Egg-bound or something worse? Advise please.

[VlasicStudio]

My 2.5 year old barred rock hen (who seemed fine yesterday) is doing very poorly. Normally when I go out in the morning the chickens are excited and ganged up at the 2nd gate when I come in, but she was still in the coop. She did a watery poop and then came out very slowly when she saw me, and I saw then she was very lethargic, comb flopping and dry looking, puffed up, and then she just sat there (very odd, she is usually super sassy). I looked her over and saw her bum was very crusty dirty and the area below the vent swollen. I immediately brought her inside to the "chicken hospital", trimmed the crusty bum feathers, gave her a warm epsum salt soak for 18 minutes, feeling the swollen area to see if I could feel an egg, which was inconclusive. The swollen area seems both squishy and firm? Not like watery-squishy. I was afraid to squeeze too hard in case there was an egg. After the soak I lubed a gloved finger and felt inside the vent (her muscles are still very strong and could not feel an egg. She did have a nice watery poop as I removed my finger. She is NOT eating or drinking, even her favorite snacks. She is laying down and now seems to be breathing heavy too. ( I have a video but this site does not allow video uploads). The swelling may have actually increased since but it may also be me overthinking. The swollen area is reddish and rather warm to the touch. What can I do for her? Should I continue with the epsom baths or? I cannot afford a vet visit and there are none in my area. Thank you.

Additional info: They have a 2-part run, one 11X22 with the coop in it that is very well protected, and a second one same size connected by a gate, also enclosed that they get the run of all day until bed time (so over 450 sq foot during waking hours, lots of dust bath areas, coop/run cleaned daily). 9 hens no rooster. They get Nutrena 17% layer feed, 24/7 access treddle feeder with BSF larvae and black sunflower seed treats daily, as well as fruit/veg treats, multiple water sources one of witch had electrolytes, open access oyster shells and dried crushed egg shells.). Lately I've been soaking thier feed in Nutridrench water and giving it to them a few days a week as a treat because its hot (and they love it). We're in the California High Desert (95-102ish this month, very dry). They have lots of shade and misters on a timer in the hottest part of the day (they love walking around in the mud it leaves behind).

 

[VlasicStudio]

...she's getting worse :-( Now laying on her side and breathing is heavier. I'm doing my best to make her comfortable. Will not drink or eat. Not even pooping.

 

[alinas2010]

I’m very sorry to hear about your hen. When was her last egg and what do her eggs normally look like? Odd shaped or cracked and mended?

It sounds like she may be having some reproductive issues, such as an infection. Reproductive infections and tumors can lead to an abdomen full of pus or fluid which makes breathing difficult.

Do you have any antibiotics on hand? Something left over from another pet or human perhaps? If so let us know what you have and we can help with dosage.

Unfortunately reproductive infections can be really difficult to treat. Some people try draining the bellies to give a bit more comfort if it is fluid in the abdomen and not pus, but it will eventually fill up again, so this is only a temporary treatment.

 

[VlasicStudio]

Thank you for your response. Because I have 9 hens I don't know which eggs may be hers so I can't properly answer that, but there have been no abnormal eggs from any of them ever.

I do have human antibiotics, amoxocillin 500mg caps and cipro 500mg caps.

 

[VlasicStudio]

She is laying sort of on her side and breathing heavier, does not respond to dipping her beak in water. How would I administer?

 

[alinas2010]

You’re welcome, so very sorry you are going through this with her.

To administer, you would need to pull her wattles down pop the pill directly in her mouth so she would swallow it whole. This can seem daunting and I know it can be tough, but if you get it back far enough in her mouth, she should swallow it just fine. Of course if she is out of it, she may not swallow at all, so be very careful when you try.

Cipro is banned for use in poultry, but some people do still use it off label for reproductive infections. It is effective, but you’d have to either not eat her eggs again or observe a very long withdrawal period. Here is more information about it, including dosage:

https://poultrydvm.com/drugs/ciprofloxacin

I have used amoxicillin before to treat a reproductive infection in one of my hens. I gave 500 mg once per day for 7-10 days and it did buy her more time, but the infection did eventually come back. Ideally you’d want to give amoxicillin 250mg x2 per day for a 4-5 lb hen.

Unfortunately while antibiotics may help, they may just be buying her more time without entirely clearing the infection. By the time they show symptoms it can be too late to treat effectively and completely. Sometimes they’ll surprise us and give us quite a few more good days, though. To me it’s worth trying to treat make them as comfortable as possible.

I’m not sure which antibiotic is best, tbh, as I’ve never used Cipro. Let’s tag some folks with more experience @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive is Cipro or amoxicillin preferred for a reproductive infection?

 

[VlasicStudio]

Thank you. my biggest fear is her choking on the pill, she's so out of it right now :-( Should I just let her go or try? This sux :-(

The amoxocillin I have is powdered in a gel cap. What would you suggest?

 

[alinas2010]

That’s tough. I’m not sure, let’s see what the other members have to say. Is she responding to your touch at all?

Here is a graphic and article by @casportpony about how to administer medication orally. I know it is for liquid medication, but in theory a pill should be similar.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Is there a chance she is eggbound? You may also want to try administering 400-600 mg of calcium plus d3 in the event that she is eggplant bound. It would be administered the same way as the antibiotics.

 

[VlasicStudio]

Thanks. Like I said in the original post, she is very swollen and I'm not feeling an egg so not sure :-(

She lifts her head a tiny bit and opens her eyes when I touch her. The swelling is worse.

 

[alinas2010]

Thank you. my biggest fear is her choking on the pill, she's so out of it right now :-( Should I just let her go or try? This sux :-(

The amoxocillin I have is powdered in a gel cap. What would you suggest?

I always try for my animals unless they show no signs of wanting to fight. I knew when my hen was done because she quit responding to my touch. It was very tough to go through, but it was clear that antibiotics weren’t working for her. They let us know when they’re done.

Giving the whole 500mg capsule for amoxicillin would be fine for now if you didn’t want to try to split it into 250mg portions. I think I would review the article about medication administration and try to give it if she were mine. It is your call, though. You are the one there with her seeing her responses and condition.

To split the dose into two 250mg doses, you’d mix the powder with a know amount of something, like 1 tsp of coconut oil. Then once well mixed split that in half; so you’d have two 1/2 tsps of coconut oil each containing 250mg of amoxicillin. Freeze these portions into pill shapes so they are easier to give. Some chickens do peck willingly and eat coconut oil, so perhaps that is worth a try at some point.