Severe egg bound- our treatment and she begins recovery

Severe egg bound- I'll describe our treatment, she is starting to recover. Any further advice or comments welcome. Was there anything we could/should have done differently? What can we do now to help her recover?

Background- we have three Columbian Wyandotte pullets and a cockerel, all about 5 months old. We just got them two weeks ago. One pullet started laying two days ago. Yesterday afternoon I noticed that another pullet, Dlttie, was egg bound and severly prolapsed, to a frightening degree. There is a very graphic image on wikipedia (caution, very graphic), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oviduct-hen.jpg - the part shown with the egg in that photo was entirely pushed external, along with some of the oviduct.

I brought her inside, put her in a tub of warm water and gently washed her, then wiped her with KY jelly. Unfortunately she was so swollen I couldn't find the vent, so I just had to keep her clean and comfortable for two hours until my wife (who is a Registered Nurse) could get home. By the way, through all of this, Dottie was a wonderful patient, she stayed quiet and calm, didn't fight me or twist around in my arms. She was a great patient, quiet, she didn't struggle, and part of the time I could hypnotize her (hold a chicken upside down, rub the crop and throat, the eyes roll up and they go into a daze).

My wife spread olive oil over Dottie and was finally able to find the vent (it was difficult to locate), and cleaned out a broken first egg. We then sprayed Blu-Kote on Dottie and put her in a nesting box (pine shavings) and gave her a water bowl (mixed with aspirin per the recommendations here on BYC, 5 tablets per gallon). Fortunatrely after a little while she pooped a bit, and it wasn't bloody. We let her rest for a few hours, then noticed she seemed really lethargic, almost seemed dead, so I held her and my wife fed her some aspirin water with an eyedropper. It was hard at first to get her to open her mouth, but we got her to take two droppers full, then I put her in the nest. She immediately went to her water bowl, and drank non-stop for quite a while- she must have drunk 3 ounces or more (see the lower photo below). I refilled the bowl and let her sleep.

She spent the night nested down in the box and did poop a bit over night. This morning we cleaned her again and my wife checked her, and removed a very small egg from her, to make sure there is no internal pressure until the swelling goes down and everything gets pulled back inside. (My wife was able to tuck some of the oviduct inside, but a lot is still pushed out and swollen). We then sprayed more Blu-Kote.

Dottie has been standing up the past hour, not moving much, but she does take an occasional drink or peck at her bedding and food, she is really fluffed up- see this photo. Is she bloated or impacted, or just fluffed up to keep warm? Any other suggestions?





By the way, our cockerel, Brooster, is very upset and agitated this morning, pacing back and forth nervously and growling. I'm planning to take Dottie out to the coop in a few hours, just for a brief visit so they can see each other. We're thinking doing this each day will help the reintegration when she is recovered and ready to move back in with the others. Your thoughts?

I have no answers for you, but I will be watching for future reference. Sounds like you did a fantastic job under very stressful conditions.

I have read putting preparation H on the swollen tissues helps shrink them.Try doing a search under prolapse. Good luck. Deb

Quote:
It's all thanks to BYC; I've been reading the posts here for the past year, so when I spotted the problem I had a good idea what it was and what to do. I then logged on and quick read some more.

Quote:
Sounds like a good idea, we'll try the prepH, and I'll read up on prolapse.

Here's another shot showing how fluffy she is. What does that indicate, is it anything to be concerned about? The room she is in is around 60 degrees F, but it's a bit colder near the floor. We did lay out padded paper packing material under her cage to insulate some, and she sits and stands on the pine shavings inside the box.

BTW, she is nibbling at the pine shavings, I got them from a horse tack store sold as a 50 lb bag of bedding, so I hope it isn't treated with any chemicals. I also gave her a bowl with some BOSS and feed; I mixed a bit of olive oil (first cold pressed virgin Italian- real Italian, not the Spanish/Greek olives packaged in Italy) with the seed and feed, to help lubricate her. She's had a few of the seeds, but she hasn't eaten much at all.

I have no idea why she's all puffed up unless it's because she's in a bit of pain. She sure is pretty though!

Good luck!

Perhaps shock is making her cold?

Update.
Midday today I took her out to the run for a 10 minute visit, she perked up a bit, the other rubbed alongside her, and she ate a little food, drank a sip of water and walked around. However, since I brought her back she's been very lethargic, sleeping and barely moving, but her breathing is strong. She didn't drink at all after returning to her "hospital room" in our house.

The only antibiotic I could find is Ornacycline (Tetracycline hydrochloride) from a pet store, for birds. It says 1 packet (250mg) per 8 oz water for small birds (canaries), 2 packets for larger birds (mynah) so we mixed a bit stronger, about 3 packets in 10 oz water together with two baby aspirins and some honey. We used a syringe, got her to drink about 10cc. We washed her rear and spread honey all over, and after 10 minutes there was some visible reduction in the swelling.

She does seem to be in pain and perhaps in shock, she's staying very still sitting in her box with her eyes closed. We're keeping fingers crossed, hope all this eases her pain, prevents infection, and her spark returns soon.

btw, we have a little heater near her cage, so it's probably around 60 to 65 degrees there. (we're in the Chicago area, its getting down to freezing every night).

Please keep us posted!

I don't know the answer but am anxious to hear how she is. Please keep us updated. Sounds like you are all doing a fantastic job. She is gorgeous.

I don't think her fluffiness is a temperature response. It is body language - her head is pulled in and she is fluffed like any chicken that is hurting or sick. She is plenty old enough that her "down coat" is very warm.