Egg Bound? Yellow watery poo...

[Abbkayx]

Hi!
This is Ms. Ethel. She’s one of my oldest birds (2 years), and she hasn’t been feeling good... for about 12-18 hours I would guess. She was fine this morning (Friday), I think. I went out earlier and she jumped into the nest box about 4 PM which is abnormal for her. She usually lays in the morning. Im not sure if she did lay an egg or not. She also refused scrambled eggs... definitely not normal for her!

I check her around 7PM, and she spent the evening laying on the coop floor. I brought her in looked her over, thinking possibly egg bound? Though no real symptoms... I’m not sure. There was dried egg shell on her rear. I trimmed her feathers but not sure if that was from her, or just laying on a broken egg. It was on her feathers not really her vent, but just below. No mites, lice, injuries (we treat with elector PSP quarterly). Not sure when the last time she laid was. Gave her an epsom salt bath, tried to get some calcium in her but she won’t eat - she is drinking just fine though. Acting pretty normal otherwise, just sort of standing around. No waddling, no rump down, not a ton of “pushing” either. She is fairly alert, doesn’t seem too lethargic but also doesn’t really want to move. Went to check on her a few mins ago and she pooped, finally, twice. Photos attached. No other symptoms - also I’ve never dewormed my birds as I never have seen evidence of them. Does this poop say anything? It’s not foamy, just watery, and yellow. Not sure what’s happening or the best course of treatment. Thank you in advance!

Included some photos of her tonight, in her bath and relaxing in her temporary hospital room .

 

[azygous]

What you've observed is enough to assume an egg has collapsed inside this hen and material is still stuck.

This is one of the most complex issues to treat, but it can have a good outcome if you go at it seriously. Calcium is a crucial part of it. An oral antibiotic is the other crucial component. Look at Petsmart for Fish Mox or find it on line at KV Vet Supply.

Use people calcium, at least 500mg, and give her one whole tablet directly into her beak. Don't be shy about prying open her beak and shoving the tablet in. She will have no trouble swallowing and will not choke, no matter how afraid you might be of that. Do the same with the amoxicillin. One whole capsule 250mg per day for ten days. The antibiotic is necessary since egg yolk is a prime bacteria growing medium and can set your hen up for a chronic reproductive tract infection if not treated now.

Recently, my eleven-year old SLW had this problem and it took eighteen days to resolve, so patience is another crucial component.

 

[Abbkayx]

What you've observed is enough to assume an egg has collapsed inside this hen and material is still stuck.

This is one of the most complex issues to treat, but it can have a good outcome if you go at it seriously. Calcium is a crucial part of it. An oral antibiotic is the other crucial component. Look at Petsmart for Fish Mox or find it on line at KV Vet Supply.

Use people calcium, at least 500mg, and give her one whole tablet directly into her beak. Don't be shy about prying open her beak and shoving the tablet in. She will have no trouble swallowing and will not choke, no matter how afraid you might be of that. Do the same with the amoxicillin. One whole capsule 250mg per day for ten days. The antibiotic is necessary since egg yolk is a prime bacteria growing medium and can set your hen up for a chronic reproductive tract infection if not treated now.

Recently, my eleven-year old SLW had this problem and it took eighteen days to resolve, so patience is another crucial component.

Thank you! I let her back out this morning and she went straight into the nest box again. No eggs yet from her. I went out and bought tums as well as some calcium softgels. Is one better than the other?

i have heard of using fish mox before for issues but also heard conflicting info that it isn’t entirely safe. I will go out and grab it this morning though.

I really appreciate the help! Any other things I should do? Keep her separated or can she stay with the flock?

 

[Abbkayx]

What you've observed is enough to assume an egg has collapsed inside this hen and material is still stuck.

This is one of the most complex issues to treat, but it can have a good outcome if you go at it seriously. Calcium is a crucial part of it. An oral antibiotic is the other crucial component. Look at Petsmart for Fish Mox or find it on line at KV Vet Supply.

Use people calcium, at least 500mg, and give her one whole tablet directly into her beak. Don't be shy about prying open her beak and shoving the tablet in. She will have no trouble swallowing and will not choke, no matter how afraid you might be of that. Do the same with the amoxicillin. One whole capsule 250mg per day for ten days. The antibiotic is necessary since egg yolk is a prime bacteria growing medium and can set your hen up for a chronic reproductive tract infection if not treated now.

Recently, my eleven-year old SLW had this problem and it took eighteen days to resolve, so patience is another crucial component.

i just checked and no stores near me have Fish Mox in stock. is there any alternative?

 

[azygous]

https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/

 

[Abbkayx]

https://www.kvsupply.com/item/aqua-mox-250mg-capsules-100-count/P06184/

You think she will be okay to wait for it to be shipped? I was trying to find it locally, but no luck.

 

[azygous]

If you can't get it locally, then ask for expedited shipping. These folks are terrific about getting the order processed very quickly and shipped just as quickly. Call them now.

 

[Abbkayx]

If you can't get it locally, then ask for expedited shipping. These folks are terrific about getting the order processed very quickly and shipped just as quickly. Call them now.

Thank you! I got it ordered. I used a different website and paid extra for 2 day shipping. The place above seemed to only offer ground (2-6 day).

Someone on another forum mentioned cocci. Do you think that’s possible at all?

I let her out this morning and she’s spent the entire time in her nest box (similar to broody behavior) but I know she’s not broody so it just doesn’t seem like cocci is it. Plus she’s 2 and I know it’s not common in adult birds.

 

[azygous]

The nest sitting indicates an urge to expel something. Let her. She's having contractions that signal this. Calcium will make the contractions stronger and more effective. It's as important as controlling possible infection.

There's always the possibility of coccidiosis, but her symptoms taken together do not point to this at this time. If she has coccidiosis, she will become more lethargic and her poop may contain blood.

 

[Abbkayx]

The nest sitting indicates an urge to expel something. Let her. She's having contractions that signal this. Calcium will make the contractions stronger and more effective. It's as important as controlling possible infection.

There's always the possibility of coccidiosis, but her symptoms taken together do not point to this at this time. If she has coccidiosis, she will become more lethargic and her poop may contain blood.

Perfect. Thanks again for your wealth of knowledge. I will get her started on that ASAP! I appreciate it so much!

For the calcium do you think the tums would work best or the calcium softgels?