What is this thing that came out of my chicken? I think some sort of egg?

[Rachel_liz15]

For size reference, it’s about the size of my pinky fingernail.

My 3&1/2 YO broad rock hen, Blanche, is having some issues. She had been having some bad diarrhea and was lacking luster. I separated her and determined she had an impacted (doesn’t appear to be sour) crop. I believe the blockage has cleared itself out and her condition seems to be improving. I’m currently waiting on the results from a fecal test. She had a crop issue back in July, I didn’t realize that’s what it was at the time, and the whole flock was treated for worms and coccidia at that time.

But she laid this weird egg thing (I’m assuming it’s an egg) yesterday that’s super tiny and I’m not sure what to make of it. Apparently she had another one of these about 2 weeks ago that my fiance’ failed to tell me about at the time. I’ve never dealt with any egg deformities and I can’t find anything on the internet that looks like this.

Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you in advanced!

 

[chickachicka12345]

yes that's a egg. it is just shell less. keep her separated from the flock untill she is back normal. make sure she stays hydrated and feed her scrambled eggs. good luck!!

 

[nuthatched]

Looks like either an underdeveloped yolk or a piece of lash material.
Her symptoms plus this could be sign of reproductive issues.

 

[Rachel_liz15]

Looks like either an underdeveloped yolk or a piece of lash material.
Her symptoms plus this could be sign of reproductive issues.

I was afraid of that… do you know if there’s anything I can do to help fix it?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I was afraid of that… do you know if there’s anything I can do to help fix it?

I also would suspect lash egg as a possibility. Have you cut it open to see what's inside yet?

See if these 2 links offer any suggestions that will work for you, if that's what it is..

https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

https://the-chicken-chick.com/causes-of-lash-eggs-salpingitis-by/

 

[Rachel_liz15]

I also would suspect lash egg as a possibility. Have you cut it open to see what's inside yet?

See if these 2 links offer any suggestions that will work for you, if that's what it is..

https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

https://the-chicken-chick.com/causes-of-lash-eggs-salpingitis-by/

I have not… I rolled up the puppy pad and threw it in the trash bag I have near her crate, but I will dig it out and cut it open if I have to later this afternoon/evening when I get home from work! In the meantime, thank you for the articles. I’ll take a look at them.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I would give her calcium citrate +D3 tablet once a day for about a week. What are you feeding? Do you provide oyster shell free feed?

 

[Rachel_liz15]

I would give her calcium citrate +D3 tablet once a day for about a week. What are you feeding? Do you provide oyster shell free feed?

I do have the calcium citrate at home. I will start that tonight.

We throw out the oyster shells every once in a while. I just got a small chick feeder actually and put that out there for them, but they knocked it over and it went everywhere. I have to find a way to secure it somehow so they have 24/7 access.

Right now, I am feeding them

Bar ALE Non-GMO 16% Protein Soy & Corn-Free Layer Pellet Chicken Feed.​

It’s from Chewy. For the longest time we were feeding them Nutrena feeds, but this past Summer my 2 RIR hens that were the same exact age as Blanche passed. After the second one died, I had a necropsy performed and it turned out she had fatty liver disease. Her liver actually ruptured while I was holding her in my lap, it was so awful. So anyhow I did a deep dive into fatty liver disease and found that a big factor is an excess of corn in their diet (among other foods/treats and lack of exercise). Corn is in A LOT of feeds because it’s cheap and also in scratch. Corn doesn’t hold any nutritional value for chickens either. The first ingredient in the Nutrena feeds I was using is corn AND we also gave them a lot of scratch with corn in it as treats because we didn’t know any better. So we have since completely cut corn out of their diet. I know that was an extremely over the top answer to your question, but I like to throw it out there so other people don’t have to find out the hard way like we did.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Here's how I serve the oyster shell and grit. I also got tired of them knocking over everything else, lol!

I have 20 birds and only have to fill these up about once a year.

 

[nuthatched]

I was afraid of that… do you know if there’s anything I can do to help fix it?

As long as she perks up and acts normal, I wouldn't be too concerned.