Ee, Is Something Wrong? Advice

[2txmedics]

Ma has a EE that is a layer...she said this morning she got up and her EE is keeping away from the other chickens, and wnats to be left alone unlike her to do that....

She has also noticed that she will sit down, and will start to fall asleep...so she thinks...

sit, her eyes start to close and her head will start to fall down, until it hits the ground all the way, this wakes her back up...and its a contious cycle....

she is worried that something is wrong with her, and what can she do....

ANYONE ANY IDEAS???

 

[2txmedics]

Hello anyone? Any Idea on whats happening....

 

[crazyhen]

It definitely sounds like she is having a problem. Isolate her and make sure she is checked for being egg bound problems too. Also be patient others will write in and help if they can. Gloria Jean

 

[PortageGirl]

Sorry, I'm not of any help really. Hopefully one of the med-alert types will reply soon!

 

[lilcrow]

Could you PM one of the folks that is really up on the medical end of stuff? It's starting to get late though and this is when a lot of people get on the site. Maybe you hear something soon. I agree that I'd keep her separate mostly so the others don't bother her. Poor girl.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I would definitely feel her abdomen and see if there's an egg stuck.

Also, the "experts" are going to want a lot more information.....chicken's age, feed, bedding, anything else you can think of to tell.

 

[2txmedics]

so far not many replies on this post and I dont know who I would contact on the medical knowledge on here!!!

Thats what I was thinking maybe egg binding...if this is it how would this be fixed?!!!! I posted this thread for Ma, calls me daily to see, "what my """experts on byc say"""...lol

she calls me the chicken professor...YEAH RIGHT!!!!

 

[twistedpickle]

you should lubricate your forefinger with mineral oil or KY Jelly and insert it into the vent. With your other hand push gently against the hens abdomen to force the egg toward the vent. If you can see the egg, but it is too big to pass through thevent, puncture the shell and remove it in peices.(With great care not to let a sharp shard injure the hen)Rinse the cloaca with hydrogen peroxide.
I know nothing about this but coppied it straight from the book!
It says that some cloacal tissue may come out and to issolate her till the musscle tone is back to normal.It also says that unless you can get things moving again the hen will die!


found this on http://www.the-coop.org/wwwboard/discus/messages/5103/3411.html

hope it helps

 

[PunkinPeep]

But before you do any of that, put her in a warm bath to soak her abdomen and vent and help her relax.

When i have an emergency, and i want good help directly and quickly, i will often pm or email Threehorses. She's like a walking encyclopedia of bird knowledge. Her name is Nathalie, and she loves to help and is a doll in every way. I'm sure there are lots of others, but she's the one i know. I doubt there are many vets who know more than she does about how to care for a bird.

Please don't crack any eggs before you try a warm bath. I've seen that work possibly a hundred times on this board.

 

[lilcrow]

Well, that's very true, however it goes on to say that it is very dangerous to puncture the egg. Once the integrity of the egg is damaged infection quickly sets in and death follows. It should ONLY be done if she is going to die anyway. You did go to a very good resource. I went to the same one and read on for a while. I found an entry later on that I'm going to log for my own reference. This is a bunch of people in the UK and they have access to some stuff that we don't, but I'm still going to try and find this anti-inflammatory she is talking about, or maybe see if some of the folks over there might send some over (under wraps) guess I shouldn't have said that. This is the link to the thread on that site. You will have to register, but it's free: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9910#poststop

Several of the entries make comments about the dangerous nature of breaking the egg and that it is very nearly impossible for a novice (non-vet) to get the hen clean and sterile enough to live through that procedure.

Anyway, here's the quote about the meds and stuff I was talking about. Also it seems that if you could very gently insert a gloved finger into the vent heavily lubed w/ KY, that might be of some help. This is from "thepoultrysite.com":

Try oiling up your finger and gently putting it inside her vent. You will be in her rectum, not her oviduct, but you should be able to feel the egg along the top wall of the rectum, if the egg is close to the end of the oviduct. If you can feel the egg, then you have an emergency situation on your hands, despite your hen's calm demeanor... Likely, if she has been egg bound for 3 days and your hen is still pretty happy, then she is not egg bound, but (as you suggested) half-way broody. However, there is a possibility that, if there is an egg, that it is cemented to the inside of the uterus, where the shell glands secrete the calcium carbonate. Sometimes, a stuck-egg will cement itself to the inside of the uterus and requires a vet to anesthetize the hen and physically go up through the cloaca and remove the egg, after aspirating (sucking out) the contents. I had to have this done on a bantam hen, although I aspirated the egg through the hen's abdominal wall (with the help of the vet on the phone...). Then I was able to break the egg inside the hen, whereby the hen is supposed to then pass the shell. However, the shell stuck inside her uterus, so I had to bring her in to the clinic (this was the Friday of a long weekend, so I had to wait for several days...) to have the egg removed. The banty hen recovered and was fine.

Anyway, other signs of typical eggbinding are a craving for calcium, droopy/draggy wings, loss of appetite, lethargy, great reluctance to move and if you have a hen that is normally hard to pick up, she is so miserable that you can easily pick her up... bad sign. Distillery has given excellent advice. Soaking for long periods in warm-to-hot water (water about the same temperature you'd wash dishes in...) is a good idea. Put enough water in that the hen's vent is covered, but if she lays down in the sink, it's not over her back or up her neck. I like to give an anti inflammatory, as well, in the form of either aspirin or metacam. If the hen is in a lot of discomfort, you can give a large orpington hen an infant dosage of a baby aspirin (about half of an 81 gram aspirin). Alternatively, if she is drinking, put 5 regular strength (325 mg) aspirin in 4 litres of water and let her have this free choice for up to a week at a time. OR, if you can get ahold of a vet, you can give your hen metacam, an avian-safe anti inflammatory, at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg, once per day, orally.

If you cannot feel an egg inside her, though, that would indicate to me that there is something else going on with her and we'll have to figure out what to do next!

I don't know how hot your dish water is, but mine is pretty hot. I think my poor hen might be stewed by the time she soaked in it, but I think common sense prevails here.
Well, I must get on to my kids. I am so sorry for your hen. I know she must be miserable and I did get the impression that time is of the utmost importance. Trying to hurry and relax at the same time........tall order for YOU.
I'll be thinking of you and your girl.