- Oct 8, 2010
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I have a three year old serama hen who seems to be egg bound but I’m not sure. She’s tiny for a serama, not micro but definitely not a larger sized serama. She’s been looking poorly for a while now. About a month ago I noticed she had runny green poo with mucus, looked lethargic (tail down, walking around but without gusto) and dry skin plus weight loss. I treated her with a dewormer as a start. She seemed to be better so I figured that was it.
Then I noticed a few days ago she was doing the same thing. I brought her inside. She is even skinnier now but still eats and moves around. I decided to try and give her a de-wormer again, but when I did, when she struggled she vomited up a bit of clear liquid. Her crop was full of liquid it seemed. So I thought perhaps the problem was sour crop. I gave her yogurt that evening, which she ate but did notice in the morning her crop was empty.
Another thing I noticed was that she was straining to poop- making a noise when she did. In fact one time she strained so hard she tumbled over. I decided to check for an egg. I really have no idea how to do that, or just where one would feel an egg, but yes, I do feel something hard and egg shaped (round) at the bottom of what I suppose would be her rib cage- just outside of it. It’s NOT in the vent or anywhere near the cloaca. I’ve noticed this round hard lump for a day and a half now. If it’s an egg, it’s not moved.
So I gave her the crushed up 1/2 tums tablet, with yogurt, and to the best if my ability tried to get some ky jelly into her vent plus put some preparation H on her vent to try and perhaps get any inflamation down, I then soaked her in warm Epsom salts bath, followed by a blow dry then onto a warm heater pad for her to sit on... nothin’.
I’ve messaged the area...again, nothing. I am at a loss as to what to do. She us now uninterested in regular food, including the yogurt, though she ate most of the chopped up spinach I gave her.
One huge question I have is- with seramas.. How can you put your finger up the vent in order to treat them for this?! They are too small. I would like to try to put some mineral oil into the vent (she seems very dry- her comb, wattle and face skin looks very dry). Can I use a needle less syringe to do this? I’m afraid of hurting her.
The other question is..,can eggs be stuck in other places other than the vent? And if so, is this still considered “egg bound”, or is it another issue? where exactly on the hen would you feel an egg? I’ve heard people talk about feeling eggs in hens, but I don’t know where they mean. This hard round object (which I assume is an egg) is under her, between her legs but up towards the vent a bit, just after where the bones stop. She appeared to be healthy otherwise. All the rest of the flock is doing well.
How can I help her?! Thanks in advance for any replies. I attached a photo of her poop (the puddle of white mucus- the big green bit is spinach and an oat can be seen in the front of the photo) and a photo of her currently. She is not panting Or appearing to be in any pain. Just staying still. Tail down and head closer to body. You can see her green droppings to the left of her from overnight.
Then I noticed a few days ago she was doing the same thing. I brought her inside. She is even skinnier now but still eats and moves around. I decided to try and give her a de-wormer again, but when I did, when she struggled she vomited up a bit of clear liquid. Her crop was full of liquid it seemed. So I thought perhaps the problem was sour crop. I gave her yogurt that evening, which she ate but did notice in the morning her crop was empty.
Another thing I noticed was that she was straining to poop- making a noise when she did. In fact one time she strained so hard she tumbled over. I decided to check for an egg. I really have no idea how to do that, or just where one would feel an egg, but yes, I do feel something hard and egg shaped (round) at the bottom of what I suppose would be her rib cage- just outside of it. It’s NOT in the vent or anywhere near the cloaca. I’ve noticed this round hard lump for a day and a half now. If it’s an egg, it’s not moved.
So I gave her the crushed up 1/2 tums tablet, with yogurt, and to the best if my ability tried to get some ky jelly into her vent plus put some preparation H on her vent to try and perhaps get any inflamation down, I then soaked her in warm Epsom salts bath, followed by a blow dry then onto a warm heater pad for her to sit on... nothin’.
I’ve messaged the area...again, nothing. I am at a loss as to what to do. She us now uninterested in regular food, including the yogurt, though she ate most of the chopped up spinach I gave her.One huge question I have is- with seramas.. How can you put your finger up the vent in order to treat them for this?! They are too small. I would like to try to put some mineral oil into the vent (she seems very dry- her comb, wattle and face skin looks very dry). Can I use a needle less syringe to do this? I’m afraid of hurting her.
The other question is..,can eggs be stuck in other places other than the vent? And if so, is this still considered “egg bound”, or is it another issue? where exactly on the hen would you feel an egg? I’ve heard people talk about feeling eggs in hens, but I don’t know where they mean. This hard round object (which I assume is an egg) is under her, between her legs but up towards the vent a bit, just after where the bones stop. She appeared to be healthy otherwise. All the rest of the flock is doing well.
How can I help her?! Thanks in advance for any replies. I attached a photo of her poop (the puddle of white mucus- the big green bit is spinach and an oat can be seen in the front of the photo) and a photo of her currently. She is not panting Or appearing to be in any pain. Just staying still. Tail down and head closer to body. You can see her green droppings to the left of her from overnight.
