Several of you have written me concerned about Daisy the hen who had an egg break inside of her. Click here. I have been hesitant to give you an update until I could really see some progress. It is hard to know whether she truly has something wrong inside her where the egg is formed, or whether her problem is dietary.
I got some really good advice on how to treat her. It is difficult to treat a chicken that has a chronic problem with forming eggs. If it were possible, I’d have an hysterectomhy done on Daisy and just have her as a pet. Forget the eggs. But alas, I don’t want to put her through that, and to be honest, I don’t think it can be done.
Treating a dietary problem is the best option. Electrolytes were recommended. They are relatively inexpensive and are made for poultry and farm animals. The packaged powder contains electrolytes and vitamins. When we put Daisy back in the run with the other hens we treated the water with electrolytes. That means all the hens drank the solution and all of them showed a change in their energy level. It was like I had put the camera on high speed. They dashed from place to place and when Don and I sat in the run, they hopped on and off our laps, never really settling down. They looked, like I feel, when I’ve drunk too many cappuccinos. After a week we discontinues the electrolytes.
We were advised to continue making oyster shell available to the hens and to dry their eggshells when we cook with eggs, pulverize them, and add the powdered shells to their feed. I also bought a powdered supplement call “Omega Ultra Egg”. A quarter of a cup is to be sprinkled into their food each day. Tulip, the Ameraucana, loved it. The first day it was added, she scooped it up in her beak and gulped it down, leaving nothing for the other hens. She promptly suffered diarrhea from the rich supplement.
Daisy has layed one egg every three days for the past two weeks. The first three broke as she pushed them out. Then she began laying eggs that were intact but had deformed shells. Each egg that she has layed in the past week has appeared more and more normal. Does this mean that she is cured? I am hesitant to be too optimistic. She is acting normal, however, and that is good news. She once again scratches in the dirt, dust bathes, enjoys sitting in the sun, and sits on my lap in the evening. We hope that she will continue to strengthen and be with us for many years!
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So glad to hear. I know how you feel. When I was nursing my chicken back to health I waited till I felt she was in “the clear” before I wanted to talk about it. I just started feeding mine the oyster shell a few weeks ago ..she loves it. I also always let her eat her shell ..I dont kow if Im supposed to but she loves that too, and I feel like she deserves it. I hope your chicken keeps up the good work ..its such an awful feeling of helplessness when our pets need us. :0)
Rather than fancy supplements and oyster shell, I think it’s better to keep it simple. Chickens need calcium to have strong egg shells. I feed our hens cottage cheese. They think it is a wonderful treat, and it gives them plenty of calcium. Watching them eat it is hilarious, and it’s a healthy treat that they will love. Hope all is well with your girls!
Thanks for reminding me about cottage cheese. I do give it to them when I buy it in the big cartons at Costco and it is too much for us. I also give them plain yogurt about once a week. Yes, indeed, it is fun watching them attack it. Is there anything that chickens won’t eat? I haven’t found it yet!