LolaLayla Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 (edited) Hi Hope someone here can give me some advice. Today Lola (over 1 year old) laid a (totally normal) egg as usual in the early am. Late afternoon I could not find her and eventually looked in the nestbox to find her sitting there which is really unusual as normally the girls only go there to lay an egg or to go to bed. When she stood up I noticed she had laid an egg without a shell. I encouraged her to go out of the eglu but when she did she just stood with her wings slightly out and appeared to be half closing her eyes. She eventually went back to the nestbox where she has stayed. She is fed on layers pellets and the occasional treat. She free ranges in an area where I am sure she can pick up plenty of grit etc. She was wormed with Flubenvet about 3 months ago. I put powder in the nestbox etc and have seen no sign of mites etc I am a bit worried about her as she was acting normally until about 4pm and now is behaving oddly. Has anyone any idea what could be wrong and what I should do about it? Thank you Edited July 31, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 This happened to one of mine and they passed an empty soft shell a while later. Keep and eye on her, she's probably got the shell coming. Someone will hopefully come along with advice if she can't pass it naturally x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 Thank you Surfer Chicken. It was as you said When I let the girls out this am Lola shot out the to get to the food as normal. I looked in the tray and found the shell and a bit more "white'. She seems fine now. I wonder why this happened and if it is likely to happen again. I am trying to do everything to keep the girls healthy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 It only happened to one of mine the once, but I don't know why it happens Hopefully it'll be a one off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 Thanks for the info. Hopefully it will just be a blip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 Bad news, she did it again! I did not expect her to lay an egg today but this afternoon she laid an egg which had no shell. It was intact and I could see the yolk though the membrane. She appears to be behaving normally. Can anyone tell me what I should give her to stop this? Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gongladosh Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 try some more grit with her, and a little cod liver oil - hopefully that should sort it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 I have a bag of grit. I had not used it as they free range and dig up the soil. I thought they would get enough naturally but will try it. Should I mix it with the layers pellets or leave it in a bowl? Do I put the oil in the food too? How much would you use? Sorry for all the questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Make sure it's dissolvable grit. They need both types, solid grit is for grounding up the food in the crop, and the dissolvable grit gives calcium etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debbie9946 Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Where do you get dissolvable grit? i feel really bad now, because I don't give it to my girls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 I am sure the grit I have is not the dissolvable sort I will need to try to get some. I have also decided to keep the girls in the run for a couple of hours in the morning before free ranging and also put them in about 8pm to encourage them to eat more of the pellets incase they are not getting enough nutrients Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 There seems to be more to this than Lola having a blip. Layla hasn't laid an egg for 2 days now...and she is normally as regular as clockwork I am definitely going to keep them in the run longer to enable them to eat more pellets. I wonder if the hot weather is affecting them too. They always have plenty of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Kate Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 i have the same problem with one of mine (I wish they would lay eggs with their names on so you could see who lays what). a couple of weeks ago we got a tiny (20p sized) egg and since then I've seen something that was a bit like a lash, and now we get shell-less eggs that aren't even like proper eggs, just like gel but with a tiny little black dot in it. last year when the old girls stopped laying we got a tiny egg and then nothing. it seems like that;s a bit of a signal that their time is done. I've been dosing the drinking water with liquid calcium and to make sure they actually get that in them I've been soaking bread in it and they eat that. why isn't chicken feed packed full of the calcium and grit they need! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 Update - the girls seem to have gone back to regular egg laying. I can tell who lays what as Lola always lays a much larger egg, so that is really handy. I went with putting grit in their grub container and keeping them in the run longer with their layers pellets and this has so far fixed things Long may it continue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Spoke to soon about problem being sorted Layla is fine and back to laying eggs like clockwork but Lola is worrying me. Yesterday she laid an egg and was fine. Today when I opened up the egg hatch the nestbox was quite wet and I also noticed more clear liquid in the tray and also green semi solid poo. Lola was quite subdued and only pretended to eat pellets that I put on the ground. She was also easier to catch than normal. I checked her vent which looked ok. She obviously wasn't feeling well and went back to the nestbox. After an hour or so she came out ate some pellets walked out the run and laid what looked like "white" and either thick membrane or thin shell there was also some green poo. There was nothing in the nestbox. She now appears bright and in good spirits again, infact her normal self.....any ideas as to what could be going on? I have been looking online to try to find out what the problem could be and was wondering whether to take her to the vet. What is putting me off is that I do not think they know much about chickens, as when I was interested in getting some and asked for advice they said I was better talking to a girl who worked there who kept some. At the time she told me I did not need to worm chickens....I have learned on the forum that I should so I am not sure what use any advice may be that I get there. Any ideas please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfer_chicken Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 I'm not sure what's wrong, but you should definitely try to find a vet with more experience with chickens encase you're ever desperately in need of one. Otherwise, try posting on the chicken clinic part of the forum? You might get better replies about what might be wrong with her and what to check/look out for there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Ok thanks. Maybe this is in the wrong place. Although I thought she was back to normal, she is sitting down more than usual, however does appear to be eating now but not with as much enthusiasm as in the past. I will phone round vets tomorrow and hopefully find someone with some experience. I am going to start the flubenvet tomorrow. I have got various things to put in with the pellets - limestone powder, grit and oystershells. I am trying everything at the moment I can think of. Thanks for your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Otherwise, try posting on the chicken clinic part of the forum? You might get better replies about what might be wrong with her and what to check/look out for there. Ok thanks. Maybe this is in the wrong place. . Don't worry, members view all areas of the forum and will comment if they feel they can contribute. A moderator will move a topic if they feel it is in the wrong place. Double posting on the forum is not encouraged as it leads to a duplication of information and gets very confusing. I have locked your topic in the Clinic to prevent confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 It is not unusual for hens to go through a phase of laying soft shelled eggs or eggs with shells so friable that they break when then get up from laying them. They often eat the remains. Laying a soft shelled egg does make them feel pretty rubbish until they are passed. You could supplement her with calcium & vitamin D3 (eg Zolcal) but it would not be a bad idea to get her looked at by a vet just to ensure that there is nothing else going on if you are concerned. It is possible that there are some remnants of shell retained in her vent that may be causing an issue. If you are confident that this is not the case, you could give it 24-48 hours of further observation before seeking veterinary attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henchanted Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Where do you get dissolvable grit? ... Hi if you have 'mixed grit' it has has 2 forms of grit in it, the flint is what the hens need to grind up food in their gizzard, which they can get enough of free ranging, and the oyster shell grit is the soluble type that they absorb calcium from to make their shells. Most good pellets do contain a balance of all they need but if the hens are given treats they won't eat enough pellets to get what they need. You can buy oyster shell separately as feed additive and (even better) you can wash and dry out/bake egg shells in the oven and then break up (really small) to add to their feed as extra boost (ultimate recycling!!) Worming is a good idea as the hens might be sharing their nutrients with the parasites Lastly, hens need the sun like us for bone etc development so be careful not to cover the full run and exclude that sunshine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Thank you Chucky Mama for helping with the posts problem and also your advice. Thanks also to Henchanted. The girls are in a with run and sun shade they usually are let out the run into a fenced off area to free range all day. However with the problem I have been keeping them in the run until late morning and putting them in the run at about 8pm to ensure they eat a lot of the pellets. But they are getting lots of sun...when we get it. They do not get many treats at all. Maybe some leftover rice or melon skins with a bit of fruit left on. Some days they do not have anything extra. I got up this am planning to arrange a trip to the vet but today Lola seems like a new bird She is eating enthusiastically and doing all the usual chickeny things. I did notice that her first poo was not the usual huge one but a sort of usual day one...sorry for all the details....but she had not eaten a lot yesterday so I could understand that. As planned the girls have in their grub this am - Marriages pellets with flubenvet, grit, oyster shell and limestone powder. Hopefully that will fix anything that is lacking in their diet or any worm problems. As it is only 3 months since I last wormed them I do not understand how that could be a big problem, or could it Anyway hope to have covered all bases Keeping fingers crossed for Lola...time will tell if we get a normal egg. This post would have been better if I could have done the "quotes" thing you all seem to do...I could not see how to do it...in the future I will need to ask a child to help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julia W Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 Up in the top right hand corner of the posts is a little sign saying "quote", not sure how to pick a particular part of the post but I expect, if you click on "quote" the you can perhaps highlight the bit you want to quote. I know there will be someone out there with a difinitive answer but hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 This post would have been better if I could have done the "quotes" thing you all seem to do...I could not see how to do it...in the future I will need to ask a child to help It's in the FAQ's HERE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 It's in the FAQ's HERE Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LolaLayla Posted July 13, 2011 Author Share Posted July 13, 2011 Oops, really am hopeless It can't be that hard. Will need to try again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
