Not egg bound, it's EYP

[CrestedGirl]

My 2.5 year old, old english hen is what I believe to be egg bound. Yesterday afternoon I found her sitting down and not moving. When I picked her up her abdomen was very hard a swollen up like a balloon. I took her inside and soaked her in warm water for about 30 minutes. Then I dryed her off and put her in a crate with wood shaving and a towel over it. She has been able to walk, drink and eat, but she looks like she is in distress. She is making that pose to where it looks like she is about to lay an egg, but still nothing has come out.

Anyone have any info on this, i don't want my baby girl to die

please help!!!

 

[stoopid]

Looks like you're gonna have to go in there and help. And when I say IN there, get out the gloves.
I'm sure there's a thread here, with the # of posts you have, I'm sure you know how to find it.
Good luck!

 

[CrestedGirl]

Thank you, I have read that you can possibly break the egg when you are going "in there". Will it be safe to do so, or should I just give her another bath and see what happens?

 

[stoopid]

I would do it in the bath, she will be a bit more relaxed, and if it does break, it will be easier to clean up.
Go in to the outside of the egg, less of a chance for breakage, and swirl around it. Keep it nice and slippery in there.
And be calm, you should do fine.

 

[CrestedGirl]

I wasn't able to get it out during the bath

. Do have any other suggestions? How long will it be until my baby dies

I need help and fast!!

 

[stoopid]

Could you feel the egg? How did she react when you were in there? Panic, or was she relieved you were doing something?

 

[CrestedGirl]

I might have not gone far enough, I didn't feel the egg. She panicked when I was feeling for the egg and started flapping around in the tub.

 

[stoopid]

How does she look this morning?

 

[jjthink]

Give her a crushed Tums in a bit of water. Consistency that will easily be administered with a dropper. Dribble gently along her beak line so she swallows on her own and doesn't choke.

If you are able, an avian vet would provide the greatest chance for getting her through this.

JJ

 

[bakerjw]

I just dealt with a very similar issue. Read my post on EYP on this sub forum.

My hen was all bloated in her abdomen and I first suspected that she was egg bound. I gave her 2 good soakings with mild massages in a small tub and it didn't do any good. I then used some mineral oil in her vent and then reached in with a gloved and lubricated finger and probed into the upper canal called the oviduct and was unable to feel any firm object in there which mean that I was probably dealing with EYP (Egg Yolk Peritonitis). With EYP eggs that are formed do not enter the oviduct but make it into the body cavity where they can become infected and lead to bacterial infections. The effort of probing and her struggling made her breathing very labored. As the last resort I then had her held down and used a large hypodermic syringe and tried to see if I could draw out any liquid from her abdomen. There are many posts on here of people doing that to hens and they can survive from it if the liquid is runny. In the case of my hen I couldn't extract any liquid at all. I put her down immediately.

She didn't have a name other than being one of the girls but it was very hard nonetheless. My son and I both cried during and after so we're not heartless. Tough decisions sometimes require being tough. The only positive from putting down an ailing bird is that you can do a postmortem examination and determine what the cause was for the ailment which will help make a more well informed decision on future occurrences. When I opened up my hen her abdomen was full of a thick yellow substance that did not appear to be infected but nonetheless it was not something from which she would recover.

Some have taken an exacto knife and made a 1/4" incision into the abdominal cavity to relieve fluid. Or you can use a syringe to try to draw out any liquid. If there is no liquid I'd suspect that you could be dealing with something like I just went through. In 20/20 hindsight I should have put here down much earlier.

Sorry I don't have much better news.