Egg bound hen with damaged vent

[DobieLover]

I've been treating this hen for a couple of weeks. She was found with a poopy butt and after soaking I discovered that her vent was crusted up, possibly due to undetected vent gleet.
When first discovered.

After several soakings this was the last stage I left her at before the weather got so very cold that I decided to stop applying Nu-stock to her vent and skipped one of her soaking sessions. I had been applying Nu-stock to her vent twice daily and soaking twice a week.

She went into the nest box this morning at 7:30 and is now having extreme difficulty passing the egg that is right at her vent.

She's struggling and I don't know if the tissue is going to stretch enough to allow the egg to pass. I've applied a liberal amount of coconut oil around the egg and vent. She's had 1/2 a calcium citrate tablet.

 

[DobieLover]

It's out. We are both recovering. I'll check my med stash for meloxicam. In the meantime she's had amoxicillin. She's a large hen. Over 7 lbs. I gave her 500 mg.
She ate some wet mash.
I broke a small hole in the end and sucked out as much as I could. I made a very dilute solution of betadine in water and irrigated her as I went to flush out egg and poop. Then reached in and carefully broke the rest of the shell and pulled it out in about three sections. I irrigated her again with more dilute betadine solution and then followed up with several irrigations of just clean water.
This is what her vent looks like now.

She's resting next to the wood stove.

 

[DobieLover]

@DobieLover Wow, kudos to you! I would be freaking out and hyperventilating. Blood/medical things kinda cause me anxiety. Thanks for posting so much info about this, as being relatively new to chickens (this april will be one year), I'm trying to read up on the medical boards for possible health issues I might encounter on my chicken journey. I'm so glad you were successful!

Can you tell me please, what items specifically would be wise/what items you would recommend to have in case of a egg bound emergency?

I live a hour drive (in good weather) from a local Tractor Supply/Pharmacy so the more I read the more I'm realizing I need a chicken first aid kit!

I'm not good with medical stuff either. My hands shook each time I did it. But you do what you have to do.
I used a heavy gauge (16) needle on a 3cc syringe to open the end of the egg. I put the point of the needle on the end of the exposed egg and gave it a sharp rap to drive the point into the egg without driving the egg back into the hen. Then I broke a small hole open from there and started sucking the egg contents out using the syringe. I also used a 10 cc syringe and injected a very dilute warm solution of betadine water into the egg to further flush out the contents then around the egg to clean her up as good as I could.
I used tweezers to pull more pieces of shell off and got my finger over the egg and started breaking the shell while at the same time trying to protect her vent tissue. I tried to push all the fragments toward the middle to keep the membrane holding them together and then got a grip with my thumb and ever so carefully pulled the clump out in three sections.
I followed up with more irrigation to remove any residual egg contents then started her on amoxicillin prophylactically, 250mg capsules, twice daily in the form of FishMox.

Sadly, she was euthanized tonight and will not suffer any further trauma to her vent. I had to remove three eggs and had to clear her out of poop twice. It was too much for either of us to take anymore. As the title said, her vent was damaged and I also feel she had internal swelling that prevented her from being able to push things out of her body that needed to come out.

She was a lovely girl and I'm a bit heart broken over loosing her but am at peace that she will suffer no further.
Seneca's last visit to the bathroom for egg removal. She spent a sunny day with her flock and enjoyed normal chicken activities.

 

[DobieLover]

A happier picture of Seneca. Digging a hole for a bath just now. Right in front of the stump.

 

[DobieLover]

I got lots of help converting the brooder into a light deprivation bay. Even our guest of honor was front and center.

Here it is via the brooder cam with the lights on in the coop. Picture taken at 2:45. The IR lights came on so that's a plus.

I may insert some backer rod in the pop door slot. I no longer have the door for it as I used it for the sliding door for broody hens that leads into the coop. The burgundy door behind this hen.

Seneca is mad. She's flying up over the door where she sees light and pacing in there. I brought her in for a clean up and applied some antifungal and antibiotic ointment to her vent. It looks better. She ate her amoxicillin right out of my hand.

 

[casportpony]

Getting the egg OUT right now is a priority, but a long term solution needs to be found. I'm really not certain how tight the vent is or how much would need to be cut. If it were a dog with a prolapsed penis, I would know exactly what to do, but have never been faced with a similar problem in a bird.

I agree, the egg needs to come out ASAP. If she were my hen I would poke a hole, suck out the contents, collapse the shell, & remove the shell. Once the shell was out I would start her on Baytril for infection and Meloxicam for pain and swelling, and I would tube a bunch of fluids to her too.

 

[bruceha2000]

Now I'll just worry about what to do for the next egg coming. I certainly can't make a routine of what I just did.

Well done Tonya. I suspect if there is another in the pipeline you might have to repeat the process but I like @Eggcessive's thought about keeping her in the dark so she might naturally cut back on egg production. Hopefully once she fully heals up her vent will be more elastic.

 

[DobieLover]

Well done DL!

When you & @casportpony mentioned sucking the egg out, what did you use? Syringe? Baby snot bulb? Something else?

I used a 16 gauge needle to make the initial hole in a slightly granular section of the shell that was exposed, widened it by pulling small pieces off with tweezers, then sucked out as much albumen and yolk as I could with a 3cc syringe. Then I used a 10 cc syringe to squirt a very dilute solution of betadine into the egg then around the egg to try to clean her a bit before inserting my finger inside the egg and gently breaking it down. At this point it was basically empty.
I pulled out a decent portion of shell and then she closed up. All it took to make her push again was sliding my finger back in to start folding the shell on itself then getting a second finger in to grab hold and gently tug. I got it all out in about three sections.
I then irrigated her again with dilute betadine then clean water.
I am going to turn the built-in brooder into a light deprivation chamber and put her in there at 2 or three this afternoon after I've installed some plywood panels and cover it with a thick sleeping bag to block light.
I've order medistatin and am going to get some miconazole today and start treating her for a yeast infection. That is what the tissue reminded me of that I debrided from her vent. I hope that it will help with swelling and kill off any remaining fungus that may still be in the tissue.
I stopped fermenting feed months ago and regret it. I'm getting another batch started today.
I've been putting extra probiotics into the flocks feed for over a week. I'm just ramping everything up.
@LaFleche recommended Estriol cream as a possible therapy to increase elasticity of her vent. I am going to give that a try as well but perhaps after light deprivation therapy, getting the tissue fully healed and getting her internal flora re-balanced.

 

[DobieLover]

Nice job, DL.

Do keep in mind that she may have another egg on the way already and it can take time for her to stop laying after you limit her light exposure, so you may have to help her out again - let's hope not, but it's a possibility.

Oh yes, I am expecting it. I just hope it doesn't come when I'm gone to work for 12 hours. I'll watch her throughout the day on the broody camera and if I see she is straining, I'll cut short my work day and come home to take care of her.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Tonya I actually commend you for being able to handle as much as you did.. Most could not have done half what you did