Big thanks to our resident chicken vet and a story worth sharing!

A little background info:

You may or may not know that our group is blessed to have an avian vet as a member! Earlier this year I asked Nisana Miller for advice about my girl Hennietta, who had an infection in the spring of 2025, was treated by my local avian vet, and she hasn't laid an egg since last April. A few days ago she was injured when she fell from her roosting bars overnight, and I reached out to her again for advice. I'm sharing our conversation with her permission. Thank you for everything, Nisana!!

Jan 17th 2026

Nisana Miller

6:55pm

Hey! Just wanted to ask a couple questions. So she stopped laying before going onto antibiotics?

Jan 18th 2026

Debbi Jesse

9:55pm

Yes. About a month before. At first I thought she might have vent gleet, even though it didn't look like "textbook" case. I treated her with Monistat 7 day, no change, so I took her to the vet. They did X-rays and vent swab. Doc said she found coccidia, but it wasn't coccidiosis. They put her on antibiotics. She's been healthy and normal ever since. She even gets in the nesting boxes from time to time. She wants to lay an egg, but nothing ever happens. She even sings when she leaves the box like she laid an egg. It's so weird!

Jan 19th 2026

Nisana Miller

11:07am

That is odd, I know the antibiotic she was on can cause a delay in coming back to production, usually about a month or two but not this long usually. It was likely a bacterial infection, hence why she got better after treatment. Sometimes they can get infections in their reproductive tract that mess with the tissue and they aren’t able to form an egg correctly. As we come into spring, let me know how she does. Sadly it may just be that the infection messed with her reproductive tract enough that she isn’t going to lay anymore, but it might just take time to heal. I’m glad she is at least feeling better and acting normal.

May 13th 2026

Debbi Jesse

10:06pm

Hey Nisana!

Two days ago, my 2 year old hen, Hennietta, fell about 4 feet from her roosting bar during the night. She had minor injuries, a swollen ankle and bruised on her chest below her crop.

Last year around this time she was treated for a bacterial infection and hasn't laid an egg since April 18, 2025. Today she laid this! At first I thought it was a lash egg, but it was filled with albumin! Have you any experience with anything like this? I greatly appreciate your feedback!

Debbi

May 14th 2026

Nisana Miller

6:11am

Hey Debbi😊

Oh wow, what a case! thank you for sending all that background on Hennietta, it really helps piece things together!

So what she laid is actually a shell-less egg, but here’s what’s interesting, that thick, bumpy, leathery outer layer you’re seeing? That’s the shell membrane, and it sounds like it’s unusually thickened compared to what you’d typically see. Normally that membrane is thin and papery, so the fact that it’s substantial and textured tells me her shell gland was attempting to do something. it just never got to the calcium deposition stage.

Given her history, a couple of things jump out at me:

Her fall almost certainly triggered this ovulation. Stress and trauma can cause a follicle to release prematurely, and a hen that’s been in a laying pause for over a year is going to produce a rough first egg back regardless.

And that prior bacterial infection is a real factor here. If that infection involved her oviduct at all, it can leave behind scar tissue or dysfunction that affects how eggs form, including abnormal membranes and poor shell quality.

The albumin fill is actually reassuring in a weird way. it means her magnum is still producing. But I’d want to know how she’s doing overall. Is she acting bright and eating normally? Any straining or tail pumping? Given her history I’d keep a close eye on her.

Keep me posted on how she does!

May 14th 2026

Debbi Jesse

10:00am

Nisana,

Thank you so much for the quick response!!

I too thought that it was shell-less, but it was hard like shell over about half of the surface. Some of it was rubbery like a soft shell egg. The pointed end was open and membrane was coming out. I rinsed it all off and dried it. Part of the shell remained intact, part crumbled, part was soft and part was never formed. Truly the most bizarre thing I've ever seen!

Hennietta is doing fairly well considering how hard she landed. I can tell her ankle and/or foot are still tender, but she's been active and almost normal. She doesn't scratch at the soil but she was hopping up into the compost bins (I helped her down because I didn't want her landing hard on that leg), she's eating, drinking, dustbathing, and generally acting happy. She was a little wobbly at times and just a little "off."

We kept her inside for a day after her fall. I don't think I mentioned that before. After reviewing coop camera footage of her fall, she hit her chest on the roosting bars and landed hard on her left leg and her open left wing, so I didn't want her running, jumping, flying, etc. I gave her an Epson salts soak and blow dried her the day we let her back outside.

May 14th 2026

Nisana Miller

1:24pm

Debbi, this update is so helpful, and those photos really tell the story! I couldn’t see the texture that well on the first one. What you’re describing is essentially a dysmaturation event across the entire shell gland. The fact that part hardened, part stayed rubbery, part crumbled, and part never formed at all tells me the calcium deposition was happening in an uncoordinated, interrupted way rather than failing completely. That’s actually a distinct finding from a classic soft shell.

Looking at the photos, I can see the shell has a chalky, almost porous texture on the exterior with uneven thickness, which is consistent with disrupted uterine transit time.

The good news is that her behavior sounds really positive. Eating, drinking, dustbathing. That’s a hen who feels well.

My main watch items going forward would be any straining, tail pumping, or drop in appetite, which could signal a retained egg or developing salpingitis. If she lays again soon, let me know what it looks like. Her next egg will tell us a lot about where her oviduct is settling.😊

Debbi Jesse

1:50pm

❤️🐔👍🏼

Debbi Jesse

2:03pm

I want to tell you how much I appreciate the help you've given me!!!

Nisana Miller

2:18pm

Of course😊 I’m happy to help. If you know anyone else with chickens that might benefit from our community, feel free to invite them. I want to be able to help as many owners as I can

May 14th 2026

Debbi Jesse

10:25pm

You're awesome and I will! I know so many chicken owners have a hard time finding veterinary care, it's amazing you're here and want to help!

Good news, Hennietta was scratching and digging for worms today.

May 15th 2026

Nisana Miller

6:14am

Yay!!! Sounds like a happy girl😊

Debbi Jesse

6:34am

Is it okay if I share my experience and parts of our conversations with the group? I'm guessing this is a rare occurrence and thought it might be interesting and informative.

Nisana Miller

6:34am

Yes please! That would be a wonderful post with pictures!

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