Vent prolapse and urate-y poop—egg bound?

[le_bwah]

Hello all—I've got a 1-year-old Coturnix quail hen who presented with a prolapsed vent last night. I cleaned her up and stuck it back in, along with a little hydrocortisone to help with swelling. This morning her vent looks MUCH better (can't get a good picture as she hates being held) but now she's having these weird, watery, urate-y poops. She's drinking normally, but I'm withholding food until I have a better grasp on the situation.

Index finger for scale.

Her posture has changed, too, an almost "hunchback" look with tail raised slightly. I can feel an egg in her abdomen that I couldn't feel last night. Could she be egg bound? Any idea what's causing her droppings to change?

 

[le_bwah]

SOLVED

Probed a thin, blunt, lubed tool handle into her vent until it struck the egg. Applied lubricant around the egg, gave her a light abdominal massage, then let her be. Two hours later, walked in to find a small, heavily-colored egg in her "hospital room." It had marks where the tool had struck it.

My guess is this was her first for the year (being small and misshapen) and her reproductive track wasn't 100% ready to handle egg laying. Her gait has since returned to normal and now I'm just waiting for her to lay another egg so I can confirm she's ready to rejoin the flock.

 

[casportpony]

How's she doing?

 

[le_bwah]

How's she doing?

She's doing well! Back to her chipper—if skittish—self. Never re-prolapsed, laying about every other day like the rest of my "old girls." Her eggs are oddly streaked, tho, as if the brown "paint" layer is being over-applied. Keeping an eye on her still, but at least now I know what to do if it happens again.