Egg Binding

[mebuff daisy]

One of my 3 year old Redstars has been acting very strange for the past 3 weeks.
Walking like a person and though she will eat some treats her breast bone is very sharp

I just found this huge lump by her vent, it feels like there is an egg in there
She is in a cage right now but I do not know what to do
Any advice will be very appreciated
Thanks

 

[mebuff daisy]

Please help me.. She is getting worse

 

[casportpony]

Can you post a picture of her?

-Kathy

 

[Our Roost]

Well, I had a hen called sarah and she passed having the same issues. It wasnt pleasant as she was a real sweety. A bowl of nearly hot water to ease her rear into a sit bath was reccomended to me. So I tried it and it worked. She laid the most deformed egg I had ever seen. Internal infection got her and I recognized the problem way too late. Rub her stomach while you have her in the hot bath. She may not like it at first but will soon feel comforted and relax. Give that a try and I hope it helps.

 

[casportpony]

A very sick bird should not be bathed... Instead, I suggest that one fill their bathroom with steam and place the bird in there. Of course this will only work if the lump is actually an egg.

-Kathy

 

[Our Roost]

Aaauk! You dont put the whole bird in a bath silly, just its rump.

 

[casportpony]

Aaauk! You dont put the whole bird in a bath silly, just its rump.

Getting a critically ill bird wet can kill it, as can just handling it.

-Kathy

 

[Our Roost]

If the bird is at the critical point you so suggest, its beyond the help I mentioned.

 

[casportpony]

If the bird is at the critical point you so suggest, its beyond the help I mentioned.

How do we know where it's at? The OP said that it's quite thin, which implies that this has been going on for quite some time and that the bird is not eating/drinking properly, right? The OP also states that the bird is getting worse, which to me means it's going downhill fast. If it were mine, I would bring it inside and try to stabilize it by placing it in a warm room (80-85 degrees). Once warm, I would give it warmed fluids and sugar orally via tube (15ml per pound once, and repeat in 60 minutes),as I'm sure it's dehydrated and hypoglycemic. Once stabilized, I would check the inside of her vent and confirm an egg or mass. If there was an egg, I would set my water heater to high, fill my bathroom with steam (extractor fans off), give oral calcium gluconate at 50mg per pound and leave in warm, steamy bathroom for several hours.

Seen too many people kill their bird by soaking them in warm water.

-Kathy

 

[Our Roost]

Interesting to note you suggest putting chickens bottom halfs in heated water can kill them if one suspects egg binding. Could you please provide some professional data to support that logic? Pretty close friends with our country vet and we would like to know where you obtained this information from? No need to argue here, just curious.