Egg Bound?

[virgogypsy75]

Hi there! So one of my girls seems to be egg bound but I'm not quite sure. She lethargic, stands around puffed out, eyes closed. She's eating a bit, had some oyster shells earlier and is drinking. We checked the outside of her vent to make sure she didn't have sticky butt but it seemed all clear. She does have runny poop though. I took a couple pics. It happened with another one of my chicks during the summer and she ended up passing it fine. It's winter and cold and I'm so worris about her! Any advice??

Happy Thanksgiving to all by the way!

 

[kelck22]

Can you feel an egg?

 

[virgogypsy75]

I don't know, I've never done that. Do u mean like stick my finger up the vent? This is my first year with chickens so I'm still learning.

 

[kelck22]

Sometimes you can feel it from the outside. I have heard of people oiling up their fingers and feeling, with gloves of course. I have also heard feeding them oil.

 

[realsis]

If you think she is bound you can give her a human calcium pill. something in the calcium helps them to lay. the vet will give a bound hen a shot of calcium glutenate to help them lay.a human calcium pill will work as well. You can also give her a warm bath to relax her muscles. You might want to apply a lubricant to her vent to also help her. Her droppings look foamy and I can't see very well but is that her urate on the white part? Foamy droppings can sometimes mean coccidosis or stress. Have you noticed her straining as if to lay? Symptoms of coccidosis is lethergie puffed up feathers and the bird will appear very sleepy. With coccidosis bloody droppings may or may NOT be present. If she has the symptoms of cocci you can treat it with corid. Which is amprollium. Brand names are corid or amprol. Older birds can still get cocci if they come across a strain they are not immune too. Their are 9 strains of cocci and corid kills all 9. I can't see how your bird is acting so look up coccidosis and see if you think her symptoms match. Keeping in mind bloody stool does not have to be present to have cocci. If you feel she does not have those symptoms and is indeed egg bound I would then try the human calcium pill to help her lay. I hope this is helpful. I'm sorry I can't be specific on which of these issues she has because I have not observed the bird. But hopefully these treatments will help. You can rule out one or the other with clues from her behavior. If she's straining and going to the nest box and looking like she's wanting to lay then she's likely egg bound but if she's not straining and just puffed up not moving much and acting very sleepy I might consider that she might have coccidosis. Please look up both conditions and see the symptoms for both conditions so you can rule out one or the other and then treat accordingly. I hope this is helpful and wish you the best.

 

[virgogypsy75]

Stupid question....what's a urate? I have not noticed any bloody poop. We did get a really tiny egg on Sunday which was weird because we've never gotten one before. There was no yolk. I'm going to see how she is tomorrow. I may have a friend of mine come over and take a look at her, she's had chickens much longer than I have. I'm praying and hoping that it is not cocci, from what I'm seeing it can be very deadly. Where do I even get Corid or Amprol, at the vet or TSC? As far as the human calcium pills, is there a particular brand you recommend from a regular pharmacy? Thank you so much for your advice! I'm freaked out honestly, I just pray she's alright tomorrow morning when I go out to see my girls.

 

[Eggcessive]

Urates are the white in the droppings--this is urine. I would go ahead and feel inside the vent for an egg, while also feeling thelower abdomen at the same time. A crushed tums, human calcium tablet, or eggshells or oystershell would be good to give if you feel an egg. If there is an egg, place her in a warm bath to soak for 30 minutesthis plus the calcium can help her to release the egg. If not egg bound, I would also look atcoccidiosis, mites, or wormsbeing the cause. Corid is at most farm stores and is for cattle--get the liquid or powder. 1 tsp powder or 2 tsp liquid to 1 gallon water for 5-7 days. Give probiotics and vitamins after treatment.

 

[virgogypsy75]

Thank you for the advice! I tried checking her vent by myself and she wasn't having it nor the bath so I have to wait for someone to help me. In the meantime she's the same but definitely eating and drinking. I gave her organic plain yogurt with oyster shells which she loved and water with probiotics. I went and gave the other chickens some meal worm treats and she ran like a mad woman to come eat them and was acting totally normal scratching and eating. Then went back to the same not happy chicky. Someone will help me to check her vent in the am and if it's not that I will definitely buy some Corid which I found today. These are the latest pics. The close up one shows some white under her eye right above where the feathers start....not sure what the heck that is. The poop is still runny but I can't find a pic online to compare it to. So frustrating trying to almost self diagnose this.

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[Ihilani Coffee]

I already posted this to the BCM thread but I'm a newbie...and guess I should have posted it here. Sorry if I broke some protocol. Is it possible for a POL pullet to get eggbound on the first egg? I have a BCM from a nice line that is walking like a duck and pretty sure I feel an egg in there. She is eating/drinking/foraging but laying down a lot and has the look of a Marans Runner DuckHen. I have gently massaged her (with expert LMT hands) and tried to shift things but not helping. She walks more normally after I have massaged but still not passing the egg. What is everyone's experience with the warm sitzbath method? Sure don't want to lose her, and thinking it's time for a chicken-in-the-bathtub for real.

Later...Two days of calcium orally, two days of olive oil...nada. She had a spa day today with a relaxing soak and pellet stove fan-dry (I thought that would be less stressful than the noisy blowdryer). No egg. I did carefully examine her with one finger and can feel the hard egg clearly but it is through a live membrane...like I'm feeling the shell gland/uterus. I'm going to try again and see if I can find my way to the actual eggshell. Not sure I can feel this with a finger cot on or if I'll have to scrub up. How probable is it that she simply has an incomplete (blind) reproductive system? It happens in other species.

It was a lot easier when I just had chickens. Fed them. Got eggs.