Egg broke inside young hen and it seems stuck

[Mrs Howey]

I have a young hen she laid her 3rd egg today, she's my only brown layer so I know its hers. But, I noticed some yolk and a little blood on her rump a little bit after I found the egg and on closer inspection I noticed something protruding out of her vent. I gave her an Epson salt bath and cleaned her up best I could to get a good look at what was going on. I noticed it was a soft shelled egg that seems to be caught up on something inside. She can get 3/4 of it out and there is swelling around the 1/4 of the egg that seems stuck. I can see the swelling inside only when she bares down and pushes. But the egg sucked back in now that she's relaxed. I placed Vaseline inside her vent around the egg and have her separated from the flock in a dark room. I haven't pulled on it because it does have some calcium on it. Should I leave it alone and let her pass it on her own or should I remove the part that does come out and watch for the rest of it? I've never had a hen break an egg inside her before. I plan on giving her an Epson salt soak later tonight and re-apply vaseline. The picture isn't the best but I circled the bit of egg that is currently poking out. She can still poop and she isn't prolasped yet as far as I can tell.

 

[coach723]

Sometimes if you put light, constant pressure (pulling) on the egg it will help her expel it. I wouldn't pull hard or force it. If that doesn't work, then try giving her a calcium citrate +D tablet, tonight if possible, and see if she can pass it by morning. The calcium will help with contractions and also may help her pass it. Soft shelled eggs can be pretty hard for them to pass.

 

[Mrs Howey]

Thank you for the reply. I don't have calcium citrate but I do have calcium carbonate supplement 600mg on hand. Could I give that instead? Does dosage matter? She's about 5 pounds.

 

[coach723]

You can use that. The citrate +D is just easier absorbed. In a pinch I give a tums which is 750mg of calcium carbonate. The Citrical I use is 400mg calcium citrate.

 

[Mrs Howey]

You can use that. The citrate +D is just easier absorbed. In a pinch I give a tums which is 750mg of calcium carbonate. The Citrical I use is 400mg calcium citrate.

Thank you. I gave her the calcium carbonate already, had a little hiccup in getting her to take it. I figured out she's picky in what she'll eat. I dissolved the pill in a little water then soaked that up with some bread. She wouldn't touch it. I ended up mixing in some fermented seeds to get her to eat a little bit of the bread. She ate a little less than half of the bread with all the seeds. I'll give her a soak in a few hours and see if I can't pull on the egg after that to get it out. I'll give more calcium in the morning, see if I can find a mixture she'll eat.

 

[coach723]

You can grind it up, mix it in a little soft coconut oil, then freeze it or refrigerate it til firm. Goes down easy that way, they usually like coconut oil. Like a custom pill. I give most of my oral meds that are pill or capsule that way, especially with a bird that isn't eating well.

 

[Mrs Howey]

This is what she looks like after a soak and feather trim so I could see better. I did pull on the egg a little but it didn't budge. Not as much popped out as when I did her first bath. A little worried about a possible prolaspe if she strains too hard. I did add more Vaseline up the vent all around the egg and I got her to eat the rest of the calcium laced bread as well. Just noticed that she seems to be leaking some clear/bloody fluid as well now that I got her blow dried.
Edit: clear/bloody fluid is looks to be egg white. It's also mixing in with her poop.

 

[Mrs Howey]

She still hasn't passed the egg yet but it didn't suck back up again like it did after her first bath. I plan on continuing with soaks, Vaseline, and feeding calcium. I was reading up on if I could give her something for the swelling. I saw asprin was a commonly recommended medicine. I do have some small breed formulated dog asprin 120mg thats chewable on hand. If I cut it in quarters could I give her some? I don't want to poison her accidentally by giving her something I shouldn't have. She can still pass stool but its been only the white part since this morning. I've got her in a more confined space to monitor her bowel movements closer and I took food away to see if her crop is emptying. I checked on her an hour and a half after sun up and she had food in her crop so I don't know if it's from this morning or last night. The eggwhite/blood discharge is still leaking out her vent as well, it's not alot but it enough to make stuff wet. Other than the penguin walk she's been acting normally so far.

 

[coach723]

The only issue with aspirin is the bleeding. Since it thins the blood it could make bleeding worse. I would continue what you are doing. You can try using honey on it, that will help with swelling, keep things moist, and it's mildly antibacterial. I keep manuka honey on hand for first aid and for prolapse treatment. Sometimes when this happens they end up with more than one egg in the pipe, so she may lay more than just this when it finally passes. I think you are doing everything you can do.

 

[Mrs Howey]

Thank you, I do have medical honey on hand that I was debating on using on her. I'll put some up there after her next soak.