing the same eggy poo - how is yours getting on?
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My chick seems to have fully recovered now-very strange-no more eggy poos and she is chasing around and scratting with all the others. I have only got 2 eggs the last 2 days though, which is 1 less than I was getting. I have 4 chickens and have had 3 eggs every day without fail-still dont know if one of them is not performing-
Anyway she seems to be fine now, although as I say may not be laying anything now-
How can you tell if they are egg bound-and what could you do to solve it.
Lynn
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Oh I'm so glad your girl is better - it's such a worry! There are lots of really great info on here regarding egg bound/peritonitus..... I usually do a search and it brings up lots of previous cases with all the details of what to look for and treatment etc. All the best, happy chooking! :D
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Wonderful news. Good luck :)