Easter Egger Hen is sick! Help!

[Sagey_7878]

Hi everybody, I’m Sage and I’m from Australia! My EE hen has been walking weirdly which I noticed the other day, and I noticed her butt was dirty with poop. I noticed today that now it looks more yellow and it appears to be it may be an egg. She hasn’t laid for many months and I thought she had stopped laying due to age, we don’t know exactly how old she is but I am guessing 4-6 years old. Egg bound? Possibly egg peritonitis? She hasn’t been that active and stands like a penguin sometimes. What should I do? Thanks in advance!

 

[Shezadandy]

Oh dear. I'm afraid these don't have a happy ending. It could be she's been laying internally for months, which builds up in their abdomen for a while. It could also be she had a thin shelled egg break before it made its way out. I just lost one much like this a couple of weeks ago. It's the biggest cause of heartache in keeping chickens - while some go after it with antibiotics and see some success- others do a hormone pump to suppress any further internal laying if the chicken is well enough following treatment- but there's no truly successful treatment that solves the problem.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

 

[Sagey_7878]

Oh dear. I'm afraid these don't have a happy ending. It could be she's been laying internally for months, which builds up in their abdomen for a while. It could also be she had a thin shelled egg break before it made its way out. I just lost one much like this a couple of weeks ago. It's the biggest cause of heartache in keeping chickens - while some go after it with antibiotics and see some success- others do a hormone pump to suppress any further internal laying if the chicken is well enough following treatment- but there's no truly successful treatment that solves the problem.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/

Hi, thanks for that. How long do you think she has left? What do you think there is? Is the only thing I can do it give her a warm bath? One of my Isa brown hens laid a lash egg and she died about 4 months after that.

 

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start by trying to help her sit with her in a tub of warm water with epsom salts and see if anything else will pass

 

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hoping some more experienced folks come on soon that can help you theres a lot of good ones here

 

[Sagey_7878]

hoping some more experienced folks come on soon that can help you theres a lot of good ones here

Yeah there definitely is, thanks for your advice!

 

[Sagey_7878]

One of my friends suggested Ovarian Cancer.

 

[azygous]

What is her behavior like? Is she extremely lethargic or is she moving about and eating okay? Does she hold her tail down low and flat? Is she all fluffed up?

Go ahead, if you haven't already, and bathe her butt feathers by backing her up to a basin of warm water. I don't think a long soak is going to do much for her, but installing her on a medium setting heating pad with a moist towel over it might help. Use a crate and place it someplace quiet a comfortable. Watch her vent to see if she has a steady stream of fluid leaking. Place some white paper towels under her so we will know what color it is and the consistency. The goal is to get her poop to become solid and maybe to help her pass any broken egg material if that's behind her problems.

Give her one calcium citrate tablet with D3 if you can each day. Do you have any antibiotics? Can you possibly get some? Amoxicillin, Baytril, even penicillin? I would start her on a round of antibiotic if you can get some.

Be sure to offer her plenty of fresh water, and if you can find some baby vitamins without iron, give her some. Keep her energy up by offering her boiled egg or tofu or wet cat food or even strained baby food. If she isn't able to eat, that is a very bad sign, but you can tube or syringe feed her on the off chance she only needs to start getting something in her crop to jump start her eating.

 

[Sagey_7878]

What is her behavior like? Is she extremely lethargic or is she moving about and eating okay? Does she hold her tail down low and flat? Is she all fluffed up?

Go ahead, if you haven't already, and bathe her butt feathers by backing her up to a basin of warm water. I don't think a long soak is going to do much for her, but installing her on a medium setting heating pad with a moist towel over it might help. Use a crate and place it someplace quiet a comfortable. Watch her vent to see if she has a steady stream of fluid leaking. Place some white paper towels under her so we will know what color it is and the consistency. The goal is to get her poop to become solid and maybe to help her pass any broken egg material if that's behind her problems.

Give her one calcium citrate tablet with D3 if you can each day. Do you have any antibiotics? Can you possibly get some? Amoxicillin, Baytril, even penicillin? I would start her on a round of antibiotic if you can get some.

Be sure to offer her plenty of fresh water, and if you can find some baby vitamins without iron, give her some. Keep her energy up by offering her boiled egg or tofu or wet cat food or even strained baby food. If she isn't able to eat, that is a very bad sign, but you can tube or syringe feed her on the off chance she only needs to start getting something in her crop to jump start her eating.

Thank you! She hasn’t been that active recently and will sit in a corner and act lethargic, but she is not extremely lethargic yet. As in the picture I sent, she holds her tail down low. I don’t have half of those things.

 

[azygous]

Try to do what you can. Clean her butt up. Offer her vitamins and some high protein food. Install her on some moist heat, a hot water bottle or towels heated in the dryer.

The calcium is important. Tums will do. Calcium gluconate if you can't find calcium citrate - get it where they sell people vitamin supplements.