are chickens born with defective shell gland or can it develop over time?

[midge5000]

hi all,
i have a very healthy flock of three (barred rock, australorpe, and red star), with three chicks in a brooder for later introduction (blue ameraucana, ee, and silver laced polish). my hens are a year old, and were all great producers, with only a slight dip in winter. we did get a couple of ghost eggs, small eggs, and then one of our hens (i know now it was the red star) started laying quite large/long eggs with one wrinkly end. then we got an egg that was busted open and when i poured it in the sink, it seemed to have a teeny egg inside it! and that was the last of the eggs from our red star. it was her all along. and that last egg was March 29th. my hens are all as healthy as can be....they free range and also get layers crumbles, oyster shell, and treats like meal worms or organic veggie scraps. they get garlic and ACV in their water. no mites. no worms. no nothing. Red still goes into the coop, sits on the nest for extended periods of time, comes out and announces her egg. but there is never an egg. (i feel so bad for her
so, i decided to go with "defective shell gland" as the reason and stop losing sleep over it. but is that something that would develop over time? she was laying perfectly good eggs there for quite a while. if that isn't it, what could possibly be causing this?
thanks for any of your insight.
~rebecca

 

[Judy]

I believe the term "defective shell gland" refers to an inherited trait, but some diseases can cause egg problems as well.

Unfortunately, your red sounds like she might be an internal layer, a fairly common problem in hatchery birds, or she could have developed an ovarian cancer. I'm sure there are other possibilities. Here are soe links to read.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/639749/timeline-of-internal-laying-update/0_20

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/79443/tell-me-about-your-internal-layers/80_20#post_6235380 (esp. post 92)

 

[midge5000]

hey judy,
definitely not what i was hoping to hear but the more i read, the more it seems like it could be a fit. thanks for taking the time to reply to me. i thought i had googled it all, but i don't think i ever would have figured it out on my own.
thanks again,
rebecca

 

[Judy]

Two things that we can treat that will make chickens very sick or even kill them are worms and lice/mites -- just in case you have never treated for these. Valbazen is a great first time wormer, relatively gentle on them even if they have a heavy load, and kills all types. Give 0.5ml by mouth to each bird (squirt it in or put it on breadd -- you'll need a helper) then repeat the worming in 10 days. Of course if they are loaded with lice/mites ou will see the tiny things if you look closely.

It's not so much that I think it's likely this is the problem -- though it could be as a heavy worm load can cause all sorts of thins, including stopping laying. It's just that it's something we can do something about -- unlike the other stuff, unfortunately.

I'm sorry, and good luck.

 

[chitownhens]

I have an Easter Egger with I'm guessing is a defective shell gland. She hasn't laid an egg with a shell for over 6 months granted they don't lay much in the winter. Now that she seems to be laying more is anyone familiar with this issue and what the long term prognosis might be. She is healthy otherwise and this all might be related to an issue she had over a year ago where she experienced a neurological event and went blind for a week but recovered or it could also simply be a separate issue. Thank you.

 

[aart]

I have an Easter Egger with I'm guessing is a defective shell gland. She hasn't laid an egg with a shell for over 6 months granted they don't lay much in the winter. Now that she seems to be laying more is anyone familiar with this issue and what the long term prognosis might be. She is healthy otherwise and this all might be related to an issue she had over a year ago where she experienced a neurological event and went blind for a week but recovered or it could also simply be a separate issue. Thank you.

View attachment 1297768

Oh, that's a weird one!
How long is that thing in inches?
Need some info filled in.
How old is she?
What is your general geographical location?

Went blind for a week...what month and year did that happen?
Did she lay normally after that event?

She's been laying soft or shell-less egg for the last 6 months?
How often does she lay these, any normal eggs in that time period?

What and how exactly are you feeding?

More about your flock would help also:
- flock size(numbers, ages, genders)?
- coop(size in feet by feet with pics)?

 

[chitownhens]

Probably about 5" She is about 3 years old now and we are in Chicago, IL I will post a video on the blindness issue. It might have been Marek's related as it started with her falling down but she somehow recovered from it all and was left with only a slight impairment in one eye. Yes she did lay normally after that so it wasn't an issue. I thought maybe it was calcium related but that didn't help as there is no shell to even strengthen. Well over the winter she didn't really lay but now as the season peaks I can tell when she is in distress as there is an egg that needs to come out. It might take all day and she will drink copious amounts of water. The feed is the same as the other hens a soy free layer feed and she gets some additional wheat. I doubt that it's going to be flock related or coop size related those are all good and the flock size is about 20 mixed. She is the only hen that has this issue and mainly I'm concerned with how long can she survive in this condition. Maybe it will get better or maybe it doesn't matter.

 

[aart]

The feed is the same as the other hens a soy free layer feed and she gets some additional wheat. I doubt that it's going to be flock related or coop size related those are all good and the flock size is about 20 mixed.

DOH, missed the chitown in your screen name.
She may need more nutrition, do you know the overall protein?
Tho you're correct if she's the only one having problems,
it's probably not the diet.
Sounds like she had multiple issues over her life,
so hard to say if it can be 'fixed'.
But you might try giving her a calcium supplement.
@azygous recommends Calcium Citrate with Vit D.
I guess it can jump start the calcium uptake process,
am about to try it myself with a thin shell layer.

 

[chitownhens]

DOH, missed the chitown in your screen name.
She may need more nutrition, do you know the overall protein?
Tho you're correct if she's the only one having problems,
it's probably not the diet.
Sounds like she had multiple issues over her life,
so hard to say if it can be 'fixed'.
But you might try giving her a calcium supplement.
@azygous recommends Calcium Citrate with Vit D.
I guess it can jump start the calcium uptake process,
am about to try it myself with a thin shell layer.

Okay thanks I just switched to Calcium Orotate as it's suppose to be better as far as absorption goes and I was using the Citrate. The soy free layer feed is high in protein mostly fish meal and peas for protein. I could try some separate soy just for her and see what happens. I don't eat eggs from hens fed soy but I can manage here. Yes she has had quite a few issues and initially survived a very bad prolapsed vent when she first started laying. This hen was a very big cheese eater before the blindness issue. She is our favorite for many reasons and she loved cheese. It's now too hard to hand feed her cheese with the slight eye impairment so maybe you are right about the calcium. I will keep working at it. Thanks,

 

[aart]

Okay thanks I just switched to Calcium Orotate as it's suppose to be better as far as absorption goes and I was using the Citrate.

How were/are you applying this.....pilling, mixing in feed..??
What dosages?
Any Vit D?