Another Egg Bound Death?

[JohnHenry]

I just lost another hen, second one in a month to what appears to be egg bound. Yesterday she was fine out in the yard with me and today she is dead, I have been treating her all day with warm baths and sitting above steam but she lost the battle.

Symptoms.
At dusk she was found resting on the floor of the coop. I placed her on the roost and went to bed.
Morning at 8 am she was found resting on the floor, very sluggish and stumbles.
Gave her a warm water bath and placed under heat lamp. She cant really balance well. Throughout the day I gave her water with a dropper, she did swallow it moderately. Her vent pulsated.


Gave her another warm bath and placed her over warm water with heat lamp at 80 deg F. She had white running liquid drip out of her vent and it coagulated in the warm water.

She died at 3 pm.

I disected her to see if she had an egg but nothing was there, the only thing that stood out was her crop/gizzard was full of very dried grains. I didn't see any worms but I'm not sure I looked in the right place either. Would they be found in the large intestine?


It was all very quick, any ideas?

 

[JohnHenry]

I took some poo to the vet and had it checked for cocci and worms but nothing was found. So...

Not an egg
No worms
No Cocci
No signs of mites or lice.

Her feathers looked great with some thick down. The vet did mention another local vet that specializes in birds and they are seeing problems with Gut Flora

but its not my vet is no expert.

 

[dawg53]

I took some poo to the vet and had it checked for cocci and worms but nothing was found. So...

Not an egg
No worms
No Cocci
No signs of mites or lice.

Her feathers looked great with some thick down. The vet did mention another local vet that specializes in birds and they are seeing problems with Gut Flora

but its not my vet is no expert.

Problems in the gut flora could possibly indicate bacterial issues such as E Coli infections.

 

[JohnHenry]

Thanks dawg53.

I also found this in my searches that seems possible. The liquid that drained from her vent into the steaming water almost coagulated like egg.

This condition is sadly common in hybrid hens. It is known as "internal laying". Basically the egg yolk is produced but the oviduct fails to collect it and it drops into the abdominal cavity. This continues until it inevitably becomes infected, then the hen goes downhill very fast - this is egg yolk peritonitis, or EYP.
I have an exbat with the condition too, she has been like this since last Autumn. Antibiotics will only help to keep the infection away, but the eggs will still build up and the hens body cannot absorb them fast enough.
Draining may help, but you would only be delaying the inevitable, as that will only drain excess fluid, not the egg mass building up.

It is very unlikely that the bath would have done her harm - if anything she would have found it a little soothing.

I do feel for you - it is a horrible condition that many of us have had to deal with.