Chicken with egg bound symptoms but vent check shows there is no egg there!

[JosiAnnele]

Hi!
I'm worried about one of my chickens. She is acting lethargic and standing by herself. She is looking rather puffy, but I did a vent check but she doesn't seem to be egg bound. She also has poop on her tail feathers. She is starting to stand like a penguin. When I go over to her, she starts walking around and seems to be eating and drinking just fine. Her sister died a few months ago with the same symptoms and I'm worried the same will happen to this one. Any advice?
Thank you!
Josi

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of her and her poop?

If she's acting like she's having a hard time passing an egg, then I'd give her extra Calcium asap.
You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

 

[JosiAnnele]

Welcome To BYC

Do you have photos of her and her poop?

If she's acting like she's having a hard time passing an egg, then I'd give her extra Calcium asap.
You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ng-from-vent-prolapse-oh-my-what-to-do.76124/

Okay thanks for the advice! We will try to give her some calcium, however we give her shells everyday so she already has quite a bit. Do her symptoms sound like it could be anything else?

 

[NatJ]

Okay thanks for the advice! We will try to give her some calcium, however we give her shells everyday so she already has quite a bit.

As regards calcium: does she eat all the shells you give her? Or does she always leave some? If she is eating it all, she might need more calcium. If the shells are always available, so can eat as much as she wants, then it is less likely to be the cause of her problem.

But giving extra calcium for a few days, as @Wyorp Rock suggested, will probably not do any harm and might help. Some hens just don't eat as much calcium as they should, even when it is available all the time. If she is one of those hens, the extra calcium will fix the problem for now, and then you can figure out what to do on a more permanent basis.

Do her symptoms sound like it could be anything else?

Unfortunately I don't know enough about chicken problems to help much with that

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Okay thanks for the advice! We will try to give her some calcium, however we give her shells everyday so she already has quite a bit. Do her symptoms sound like it could be anything else?

The Calcium Citrate is for quick uptake and given to a hen that is in crisis for 3-5 days to see if it makes a difference.

Oyster Shell, egg shells - those are great for hens and should be offered free choice so the hens can pick up pieces as they want. Giving the extra calcium is often needed when a hen is in trouble like yours.

We aren't vets and can only take a good guess as to what may be ailing a hen. From your description, it sounds like she may have something reproductive going on.
Perhaps there's more than one issue, sometimes more than once condition is present at the same time.

Do a good basic check - is the crop emptying? any lice/mites?

If you have a vet that can run a fecal float for you, have them do so and rule out worms as part of the problem.

 

[JosiAnnele]

As regards calcium: does she eat all the shells you give her? Or does she always leave some? If she is eating it all, she might need more calcium. If the shells are always available, so can eat as much as she wants, then it is less likely to be the cause of her problem.

But giving extra calcium for a few days, as @Wyorp Rock suggested, will probably not do any harm and might help. Some hens just don't eat as much calcium as they should, even when it is available all the time. If she is one of those hens, the extra calcium will fix the problem for now, and then you can figure out what to do on a more permanent basis.


Unfortunately I don't know enough about chicken problems to help much with that

Okay that makes sense. Thank you for your help!

 

[JosiAnnele]

The Calcium Citrate is for quick uptake and given to a hen that is in crisis for 3-5 days to see if it makes a difference.

Oyster Shell, egg shells - those are great for hens and should be offered free choice so the hens can pick up pieces as they want. Giving the extra calcium is often needed when a hen is in trouble like yours.

We aren't vets and can only take a good guess as to what may be ailing a hen. From your description, it sounds like she may have something reproductive going on.
Perhaps there's more than one issue, sometimes more than once condition is present at the same time.

Do a good basic check - is the crop emptying? any lice/mites?

If you have a vet that can run a fecal float for you, have them do so and rule out worms as part of the problem.

Thanks for the clarification! I will check those other things as well. Thank you!