Egg Bound Bantam Polish

[cindersga]

Hello! I’ve got a very small bantam hen who has been sluggish, keeping to herself laying down and then I noticed the hunched tail and droopy wings plus she is weak and thin. Checked her vent and there was white discharge. She is straining and pushing while crying at the same time. It breaks my heart because I was out of town 2 days and she has probably been struggling all this time. I brought her in on Saturday and I immediately tube fed her. I soaked her in a very warm Epsom salt bath adding warm water as she sat in there for probably 45 mins. Afterwards I put some organic coconut oil in and on her vent using a qtip swab. I also gave her some Calcium Plus liquid but didn’t know how much so only gave her .4ml. I just read someone say you should give 1ml so I gave her that this morning. I’m soaking her again. I did find some mites in her thick black crest feathers today and treated so that should help her feel a little better. I need to know what else to do. I have felt around with a gloved finger and feel nothing that would seem like an egg. I have also felt around her abdomen and don’t feel anything but then I may not be feeling in the right area nor do I know what I’m trying to feel.
Also, her belly isn’t distended or swollen she is actually really really thin hence why I am tube feeding her with Exact plus poultry cell. She is constantly trying to push and some small amounts of poop do come out. The tube feed is on the liquid side not thick. Hoping it helps to hydrate plus give her the nutrients she needs. She hasn’t been eating bird feed. She just stands there hunched over pushing and straining. If it’s an egg it must be way up there.

 

[Debbie292d]

When you say bird feed, do you mean chicken/layer feed? Just checking to be sure.

If egg-bound, they do not usually live over 48 hours. A 400 mg calcium pill will cause contractions. That's a pill like humans buy. Just open her beak and pop it in. They can eat bigger things than that so don't worry. If that's not her issue, this won't hurt her either, but since you're saying she seems to constantly be pushing, I'd try this and see.

To see if she'd eat, try putting her crumbles or pellets in a small dish and pouring warm water in it to make a thick mash, like oatmeal consistency. Most chickens go nuts over it. Scrambled eggs is another thing most chickens love.

 

[cindersga]

When you say bird feed, do you mean chicken/layer feed? Just checking to be sure.

If egg-bound, they do not usually live over 48 hours. A 400 mg calcium pill will cause contractions. That's a pill like humans buy. Just open her beak and pop it in. They can eat bigger things than that so don't worry. If that's not her issue, this won't hurt her either, but since you're saying she seems to constantly be pushing, I'd try this and see.

To see if she'd eat, try putting her crumbles or pellets in a small dish and pouring warm water in it to make a thick mash, like oatmeal consistency. Most chickens go nuts over it. Scrambled eggs is another thing most chickens love.

Hi Debbie.
Yes when I said she isn’t eating her feed I mean her Nutrena chicken feed. She just stands there wings down tail area hunched over. This is why she is so thin because I was gone two days when this happened and she wasn’t eating that whole time. When I found her in the coop she was so thin. I had to tube feed her. I continue to tube feed her because she isn’t interested in food as she is straining to get whatever out. I believe the egg probably doesn’t have a shell and is just stuck and can’t get pushed out. This could allow for the poop to get by and she still be egg bound per se. I have liquid calcium Plus which I have given her with her tube feeding. I read on BYC that you should give 1 mil of that. Are you saying the pill is better than the liquid? I just thought the liquid would act faster than waiting for a pill to dissolve. I feel so badly for her. I will try to get a part of a Caltrate down her tonight before I hit the hay. Tomorrow I’ll see if she is interested in any eggs. Like I said she just stands there head down or tucked back on her back resting. Thanks for the help.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi Debbie.
Yes when I said she isn’t eating her feed I mean her Nutrena chicken feed. She just stands there wings down tail area hunched over. This is why she is so thin because I was gone two days when this happened and she wasn’t eating that whole time. When I found her in the coop she was so thin. I had to tube feed her. I continue to tube feed her because she isn’t interested in food as she is straining to get whatever out. I believe the egg probably doesn’t have a shell and is just stuck and can’t get pushed out. This could allow for the poop to get by and she still be egg bound per se. I have liquid calcium Plus which I have given her with her tube feeding. I read on BYC that you should give 1 mil of that. Are you saying the pill is better than the liquid? I just thought the liquid would act faster than waiting for a pill to dissolve. I feel so badly for her. I will try to get a part of a Caltrate down her tonight before I hit the hay. Tomorrow I’ll see if she is interested in any eggs. Like I said she just stands there head down or tucked back on her back resting. Thanks for the help.

I've only known about the calcium pill for an egg-bound chicken but the liquid calcium probably works too. 400mg calcium pill hopefully is equivalent to what you gave her, but it should be a once-and-done thing. I know some people put the liquid calcium in chicken's water as a calcium supplement too but that's not going to help an egg bound chicken.

You could try a warm Epsom salt bath too of her bottom half and massage her abdomen while she's relaxing in the warm bath.

She's so darn cute! I hope she improves fast!

 

[cindersga]

I've only known about the calcium pill for an egg-bound chicken but the liquid calcium probably works too. 400mg calcium pill hopefully is equivalent to what you gave her, but it should be a once-and-done thing. I know some people put the liquid calcium in chicken's water as a calcium supplement too but that's not going to help an egg bound chicken.

You could try a warm Epsom salt bath too of her bottom half and massage her abdomen while she's relaxing in the warm bath.

She's so darn cute! I hope she improves fast!

She is still alive but still the same. She is eating a little Nutrena and I gave her scrambled eggs yesterday which she ate some. I also gave her another half of a Caltrate pill last night. She has been getting 45 minutes warm Epsom salt baths which I keep the temperature nice and warm the whole time. She keep straining and pushing. I decided to give her some oral vaginal yeast cream this morning just incase there is a vent gleet infection. I don’t know if when a hen has that they push and squeeze like they’re trying to get something out. I also have nystatin should I be giving that just in case? I hate to throw stuff at her if it’s not necessary but I’m grasping at straws here.
Her name is Lucky because I found her as a newborn chick abandoned by the hen. She was lifeless and cold. I stuck her in my bra and she came back around. She is such a sweet little girl and she makes the cutest sounds. I so hope she can get better.

 

[cindersga]

She is still alive but still the same. She is eating a little Nutrena and I gave her scrambled eggs yesterday which she ate some. I also gave her another half of a Caltrate pill last night. She has been getting 45 minutes warm Epsom salt baths which I keep the temperature nice and warm the whole time. She keep straining and pushing. I decided to give her some oral vaginal yeast cream this morning just incase there is a vent gleet infection. I don’t know if when a hen has that they push and squeeze like they’re trying to get something out. I also have nystatin should I be giving that just in case? I hate to throw stuff at her if it’s not necessary but I’m grasping at straws here.
Her name is Lucky because I found her as a newborn chick abandoned by the hen. She was lifeless and cold. I stuck her in my bra and she came back around. She is such a sweet little girl and she makes the cutest sounds. I so hope she can get better.

Unfortunately I found Lucky deceased when I got back from my dentist appointment today. I am gutted.

 

[Granitestater]

So sorry about your little girl Lucky. I hope thats not an awfully painful condition for a hen to die from. Did she seem to be in discomfort? Would you have considered taking her to a vet if someone had suggested it?
We have exotic animal vets (all women!) 1/2 hr from us. Fortunate. They are not cheap tho.
RIP little Lucky girl.

 

[cindersga]

Here are the necropsy results.
“This bird had evidence of tumors in the heart, proventriculus, and gizzard. Based on past submissions, this is also likely Marek’s disease virus”
I asked the vet about whether she was egg bound or had vent gleet. This is what she said:
“No, I did not see any evidence of either of those things.

Egg bound - The reproductive tract was all the way regressed (happens frequently in female birds with diseases). You might have been seeing “abdominal” effort while she was trying to breathe due to the heart not functioning appropriately and making her hypoxic (lacking delivery of oxygen to the tissues).

Vent gleet - Sometimes when birds are not eating and they have fluffy feathers, the uric acid (urinary tract) will get stuck to the feathers on the rear end.”