- Nov 23, 2012
- 10
- 0
- 22
I came home tonight to find one of my hens "hiding" under the coop ramp. she was very lethargic and barely moved when i went to reach for her. Her chest looked puffy so my thought was sour crop. I put her in a nesting box and she just stood there closing her eyes on occasion. The crop felt like a balloon i massaged the crop it got smaller then and she pooped a little (small brown with clear liquid). Went out 45 min later and crop was balloon like again. massaged and she pooped. Went back out 30 min later and there was a soft egg. Massaged her again and she went to her roost. I did change their food last Friday and the others seem fine. Any suggestions
SO for the past month or so she's been gavin soft shelled eggs. Weird, so we upped her calcium. Still no luck. Yesterday she was making noises like she needed to lay and egg but never did. Started getting mopey, not eating/drinking, fluffed feathers, sulking head her vent was doing the same puckering like fish lips when a fish is out of water, her eyes were just not responsive to me... like she was looking straight through me. I immediately started researching and came up with egg bound or egg peritonitis.. As far as I felt there was no inflammation or any lumps. Finally she laid a shell less egg, but was still not right. Her poops were runny and had yellow, like the chalky yellow color of a cooked egg yolk. This matched up with egg peritonitis symptoms... maybe an egg had popped and she was pooping yolk. I decided things couldn't wait. Took her to the vet, they ran a culture test and said she has a raging infection at her egg tube opening which causes it to malfunction and not shell eggs. The vet also said that many people misdiagnose this as egg peritonitis or being egg bound. Beep got a big shot of antibiotics and was better last night. If you have an avian vet, I would go. If not, antibiotics could't hurt. I hope this helps! Crazy out of all the hours of internet research i did, nothing was the same answer as the vet gave me. I hope your girls get better. 
