Egg-bound chicken?

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor girl, she is not feeling well.

Can you gently do another exam to see if you feel an egg?
Getting a fecal float to check for worms and coccidiosis is always a good idea, as well as, checking the crop to see that it's emptying overnight.

From her stance, the abdomen feeling fuller and with her being like this for a couple days, I would lean toward a reproductive disorder. IF there is fluid in the abdomen, sometimes that can be drained to give short term relief along with antibiotics to help fight infection.

 

[Georgiachick18]

I’ll try to do another exam for an egg. At least one of my hens has been laying odd size and odd shaped eggs, intermittently. It may have been her. With seven of them there was no way to know who was having the issue. I assume I should try to get a stool sample to take to a vet? Is there anything I can do to try to make her comfortable? I’ll let you know if I can feel an egg. And thank you (and the others who have replied) so much for helping me through this. It is a very lonely feeling when you desperately want to help and you don’t have the knowledge to do so.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I’ll try to do another exam for an egg. At least one of my hens has been laying odd size and odd shaped eggs, intermittently. It may have been her. With seven of them there was no way to know who was having the issue. I assume I should try to get a stool sample to take to a vet? Is there anything I can do to try to make her comfortable? I’ll let you know if I can feel an egg. And thank you (and the others who have replied) so much for helping me through this. It is a very lonely feeling when you desperately want to help and you don’t have the knowledge to do so.

Yes, if possible collect a stool sample and take it to your vet.

I'm sorry that she is not doing well, it can be frustrating when they are sick.
It sounds like you are doing what you can to make her as comfortable as you can. With mine, if they don't improve in a couple of days, I put them out of their misery.

 

[Georgiachick18]

I wanted to give you all an update. My hen, Rosie, went to the vet yesterday and he examined her and does not feel an egg. So he doesn’t believe she is egg bound. Her symptoms, now, are that she is ‘mostly’ sitting down and intermittently closing her eyes. However, she is eating ( I have not been able to catch her drinking yet but she is enjoying a lot of lettuce and is eating some banana slices as well so I am keeping some fluid in her that way.) Still, her feathers are all puffed out. She had seemed better yesterday but we had the appointment and I wanted to make sure. He thinks there’s a possibility she could have gapeworms. He wants me to get a stool sample. I also had noticed that some mushrooms had popped up in the coop awhile back. I immediately removed them but noticed they had been nibbled on. So that’s another possibility. She doesn’t wheeze or show any of the other signs of gapeworms. However, he said that he feels my being alert to her, I may have found this before it had gotten worse: only the stool sample will tell us. If it turns out to be gapeworms how have you treated them most effectively? Does the whole flock need to be treated? Do they typically survive in the early stages? Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I wanted to give you all an update. My hen, Rosie, went to the vet yesterday and he examined her and does not feel an egg. So he doesn’t believe she is egg bound. Her symptoms, now, are that she is ‘mostly’ sitting down and intermittently closing her eyes. However, she is eating ( I have not been able to catch her drinking yet but she is enjoying a lot of lettuce and is eating some banana slices as well so I am keeping some fluid in her that way.) Still, her feathers are all puffed out. She had seemed better yesterday but we had the appointment and I wanted to make sure. He thinks there’s a possibility she could have gapeworms. He wants me to get a stool sample. I also had noticed that some mushrooms had popped up in the coop awhile back. I immediately removed them but noticed they had been nibbled on. So that’s another possibility. She doesn’t wheeze or show any of the other signs of gapeworms. However, he said that he feels my being alert to her, I may have found this before it had gotten worse: only the stool sample will tell us. If it turns out to be gapeworms how have you treated them most effectively? Does the whole flock need to be treated? Do they typically survive in the early stages? Thank you!

It will be interesting to see what your results say.

I suppose it's possible for her to have Gapeworms, but usually a chickens is gaping, coughing, possibly has respiratory distress and is not eating/drinking due to worms in the throat.
Fenbendazole (Safeguard) given at .23ml per pound of weight for 5 days in a row will should treat gapeworm and most worms that chickens have.

 

[Georgiachick18]

The fecal test showed no signs of Gapeworm, negative for parasites Also did test for Giardia —negative.

The doctor had given her two shots Ivermectin and Tylan. He wants to continue doing the antibiotic shots. I don’t see any difference in her as far as improvement and after the doctor visit she seems not to be interested in eating. I think it was very stressful on her as we went two times —two days in a row. I have not seen her eating; however, she must be because we were finally able to get the stool samples. Only ‘possible’ improvement I have seen is she doesn’t seem to be closing her eyes as much. Here’s a photo of her from this morning. Not sure what to do at this point? Would you go on with the antibotic injections for several more days? That’s going to mean more stress taking her back in. I’m not sure how many days she needs to have the shot; though I could learn how to do it at home. Should I try to get some sort of a B vitamin supplement? Thank you so much for your input during this difficult time.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The fecal test showed no signs of Gapeworm, negative for parasites Also did test for Giardia —negative.

The doctor had given her two shots Ivermectin and Tylan. He wants to continue doing the antibiotic shots. I don’t see any difference in her as far as improvement and after the doctor visit she seems not to be interested in eating. I think it was very stressful on her as we went two times —two days in a row. I have not seen her eating; however, she must be because we were finally able to get the stool samples. Only ‘possible’ improvement I have seen is she doesn’t seem to be closing her eyes as much. Here’s a photo of her from this morning. Not sure what to do at this point? Would you go on with the antibotic injections for several more days? That’s going to mean more stress taking her back in. I’m not sure how many days she needs to have the shot; though I could learn how to do it at home. Should I try to get some sort of a B vitamin supplement? Thank you so much for your input during this difficult time.

The vet is having to give her a daily antibiotic injection of Tylan?
If it's Tylan50 that can be given orally. Ask the vet if he can give you the remaining medication so you can administer it at home instead of having to make office visits. Even if he insists that it has to be by injection, you can learn to do that.

Ivermectin would be given once, then repeated in 10days. It can be used for worms and external parasites. Again, ask if you can have that and follow up at home.

It's good that you were able to get testing.
I'm not sure what else could be going on with her except a reproductive problem.

 

[Georgiachick18]

Since there were no signs of parasites would you do the second dose of Ivermectin in 10 days? The Vet seemed to think that it wasn’t necessary but he is not an expert in chickens (he readily admits). And, it sounds like you’re feeling I should keep administering the antibiotic (at home) in case it is infection-related. I just wonder if, to your earlier point, she has something going on reproductively that’s not related to either parasites or infection. My challenge is how long to let her sit and try to work through this. Thank you, again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If it were me, I'd finish the antibiotics, but try to do those at home if possible. Less stress for you and her both if you don't have to make a daily trip.
The Ivermectin....it won't hurt her to follow up with the dosage, she won't have any problems with lice/mites or scaly leg mites, that's always a plus since she is not moving around much, she's probably not dust bathing or preening. Sitting birds are susceptible to getting infested fairly quickly.

I could be wrong, but yes, I feel that her problem is reproductive related. Sadly, it's common in laying hens. I've had some act this way for a few days and rally with supportive care, while others I have put down. I try to keep them hydrated, eating and make sure the crop is emptying overnight.

 

[Georgiachick18]

Good advice. Hoping for a turnaround.