DeeDee Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Hi Everyone, Yesterday I noticed Belle was not looking quite right, she was very lethargic and her tail sticking up in the air. I had the same thing with her about 6 weeks ago but during the night she passed a soft egg and was hoping it may be the same thing, although she had laid yesterday. This morning I checked her vent and there was a soft membraine stuck to her feathers but she is still the same as yesterday. Would appreciate any advice. Thanks DeeDee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Did you take the membrane off? It could just be that there's some left inside her; have you had a look? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeDee Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Hi, Yes I did take the membrane off, couldn't see anything else there but I did only just lift up her feathers to have a look. Should I be doing anything else? Sorry may seem like a stupid question but only had the chickens for a few months so am still a newbie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Check that her bottom is clean (to avoid flystrike) and see if there's anything else sticking out of her vent, or if it's weeping liquid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeDee Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Just got home from work and checked on Belle, she has laid an egg today but it has no shell, kind of like rubber! She had poo stuck to her feathers round her bum so cleaned her up and checked her vent which looks clean, not weeping and nothing sticking out. She had a little bit to eat and drink while I was watching her but she still seems to be slow, there is some improvment on this morning, she was chatting to me while I was cleaning her and she looks alert and walking round more. Is there a possibility she may have more soft eggs stuck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 A soft-shelled egg will always make them feel poorly, it may just be a one-off blip but you might want to add a little calcium to the diet; rinse and bake used eggshells, blitz in the food processor until they are tiny granules then add to the pellets with a squirt of cod liver oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeDee Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 Thanks for your advice Dogmother. This morning Belle passed something that was like a crumpled up shell so I am wondering if something has knocked her system out a bit. She is in the nest box now so will go and check on her soon. I will do the eggshells today and get some codliver oil and see how she goes. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 The odd soft egg can be caused by shock (among other things) try the eggshells and CLO, see how it goes. It could just be an age/shell gland related thing and there's nothing that can be done about that. I had a similar conversation with a lady at the weekend; she has a dozen ex-batts, all with various egg tackle problems. One of them always lays soft-shelled eggs and it makes her very poorly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeDee Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 Belle was much better yesterday she didn't lay an egg but has laid today fine. Hopefully all back to normal now but am doing the egg shells and CLO. I hope she doesnt suffer from this to often as it is not nice to see them poorly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
