egg bound

[Pippomky75]

Our gal was definitely egg bound. I am just sick over the whole thing. We came home to find her roaming the yard with what looked like half her insides hanging out her vent. I brought her right inside for a warm bath. after soaking for about 20 minutes, she started straining like she was pushing. I could not feel an egg from the outside. my husband slipped a finger inside and could feel the egg. It was a broken had mass. he removed it in. several pieces, then we flushed it with saline solution. The egg itself looked like a beige prune, and was very hard. once the egg was out, some of the exposed tissue retracted back into the vent. My husband gently pushed the rest in, some stayed, some reexposed. she seemed much calmer once the mass was out, and drank some water. through the night the tissue continued to retract, we kept her in the brooder under a warm light with sterile bedding. This morning the tissue is completely retracted into the vent, with minimal swelling at the vent opening. she is in good spirits eating and drinking. There is a thick mucous-like discharge ccoming from the vent, cloudy and yellowish, no noticeable odor- but lets be honest, I'm sniffing a chicken butt... it doesn't smell like roses, but I'm not getting that sickening smell that usually accompanies infection. The whole thing has been as traumatic for me as it was for her ( My husband is an ER nurse he said "what? not my first time handling bowles") Was this a pretty normal case of an egg bound hen? is she in the clear? What can I do for her now?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You did good

It sounds like she has a prolapsed vent along with a stuck "egg"(?) Do you happen to have a photo of the "egg" (beige prune)?

I wonder if it was a lash egg or Salpingitis. Without seeing it, I'm only guessing - it may have been a shriveled, dried up soft shell egg, but the mention of it being hard, I tend to think lash egg.

Disharge - does it look like egg matter?

It's hard to know with chickens, but keep her where you can monitor her, if you have her inside, then another soaking in epsom salts may help get the discharge moving on out. If she were mine, I would also provide her with extra calcium - you can crush a Tums or 1/2tab of Caltrate, sprinkle that on some chopped egg - mine will eat that right up. Calcium helps with contractions (sometimes helps them move out egg matter/soft shell eggs, plus helps keep a prolapse in). If she still has any swelling at the vent, you can apply a little hemorrhoid cream or honey to help reduce inflammation.

Keeping her hydrated is very important, if you have poultry vitamins like Poultry Nutri-Drench, I would add those to her water or direct dose her.

Now...a lot depends on if this was a soft shell egg or if it was a lash egg (salpingitis). Salpingitis is infection/inflammation of the oviduct - a reproductive disorder. Sometimes if caught early, antibiotics may help fight the infection. If you have a vet that can offer meds, that would be great.

 

[Pippomky75]

I did not think to photograph the mass, only the prolapse- you are right that is just what it is. I don't have the tums, but do have calcium powder for my tortoises, it's calcium carbonate powder with vit. D. I will try that on the egg like you said, see how she likes it. also applied the hemorrhoid cream hopefully that helps. She frequently lays double and triple yolk eggs that are much bigger than our turkey's eggs. Could this be the problem? is that a sign or cause of Salpingitis? I texted my hub, since he handled the thing he just described it as a mass of crushed shell, and poo, and goo he is very confident it was the egg, but thinks it was in there for a while and got pretty compacted with her contractions.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

She frequently lays double and triple yolk eggs that are much bigger than our turkey's eggs. Could this be the problem?

Poor girl! Yes, laying double/triple yolk eggs would definitely contribute to a prolapsed vent.
Hmmm...if what he got out was a mass of crushed shell and poop, then it may have just been a broken egg. That might be better, but the worry would be that the shell may have cut the oviduct. I would be inclined, if she were mine, to give her a round of antibiotics "just in case" to stave off infection. You can get better meds from your vet, but if that's not an option - I would try Penicillin (you can find this at TSC) or even order some Amoxicillin online (fish mox). Let's tag @Eggcessive to see if she has a better suggestion for meds, since we are now limited to what we can get "otc".

Is she perky, eating/drinking or does she seem lethargic? She may benefit by being placed in a darkened area for most of the day to slow her egg laying until she heals. It's possible that she may prolapse again when she starts to lay another egg, so that would be something to watch for.

There's a very good photo of Salpingitis (lash egg) in this article. I can give you plenty more links for it if you'd like (some are necropsies) - I'm not sure how squeamish some people are
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/12/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard.html

 

[Pippomky75]

LOL squeamish enough I almost passed out at the sight of the prolapse. Seriously. That's why My hub handled the business end of things. I forwarded the article to him (he is at work) thank you they are helpful info. She is perky, and eating, I gave her an apple, pellet, and the chopped egg with calcium. she is pecking at all of it, and drinking. We have a brooder built in under the nesting boxes in the hen house, that is where she's convalescing. It's fairly dark (only the red heat lamp) nice and warm, and protected from the other birds, but she is still with them. This is going to sound brutal, but I am not sure the trip to the vet would be cost effective for a chicken. OTC is the better option, we love them all and I don't want to see her suffering. so far she seems quite happy.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

LOL squeamish enough I almost passed out at the sight of the prolapse. Seriously. That's why My hub handled the business end of things. I forwarded the article to him (he is at work) thank you they are helpful info. She is perky, and eating, I gave her an apple, pellet, and the chopped egg with calcium. she is pecking at all of it, and drinking. We have a brooder built in under the nesting boxes in the hen house, that is where she's convalescing. It's fairly dark (only the red heat lamp) nice and warm, and protected from the other birds, but she is still with them. This is going to sound brutal, but I am not sure the trip to the vet would be cost effective for a chicken. OTC is the better option, we love them all and I don't want to see her suffering. so far she seems quite happy.

It's good that she is eating/drinking and sounds like you have a nice place fixed for her! Keeping her where she can be near the others is great

You don't sound brutal at all. Vet trips are expensive! Most of us do the best we can treating at home (thank goodness for BYC).

Since your hubby is a nurse, I'm sure he can figure out which medication he can use. If ordering online, you can look at "fish antibiotics" or "pigeon supplies" at places like ebay, jeffers vet supply or similar. Tractor Supply carries injectables, so.... If you need dosing information once you find what you need, ask - one of us will try to help or Kathy actually found an older version of Plumbs Vet Drug Manual you can download - so those formulas should get him close. You can find that here:https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ndbook-revision-6-free.1189785/#post-18800068

Your hen is receiving good care, I hope she makes a full recovery, please keep us posted.

 

[Pippomky75]

It's good that she is eating/drinking and sounds like you have a nice place fixed for her! Keeping her where she can be near the others is great

You don't sound brutal at all. Vet trips are expensive! Most of us do the best we can treating at home (thank goodness for BYC).

Since your hubby is a nurse, I'm sure he can figure out which medication he can use. If ordering online, you can look at "fish antibiotics" or "pigeon supplies" at places like ebay, jeffers vet supply or similar. Tractor Supply carries injectables, so.... If you need dosing information once you find what you need, ask - one of us will try to help or Kathy actually found an older version of Plumbs Vet Drug Manual you can download - so those formulas should get him close. You can find that here:https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ndbook-revision-6-free.1189785/#post-18800068

Your hen is receiving good care, I hope she makes a full recovery, please keep us posted.

thanks for the advise and the support. It's hard to know when you're doing the right thing sometimes- this is definitely one of them! We'll look into the antibiotics, that's for helping my little gal! (our 4 year old daughter who saw the whole thing has renamed her "Butty". Sigh. We all process differently right?)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Butty - That is just too cute!

 

[micstrachan]

Great advice from WP. And Butty is such a hilariously cute nick name. Please lt us know how your girl does!

 

[Pippomky75]

update: Butty is not doing well this morning. she has prolapsed again. she is straining and contracting, but passes nothing. There is an enormous amount of discharge that looks like wet mucousy poo. She seems fatigued, and is not interested in food and water. I am not sure there is time for antibiotics, I don't want her suffering, I think we might have to make the hard call today. My heart is broken.