Egg bound hen with damaged vent

[sourland]

Thanks for the tea, Shad - I'm going to give it a try. I like the taste, but it generally kills my guts.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks for the tea, Shad - I'm going to give it a try. I like the taste, but it generally kills my guts.

I think we are on the wrong thread Mr sourland.

 

[sourland]

I think we are on the wrong thread Mr sourland.

Tonya will let us brew a pot here. I think.

 

[DobieLover]

By all means, George! Seneca's saga is far from over.
Seneca had to be brought back in just after dawn this morning as she was straining and grunting in pain again. I assumed the next egg was there.
It wasn't. She was horribly constipated. I had to use my finger and a 10 cc syringe to flush her out over and over again. We got a lot out and she seemed much relieved.
Her crop had not emptied so I gave her 20 mls of water via syringe (painfully slow - I've ordered size 18 French catheters and 60 cc catheter tip syringes), massaged her crop and crated her. I offered her water after 30 minutes in the crate and she drank another 15-20 mls on her own. She did this for me several times during her house visit.
She's back in the coop. I just checked on her and she's very active and vocal with no signs of distress. Her crop is down and I can feel she's drunk more water as the contents are thinner.
I didn't have the heart to throw her in the light deprivation bay. She spent a good 2.5 hrs in the crate with a towel over it all the way around. She'll go in tomorrow before I leave for work. Who ever I see roosted next to her will go in with her for company and to keep her calmer.
She'll be released just after noon.

 

[HollyWoozle]

Gosh, this is stressful and you are doing an awesome job! Full respect to you.

 

[MIgardengal]

@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!

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[bruceha2000]

I agree Penny.

 

[MIgardengal]

I’m very sorry to hear that, at least you did have a measure of success. But I agree that is no life for her to have to go through every day. You did good. I appreciate the list of items, next time I go to Tractor supply I’m going to get some of these and start a emergency kit.