The weirdest thing just happened... has this happened to anyone else?

[AnimalCrazed]

Doing some spring coop maintenance and noticed I had a hen that could use a nail trim. I picked her up and walked inside to get the trimmers. Then all of the sudden I had egg yolk running down my leg!! What the heck, I thought! Freaked me out a bit. I thought she had an egg stuck or something but there were no shell bits at all just the yolk and some white... in the 8 years of raising chickens this was a first! I've been pooped on plenty of times carying a chicken but never yolked on! Has anyone else had something like this happen? I should mention it was 5pm too so everyone was already done laying for the day! Really weird!

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

@casportpony @Eggcessive @staceyj

 

[AmaranthineAcres]

Oh wow! You're certain there is no broken shell in her?

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

Looks like she broke the egg! I would feel around better!

 

[AnimalCrazed]

I checked the vent and even felt her all around... I watched her for a long while after I put her back and she seems to be acting normal too, so IDK!

 

[itspebbl]

That is so strange. Is it possible that it was a shell less egg, and the membrane broke before she could lay it? That would explain why you didn't feel any shell

 

[AnimalCrazed]

I was wondering that too! I might just have to glove up and really check things out, or give her a warm soak.

 

[Eggcessive]

It could have been a shell-less egg that broke and the membrane might not have been noticed. Or an egg that broke inside. I would give her a dose of a 1/2 human calcium tablet or Tums tonight and for the next several days, to see if it helps firm up egg shells. I would keep an eye on her the next few days to see if she is having more egg material in her poops. Do you have any antibiotics? If her egg broke inside, she might benefit from some amoxicillin or baytril. If the egg did not break inside, then you would only need to give some calcium. This is a shell-less egg membrane, but many are very wrinkled up and may be seen hanging out of the vent, until a hen comes along and grabs it.

 

[AnimalCrazed]

I just gave her a warm bath and now we're just chilling in front of a vent heater. I checked again to see if there was anything stuck in her vent but still found nothing... so I always add whole corn to the feed in the winter, and usually stop when they start laying and just do layer feed. This hen just started laying again so I'm wondering if she wasn't getting enough calcium because she was eating too much corn!

Thanks I'm going to put her in a separate pen and make sure she's getting what she needs!

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

I would cut out the corn and only offer it as a treat. It is nothing but empty calories.