Egg bound or something else. Please respond.. :(

[jenniferlamar70]

So I have a hen I got about 6 months ago. She is a Leghorn that belonged to a friend. Their duck was ripping out her feathers and she looked pitiful. We feed flock raiser and free feed oyster shells. I assumed she would get what she needed from the oyster shell but her feathers look worse. This morning she looked egg bound. She was standing hunched over the nesting box. Her vent was swollen and their was white stuck below her vent. I've never had an egg bound hen before so I googled what to do. We put her in a tub of warm water and epsom salt. I massaged her vent with olive oil. I used a cue tip and some vaseline to rub the vent hole a bit. Afterwards she started to push and yellow white goop came out. I thought maybe the egg broke but I don't know. It could have been poop also. I have her in a crate in the house. She is laying on a low heating pad. Her crate is covered. I'm getting ready to go get tums and antibiotics and some feather fixer feed. Does it sound like the egg broke or could it have just been odd colored poo? What kind of antibiotics should I get if the egg did break to help prevent infection? Should I try an olive oil enema to get left over stuff out? How do I give her the tums? Thanks for any help ya'll can give.

 

[Nineplus5]

My understanding is that the feathers won't improve much til she goes in to molt.

I too am dealing with a possible egg bound girl. Not making much progress.

 

[Eggcessive]

She could have had a shell-less egg or an overly large egg break inside. I would not put anything else inside her vent which may introduce droppings up into the oviduct, but feel inside with a finger 1-2 inches, just to make sure no shell or membrane remains. She could also be laying internally, and hens that do so make pass cooked egg material. Infection, such as E.coli or other colobacteria can cause bright yellow droppings. This can be a sign of egg yolk peritonitis. Pictures of droppings may help to distinguish what might be happening. Consulting a vet if possible would be good. They have stronger antibiotics, such as enrofloxacin (Baytril) although giving antibiotics may not cure her. Here is some reading that might help you:
http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/tag/laying-issues/
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1080684/internal-laying
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p...uctive_system/egg_peritonitis_in_poultry.html

 

[jenniferlamar70]

My understanding is that the feathers won't improve much til she goes in to molt.

I too am dealing with a possible egg bound girl.  Not making much progress.

I'm sorry. Hopefully your girl feels better soon.

She could have had a shell-less egg or an overly large egg break inside. I would not put anything else inside her vent which may introduce droppings up into the oviduct, but feel inside with a finger 1-2 inches, just to make sure no shell or membrane remains. She could also be laying internally, and hens that do so make pass cooked egg material. Infection, such as E.coli or other colobacteria can cause bright yellow droppings. This can be a sign of egg yolk peritonitis. Pictures of droppings may help to distinguish what might be happening. Consulting a vet if possible would be good. They have stronger antibiotics, such as enrofloxacin (Baytril) although giving antibiotics may not cure her. Here is some reading that might help you:
http://scoopfromthecoop.nutrenaworld.com/tag/laying-issues/
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1080684/internal-laying
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p...uctive_system/egg_peritonitis_in_poultry.html

Thank you for the links. I'll look through them and see if I can figure it out. I don't think she is laying internally unless that just started. She lays eggs daily without fail since I got her. She has laid a few without the shell. I always know when she lays because she is the only white egg layer I have..