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- #211
Thanks for the clarification! My chicken definently had an infection of some sort as her belly was very hot and bloated for the past couple of days. I cant imagine she didnt have an infection with all that heat. She seems to be doing better since the antibiotic injections (breathing better but still somewhat heavy and heat has gone way down on abdomen). She is also still doing her shuffle and looks like she's trying to pass something. Since Wednesday (possibly before) she has only once passed what looked like a bloody egg "membrane", cooked yolk piece, and feces (Friday after vet). All other excrements have been fecal matter. There was nothing felt before the vet visit near the vent up the rectum. Do you think it would be worth doing another exam to feel if something is there or possible another soak in Epsom salts? I wonder if an egg did break inside her, she got an infection, passed the contents, and has another egg bound? I will look more into egg binding.
It's hard to say what exactly is happening to your hen. All you can do is do treat for infection once, hope there was something to actually treat (internal laying can't be treated). A soak won't help unless there is an actual egg there to expel. Masses of cooked yolk mixed with solidified infection most likely won't pass by soaking her. They are there to stay. She may not be completely blocked off yet. I know you want to do something, but there is probably nothing you can do other than make her comfortable and warm or euthanize her.
The reason antibiotics won't really help with most infections is that by the time you realize she has one, the infection has turned into a cheesy mass that is not going to pass. Antibiotics will not break that up. Chickens hide illness until they are very, very critical, generally.