Cosmo Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I've just got home from work to find one of my girls looking lethargic and not very happy. She's 24 weeks old ish, has been laying since 7th July with an egg every day and has laid this morning. She laid a really large egg a couple of days ago and didn't look to happy that morning but perked up; I just put it down to the shock of such a big egg. I've lifted her and checked her over - crop is fine, abdomen isn't swollen, eyes are bright and bottom is clean. She did make some attempt to not let me pick her up but not nearly as much as she usually would. Immediately after I put her back down she laid a soft shelled egg. She also doesn't seem to be eating as I can't even tempt her with corn. Her droppings seem fine but our other girl who looks fine seems to be having loose droppings. I noted one on the droppings board this morning and just observed more while I was checking over the first. The local vets all close between 5 and 5.30 so I've just missed them. We've only had the girls a couple of weeks so it would be so sad to loose one or both of them so early. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks, Cosmo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 I've just gone back down the garden to check on her. She's sat on the floor of the run and can't be convinced to move voluntarily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 Laying a soft-shelled egg can make them look extremely seedy, but they usually perk up afterwards. If she's looking better now, I'd just put it down to that. Soft-shelled eggs are not unusual when they are young birds and coming into lay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thanks Olly. Unfortunately she's just laid another even softer egg. I wasn't quick enough to see if the shell burst as it hit the ground or whether it was not formed. The yolk was intact. Really quite worried now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I'm going to take a pragmatic view; there's not much you can do at this time of night. If it's just because of laying softies - and it definitely isn't unusual for a hen that's just started laying - then she'll probably look better in the morning. If she isn't better, then she may need to see a vet. If it is just softies, you may need to tweak their diet. Are you feeding them any grit, and are they mainly eating pellets? I would cut down on any treats for a week or two, to make sure they're getting enough (commercial pellets will have minerals in), and maybe add some oyster shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Thanks again. She seems to have perked up so you might be right. They're on Haygates layers and have free access to mixed grit. They're only free range for an hour or so each evening and slightly longer at the weekends because the local cats have not worked out that the chickens fight back and we've had chaos in the garden a couple of times. I've been giving them a small amount of corn to get them back into the run but maybe I'll have to find another way that doesn't involve chasing them round too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 27, 2015 Share Posted July 27, 2015 I don't think a small amount of corn will hurt, as long as they're mostly eating pellets - it sounds as if their diet is fine and this is probably just because she's still getting her laying cycle sorted out and the eggs are moving through her too quickly for the shell to be applied. Hope she's looking good in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 I had a heart stopping moment when I opened their Go this morning as it took them both a few seconds to appear. Roy is definitely more herself but not 100% yet. She's laid another small softie in the run tonight (that I broke when I tried to remove it ) but she doesn't look distressed and is moving around more or less normally so hopefully she is just sorting herself out. I've seen her eat and drink so I'm much less concerned now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millie-Annie Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Bless her, her egg laying sounds all over the place. I am sure now she has moved those three through she will perk up. Welcome to the worrying world of chicken keeping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Sorry to hear about your troubles. As Olly has said, it isn't abnormal for a pullet to lay odd, irregular or soft-shelled eggs at first, and it usually sorts itself out over the next couple of weeks. If it doesn't right itself, then there are 3 possible reasons/treatments: 1. Diet: make sure that they have their pellets as 98% of their diet, with any treats kept to a minimum and only at the end of the day. You might want to try another brand... personally, I'm not a fan of Heygates, and usually feed mine Smallholder pellets. Make sure that they have access to plenty of grit as the soluble calcium will solve any calcium deficiency that she could have. 2. Worms - it is unlikely that she has a bad worm infestation at that age, but it might be worth taking a faecal sample to the vet for worm egg testing. They should be wormed regularly with Flubenvet (see FAQ section) as a heavy worm load can stop them laying or cause soft-shelled eggs. 3. Malfunctioning shell gland; she is too young to be suffering from 'womb exhaustion' as my farm vet delightfully terms it, but some young hens just have wonky shell glands and never produce an egg with a hard shell In commercial egg production, that hen would be culled before the others got the idea of eating the eggs. I hope that you manage to get this sorted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 I took faecal samples to the vet earlier today. She had been laying good eggs like clockwork every day until this started a couple of days ago. She laid 1 good egg, 1 rubber like egg and 4 shell-less eggs in 48 hours so it's almost she's working overtime and doesn't have time to put shell down on them. No sign of anything today so fingers crossed it's she's getting over her it and she'll get her normal rhythm back soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Yes, it sounds as if she is out of sync and the eggs aren't staying long enough in her shell gland to put a shell around the white. I would try to take her off-lay for a while if you are able to crate her up and keep her in the run; first no feed, just water with a little poultry tonic for 24 hours, then give her wheat and water only, that ought to stop her laying. You can help this along by keeping her crate darkened. Keep her on the wheat until she stops laying, then put her back on layers rations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 So I got home yesterday and headed down the garden all ready to crate her up. She was strutting around looking very pleased with herself and a quick peek into the go showed me why. She'd laid me a perfect egg I let her be in the hope that this was a return to normality and today she's laid another perfect egg Fingers crossed it stays that way. Thank you for all the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 That's good news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Great news! I hope that is the end of the problem for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
