Bloody discharge. Swollen vent. Egg bound???

familyfarmer4

Chirping
5 Years
Apr 25, 2017
24
8
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I have a 3 year old hen that has some slimy bloody discharge (possibly blood mixed with egg white?) coming from her vent. I believe that she is the hen that has been laying soft eggs for the past few weeks. It’s hard to tell because the eggs are so similar. She is still eating and drinking fine. She seems slightly less perky than usual. She also is having a hard time pooping. There is very little poop that comes out at a time. Her vent is red and swollen. I soaked her in an Epsom salt bath this morning to try and give her some relief. No progress from that so far, but it was only 30 minutes ago. What else should I try? We don’t have any vets in the area that treat chickens. Very disappointing in a rural community.
All of the other hens look fine. They free range during the day.
The hen in question is quarantined

UPDATE: I just checked on my hen and noticed that she was trying to push something out. It looked like the ends of feathers or something. I got a hold of it and pulled it out. It was a smashed egg shell. It seemed to give her some relief. What should I give her to help her egg shells be harder? They have 24 hour access to oyster shell, but don’t seem to ever touch it. She has always been a good layer, so I don’t know why this is happening now.
 
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You can give her a human calcium tablet with vitamin D, such as Caltrate or the generic, by putting it in the back of throat to swallow, or crushing it into some egg. Tums or Rolaids could be used as well. Give her one for the next 3 days. I would make sure there are crushed oyster shell or egg shells available for extra calcium in a ddition to layer feed. Some hens can lay soft eggs because of problems with their shell glands or past infection with infectious bronchitis.

She may have been egg bound, and apparently, shell-less eggs are difficult to pass. I have have hens who have passed shell-less eggs in the past. Some can have this happen repeatedly, and can get a setup for infection in the egg tract. That can lead to salpingitis, egg yolk peritonitis, and internal laying. At her age those can be common problems.
 

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