Bloated Chicken - We think she's backed up with eggs, what to do?

[sbyrne137]

We have an extremely bloated chicken and are unsure how to proceed with her. She seems to be in pain because she just lays in the yard and if we move her, she stays in whatever position we place her in. Her back end was covered in poop and what looked like egg yolk, we cleaned her up and these are the pictures we took afterwards. Our theory is that she may be 'backed up' with eggs. So what do we do to help her now? Here are a few pictures just in case they can help diagnose our chicken problem.

Thanks so much!

 

[Blue_Myst]

The poor thing

Is her abdomen hard, or 'squishy'? It could be eggbinding, but there are two other conditions which come to mind. One is 'peritonitis', which is a type of internal laying. Another is a condition where fluid builds up in the abdomen, in which case you can drain it to relieve the stress.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=86999 Here is an old thread I found about the peritonitis thing. This hen's case was very bad, as you can see.

Best of luck with her

 

[sbyrne137]

I would say soft, but I really have nothing to compare it too. Although we've had the girls for several years, we've really never had any major health problems and as a result, aren't very well versed in that area.

She did just pass a very small (probably 1inch long) egg that is extremely soft shelled. However, she seems to have gotten no relief from it, and has passed nothing more since then.

 

[sonew123]

a nice long bath?

 

[sbyrne137]

She also has white fluid oozing slowly out of her vent, although again, not a rate high enough to give her any relief it seems.

What do you mean by a bath? literally submerging her in warm water? Sorry to seem completely unknowledgeable, but these guys are pets and although we do our best, we certainly don't know much about health issues yet.

 

[Judy]

Soak her in a warm bath for a while, like 20 minutes. You can put just a touch of a mild soap in there, and this will help you get the poopy butt clean. Gently massage her underside toward the vent to see if you can help her pass whatever is still in there. Be sure she is warm while she gets dry; you can use a hair dryer on a cooler setting. Then put her in a crate by herself with little light.

Then read these two threads:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=32648&p=1

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22308

I got these links off the FAQ section here.

Good luck.

 

[genabeana]

The books I've read say eggs can cause blockage and we (people) can gently unlodge the eggs and save the hen. Get some rubber gloves at walgreens or some other 24 hour pharm. type place, it's worth a try.

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Yup. Kitchen sinks work great.

 

[Judy]

It may take a while to get her straightened out; you may be giving baths for some days.

I really don't know a whole lot about this, I just read on here a lot, so I hope you'll read the threads. There are other things you can do.

Oh, just remembered. Crush a Tums and mash it into a bit of bread and feed this to her. She needs the calcium carbonate to help her pass this stuff.

 

[sonew123]

yup a bath-15-20 inutes if sitting in a warm bath in tub or sik-poops will come off and it relaxes her maybe enough to push an egg out