Egg bound?

[CCUK]

I have a 6 mth old cuckoo maran that may be egg bound. She hasn't layed in over a week. I have felt around her back end and it feels slightly squishy and she's a little uncomfortable with it. I couldn't feel an egg so I'm wondering if she may have a cracked one there. She does have some runny gloopy looking poop on her aswell. I haven't seen any eggshell in the run but if she has passed anything it may well have been eaten. She is eating/drinking fine and seems ok otherwise. I want to bath her with Epsom salts to see if it helps her pass anything. Is there a best way to bathe them? I haven't done this before so any advice will be appreciated. I'm trying to stay positive but I did lose a hen to peritonitis last year and I have no vet that can check her over for me. Thanks in advance.

 

[AmazingRachel]

It's common for young layers to have gaps in laying. Can you take a pic of the poop and post it?
Usually if a chicken is egg bound, it goes downhill fast.
I also lost a chicken to egg yolk peritonitis. She didn't lay the whole winter and lost some weight. It was a bit freaky towards that end because her legs became paralyzed and she had trouble breathing. I was so scared it was Marek's. From a necropsy, her repro tract was inflamed and pushed against her sciatic nerve. From that time she started limping to the time she died was 5 days.
If you really think she is egg bound, you can check but putting on a glove and lube and insert your finger into the vent. If she is egg bound, the egg should be in the shell gland which is an inch from the opening so you should feel the egg.

 

[CCUK]

It's common for young layers to have gaps in laying. Can you take a pic of the poop and post it?
Usually if a chicken is egg bound, it goes downhill fast.
I also lost a chicken to egg yolk peritonitis. She didn't lay the whole winter and lost some weight. It was a bit freaky towards that end because her legs became paralyzed and she had trouble breathing. I was so scared it was Marek's. From a necropsy, her repro tract was inflamed and pushed against her sciatic nerve. From that time she started limping to the time she died was 5 days.
If you really think she is egg bound, you can check but putting on a glove and lube and insert your finger into the vent. If she is egg bound, the egg should be in the shell gland which is an inch from the opening so you should feel the egg.

Thankyou. She has had a limp ever since I have had her, before she was laying. I did have my finger in her vent and didn't feel anything. She has been laying fine up until about a week ago. Perfect eggs no abnormalities. I'll try and post a poop pic. It may take a while as I'll have to watch her for a while.

 

[AmazingRachel]

Thankyou. She has had a limp ever since I have had her, before she was laying. I did have my finger in her vent and didn't feel anything. She has been laying fine up until about a week ago. Perfect eggs no abnormalities. I'll try and post a poop pic. It may take a while as I'll have to watch her for a while.

The limp my chicken had was from her inflamed repro tract pressing up against her sciatic nerve, eventually causing extreme weakness. If your chicken has been limping since forever and she is laying eggs, then I doubt it's peritonitis. My chicken's necropsy result kind of surprised me because I thought it was Marek's. I even considered egg yolk peritonitis based on what was in the chicken health handbook and the symptoms didn't match.

 

[CCUK]

I've been following her around for about the past 40 mins and she hasn't pooped! She must have stagefright! Would you think she maybe is just having a break from laying? I've just been so used to getting an egg from her. She doesn't lay everyday as is normal but it seems a little bit too long? Idk. Am I just being paranoid and looking for something that isn't there?

 

[CCUK]

Well I finally managed to get a poop shot. It looks perfectly normal?!

 

[micstrachan]

Yep, nice looking poop! LOL! A squishy back end could be a problem, though. Is her “fluffy butt) area bloated with fluid at all?

 

[CCUK]

It does feel a bit squishy. I wouldn't say bloated though.

 

[micstrachan]

What color is the skin on the squishy area? Is it her normal skin color or more pink/red? A photo would be helpful.