Egg Broke inside old hen

[keeperofthechickens]

This weekend my eldest hen I had recently adopted had an egg break insider. It smelled horrible.

Found her on Sunday acting really lethargic and I picked her up and could see rotten egg oozing out.

Well I got out the dog first aid kit and flushed her inside area with a syringe full of saline solution. It seems to get a lot of the egg out.

Well now it has been 3 days later and she seems much better. Finger crossed.

So my question is has anybody tried saline solution too? Just woundering if that was the determining factor or if it's just a real tough old hen pulling through on her own.

Thanks,

Nick

 

[lurky]

I think its awesome that you went to the trouble to help her. Alot of people might not have. I Hope everything works out and that your doctoring saved her

 

[GloriaH]

I think that sounds like a really good idea. I hope that if it ever happens to one of my girls that I can remember to try it. I keep a bottle of saline on hand after the dogs tore the goats up. Do you think antibiotics would help?

 

[SpottedCrow]

I think antibiotics would be good for her also.
Glad that she's better.

 

[SandraChick]

antibiotics will likely be critical. It is likely you may not have gotten all the egg out and she's now still suceptible to perironitis (sp?).

The saline flush was a good idea I think...not sure if I'd do it one more time...or maybe even do it with an iodine tea.

Probably best to get her on some good antibiotics and see what happens!

My sister had an internal layer that did end up getting cured...but it didn't happen until she went into molt and quit "laying" eggs. Their tract shrinks when they quit laying and I think it worked out a kink. You might try forcing her to quit laying by keeping her in the dark most of the day...let her tract shrink, and heal. Just a thought.

OH...you might add ACV to her water too...helps with calcium absorption--so the egg won't break!

Sandra

 

[dlhunicorn]

...high production strains often have reproductive problems later on and with a full molt they will cease egglaying (temporarily) and as Sandra explained above "regenerate" the reproductive tract... just because a bird "molts: >>> loosing feathers does not mean this has taken place... this takes a long time and many of the "modern" strains will not "truly" molt in this way without hyman intervention to induce a FULL molt (which will include the changes to the reproductive tract she is describing) here is some info below to help you understand better than I can write it ... you have to decrease the light and the feed (you can "decrease" the feed by "diluting" the nutritional content thereby avoiding the more oldfashioned "starevation" method of initiating a molt)...
There is an extension tech paper on non-starvation molt initiation... I will look for it...
The "old" way of forcing a molt (no longer acceptable really due to the high mortality and research into non-starvation methods which are equally effective...I am posting it here so you know which method NOT to use since in this instance the purpose of the molt is to stop the lay for an extended period of time in your bird in order to give her body a rest ...in many strains of modern birds one must "help"(induce) a molt (see the very last excerpt I have posted below):
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/491/the-home-flock
Many methods have been used to initiate molt, but the most common is one that restricts the light and feed supply to the bird. To force a molt, remove all feed and artificial light for seven days or until all the birds are out of production, whichever is later. Then feed the birds 10 pounds of feed for each 10 hens and gradually increase the amount of feed until the birds are on full feed by the 45th day. Resume the lighting program on the 35th day with 14 hours of light daily and a gradual increase to the previous lighting level by the 49th day.
DO NOT USE THE ABOVE METHOD)

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/408-026/408-026.html
Article with instructions on how to induce molt
(excerpt)
"....To molt or not to molt -- that is a question which many egg producers will have to consider sometime. Before any decision can be made with any degree of accuracy, one needs to understand what natural molting is and how to adapt it for effective flock management. Natural molting normally occurs once a year in laying hens. During molting, egg production stops while the hen's body rests and rebuilds organs and tissues that have been depleted by the load of heavy egg production. Molting can also occur as a result of a stress such as disease, lack of feed or water, improper lighting, or any other faulty management practice. A few hens may molt and lay at the same time. However, these hens usually take longer to molt, and they lay at a lower rate while they molt. ......
(see article for specific instructions)

More Basic info over molting:
http://www.poultryscience.org/meet/91st/psabs26.pdf
The Physiology of Molt Induction and Recovery.
Wallace D. Berry*1, 1Department of Poultry Science, Auburn University.
"The initiation of seasonal feather molting in wild avian species frequently coincides with incubation of eggs and brooding of offspring. A period
of natural inappetence or anorexia usually accompanies this. This is particularly true of the jungle fowl, the wild ancestor of the domestic
chicken. Brooding of eggs in the jungle fowl is accompanied by spontaneous anorexia, with little food or water consumed throughout the period
of egg incubation. During this time the reproductive tract regresses and feather molting is initiated. Selective breeding for a high rate of egg
production has blunted the response of domestic poultry species to the endogenous biological and exogenous environmental cues which coordinate
the initiation of seasonal molting. However, these species retain the ability to tolerate prolonged fasting, spontaneous regression of the
reproductive tract, and feather molting in their physiological repertoire. Induction of a coordinated molt, by manipulation of environmental and
nutritional cues, or endocrine manipulation, can be used in domestic hens to regress and regenerate the reproductive tract. This improves subsequent
egg production and egg shell quality. This process also induces temporary recrudescence of lymphoid tissues and may improve immune function in hens. The process of molting, and the subsequent recovery from the molt, may be seen as a complex physiological constellation, induced by environmental and nutritional cues, involving endocrine systems, reproductive tissue structure and function, digestive structure and function, and lymphoid structure and immune function."

Here is a review of different NON-starvation methods:
http://www.livestocktrail.uiuc.edu/poultrynet/paperDisplay.cfm?ContentID=386
(scroll down to the section3.2 Evaluation of Non-Feed Removal Methods for Molting Laying Hens (Report by K.W. Koelkebeck)

another method:
http://www.livestocktrail.uiuc.edu/poultrynet/paperDisplay.cfm?Type=currentTopic &ContentID=523