Soft shelled eggs broken inside chicken

[MarlaMac]

One of my ~2yr old Black Australorp chickens had part of a soft shell sticking out of her vent.
Yesterday, this particular hen jumped up on a rock next to where we were sitting and let us pick her up. This is not normal for our chickens. While they are people friendly they are not lap chickens. After about 15 minute of sitting on my lap, I decided, on a whim, to look at her vent. She had some dried poo attached to a sliver of a soft shell. I gently pulled on the shell and some of the shell came out, but it broke off. The rest retreated in with one of her vent contractions. Her vent looks completely normal.

Brought her in washed her up and let her sleep inside in a cage so I could monitor her eating/pooping.

Her poops overnight we all liquid-y with yellowish urates. Today her poos have small solids, greenish in color (I think this is b/c she is not eating a whole lot) with lots of what appears to be egg white consistency and still the yellow-ish urates. Attaching pictures.

She is inside so I can monitor her. She has eaten a little crumble today, none of the scrambled eggs I put down and she gobbled up the watermelon piece I put in just a bit ago (so at least I know she is getting hydration).

I have started her on 600mg calcium citrate +D3 and Amoxicillin. I did give her about a 10 min epsom salt soak this morning.

What concerns me is that this is the second time this hen has had this happen. I will have to go and check my previous post to see when that was. I felt between her legs and she does feel a little squishy, but honestly, I don't know what I am trying to feel or it that is more/less squishy than normal. I felt her directly after the Epsom salt bath, so her muscles could have just been relaxed.

Her comb/wattles look normal and she is not lethargic.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[azygous]

Great! You knew just what to do for your hen. Continue with the calcium until you're sure she's passed all the egg remains. She will start acting like she feels much better when the remains are all out of her.

Continue with a full ten days on amoxy. She has an infection starting and this should take care of it. Her poop should lose the yellow color as the infection comes under control.

Unfortunately, once a hen has this problem, you will probably have to deal with it again at some point.

 

[MarlaMac]

Great! You knew just what to do for your hen. Continue with the calcium until you're sure she's passed all the egg remains. She will start acting like she feels much better when the remains are all out of her.

Continue with a full ten days on amoxy. She has an infection starting and this should take care of it. Her poop should lose the yellow color as the infection comes under control.

Unfortunately, once a hen has this problem, you will probably have to deal with it again at some point.

Thank you. I have learned a lot over the past two year from the good people on this forum!

Should I keep her confined until her poop returns to normal so I know that she is on the mend?

 

[azygous]

No need for confinement. She will let you know by her behavior she i over the crisis.

 

[Mason Farm and Ranch]

One of my ~2yr old Black Australorp chickens had part of a soft shell sticking out of her vent.
Yesterday, this particular hen jumped up on a rock next to where we were sitting and let us pick her up. This is not normal for our chickens. While they are people friendly they are not lap chickens. After about 15 minute of sitting on my lap, I decided, on a whim, to look at her vent. She had some dried poo attached to a sliver of a soft shell. I gently pulled on the shell and some of the shell came out, but it broke off. The rest retreated in with one of her vent contractions. Her vent looks completely normal.

Brought her in washed her up and let her sleep inside in a cage so I could monitor her eating/pooping.

Her poops overnight we all liquid-y with yellowish urates. Today her poos have small solids, greenish in color (I think this is b/c she is not eating a whole lot) with lots of what appears to be egg white consistency and still the yellow-ish urates. Attaching pictures.

She is inside so I can monitor her. She has eaten a little crumble today, none of the scrambled eggs I put down and she gobbled up the watermelon piece I put in just a bit ago (so at least I know she is getting hydration).

I have started her on 600mg calcium citrate +D3 and Amoxicillin. I did give her about a 10 min epsom salt soak this morning.

What concerns me is that this is the second time this hen has had this happen. I will have to go and check my previous post to see when that was. I felt between her legs and she does feel a little squishy, but honestly, I don't know what I am trying to feel or it that is more/less squishy than normal. I felt her directly after the Epsom salt bath, so her muscles could have just been relaxed.

Her comb/wattles look normal and she is not lethargic.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you.

I got nothing. It seems to me you have this about as under control as it's going to get.

Maybe observe her for a few days and see if there's anything that might be causing it. Is she getting picked on at night? Maybe she's being over mated. Possibly a yeast infection that hasn't manifested visible symptoms? Heat stress?

Or, as with some breeds, they have a genetic defect and you do what you can when it pops up.

But as for the current situation, you're on top of it.

 

[MarlaMac]

I got nothing. It seems to me you have this about as under control as it's going to get.

Maybe observe her for a few days and see if there's anything that might be causing it. Is she getting picked on at night? Maybe she's being over mated. Possibly a yeast infection that hasn't manifested visible symptoms? Heat stress?

Or, as with some breeds, they have a genetic defect and you do what you can when it pops up.

But as for the current situation, you're on top of it.

Thanks. Old post, she is fine now after antibiotic treatment. Sometimes old post show up on my feed. I always have to look at the date before posting.

 

[Gendro]

Thanks. Old post, she is fine now after antibiotic treatment. Sometimes old post show up on my feed. I always have to look at the date before posting.

This is currently happening to my barred rock, I started her on amoxicillin and crushed up calcium. She is on day 4 of the runny egg ‘white’ looking poops mixed with green. Yours bounced back?? She is one of my favourite most vocal girls

 

[MarlaMac]

This is currently happening to my barred rock, I started her on amoxicillin and crushed up calcium. She is on day 4 of the runny egg ‘white’ looking poops mixed with green. Yours bounced back?? She is one of my favourite most vocal girls

Yes. I had to pull out some of the soft shell. I did a 7 day round of amoxicillin and she is fine now. I gave 200mg 2x daily along with a full tablet of Calcium Citrate + D3.

Hope your hen bounces back.

 

[Gendro]

Yes. I had to pull out some of the soft shell. I did a 7 day round of amoxicillin and she is fine now. I gave 200mg 2x daily along with a full tablet of Calcium Citrate + D3.

Hope your hen bounces back.

I pulled a half shelled soft egg out of her (recently adopted her) I got what I thought most of it out and monitored her droppings the last couple of days. I gave her amoxicillin after reading your post. Her crop feels a little soft was yours normal? She’s been up and down the last 2 days, thank you for replying!!

 

[MarlaMac]

I pulled a half shelled soft egg out of her (recently adopted her) I got what I thought most of it out and monitored her droppings the last couple of days. I gave her amoxicillin after reading your post. Her crop feels a little soft was yours normal? She’s been up and down the last 2 days, thank you for replying!!

Do you know how long was the soft shell inside her? Broken shells inside can lead to egg yolk peritonitis (EYP) or EYP can lead to soft shell eggs that break when the hen tries to expel it.

How do her poops look? Are you still seeing yellow urates? If you are she is still fighting the infection and/or the yolk has not completely been expelled. How does her vent look? Is it swollen or red or does it look normal? Can you see or feel anything around that area?

My girl did not have a soft crop, but I have read that when things at the end of the digestive system get wonky it can slow everything else down. How does her breath smell? Is her crop emptying overnight? Is it nice and flat in the morning before she has any food or water? A sour smell would indicate sour crop and a crop not emptying overnight means that something in the digestive system isn't working correctly.

I am going to look and see if I can find a thread that talks about dosage and duration for EYP. I will tag this thread when I find it.

I would imagine that the longer the egg yolk was inside the more infection that she will have to fight off. Keep up with the amoxicillin and hopefully she will bounce back.
.
Admittedly, I am no expert in this area of chicken care. Perhaps @Wyorp Rock or @Eggcessive might have better advice for you and your girl.