Egg bound hen mystery

[veganloraine]

On Monday I noticed that my 3 year old Leghorn mix(?), ex-battery hen's back end was down - not penguin posed, but holding lower than her back. Feeling around her bottom I could feel an egg near her vent. I feared she may be egg bound, so I brought her inside and gave her a warm bath and gently massaged her for at least 30 minutes. No egg came. 36 hours after I first noticed her bum down and still no egg laid, I had her in to see the veterinarian. During an external exam she could feel an egg as well. She manually tried to remove the egg, but couldn't feel an egg internally. So bizarre! Manually examining her again it seemed the egg(?) had moved to the left side of her body, almost behind her left leg! The vet looked extremely puzzled and gave her two injections of calcium. She has yet to lay an egg and it's been 48 hours now. She's eating, walking around, and looking well other than her bum being down and some runny stools. Does anyone know what this could be. Such a mystery. She's a pet, so no "cull and move on" comments, please.

 

[Eggcessive]

Maybe you and the vet were feeling a mass in the abdomen, and not an egg. She may have a tumor, egg yolk peritonitis, or internal laying. Cancer and other growths could be present. I believe it is impossible to be alive after 2-3 days of being egg bound. I have heard others on here discuss being able to feel a tumor by doing a vent exam. Hopefully it is not cancer, but please keep us informed of her condition. Here is a link for you: http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html

 

[veganloraine]

Thank you so much for the info! She definitely doesn't have any of the clinical signs of being egg bound, other than the droopy bottom and messy stools. It's the beginning of her fourth day of no egg. I don't believe she has egg yolk peritonitis only because my other hen who was also at the vet definitely had this and was successfully drained and is much improved. Perhaps she does have a tumor

Would this show up on an x-ray? My vet is amazing, but she has very little experience with hens. It's as much of a learning experience for her as it is for me.

 

[PNWskye]

I am having a similar issue with a migrating bulge. Do you have any updates?