Egg Peritonitis?

[brandon00733]

This might seem a iittle long I apologize but she has a couple things going on...
First she is an 18 m/o Barred Rock she is molting so we changed her food to the feather builder because she was laying rubbery eggs some just falling on the poop deck...over the last week or so I've seen her going into the nesting box but not laying an egg after she comes out.

I've already checked her vent and she isn't bound but is it possible she could have had an egg break or not fully form? She is very slowly oozing a very light yellow color discharge from her vent. I didn't feel any shells but is it possible there wasn't one because of her molting? IDK what to do with her, becasue she has slowed down on her eating and drinking. I am going to try and give her a warm bath today and possibly olive oil her vent, her vent isn't swollen at all. She does seem to be "pushing" and almost keeping her tail down not up like the rest. Any help would be appreciated you guys have solved a lot of chicken issues! Should I post a picture? It is kind of gross wasn't sure? Thank You...

 

[biophiliac]

I think a picture would be helpful. Sorry your hen is having trouble. I'm sure you will get some good advice soon.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi

Sorry to hear that your hen is unwell. When you say that she was laying "rubbery eggs" what do you mean? Shell less eggs that are normal eggs but with only a membrane or do you mean "lash eggs" which are what I would class as rubbery.... these are usually flesh coloured/brown and when you cut them open they have layers of what looks like cooked egg and sausage meat.... if you google "lash eggs" you will no doubt find plenty of images.
When hens get towards the end of their egg laying cycle, the quality of their eggs and shells particularly can become poor as their body is depleted of minerals. Shell less eggs are very difficult to expel and sometimes take the bird a couple of days and some considerable effort to lay. Very thin shelled eggs can break inside them cause problems, so this might be her problem.
If however the "rubbery eggs" were lash eggs, then that suggests she has an infection of the oviduct (salpingitis) which sadly may prove fatal as she will be filling up with a mass of that lash egg material (puss and egg) which becomes impossible to expel due to the size and irregular shape. Eventually it becomes so large that it constricts the lower digestive tract and the bird is unable to evacuate waste. If caught early enough it can sometimes be treated with antibiotics, but without extremely risky surgery, the oviduct remains blocked and once the bird starts to lay again, her system just gets backed up more until it shuts down. Hormonal implants can prevent ovulation and therefore stop that happening but need to be replaced every 3-6 months and are expensive.

So the leaking yellow material could be a broken egg or puss or even poop.... Does it smell?
Yes, go ahead and post a photo. It may help.
Apart from this yellow ooze, what does her normal poop look like? Is she managing to pass anything else?
What does her crop feel like? Often a constriction of the gut will lead to slow and/or sour crop.
How does her body condition feel? Is her breast bone sharp under her skin or reasonably covered? Compare against other hens of a similar breed/build.
Also check between her legs for any swelling or bloat there and again compare with healthy hens. There is no point in looking because their feathers hide any abnormality but usually you can feel a difference by cupping your hand under one and then another.

I know many people say that yellow discharge is egg yolk peritonitis but that illness usually happens when the bird has been laying internally for many weeks/months (egg yolks drop into the abdominal cavity instead of the oviduct and peritonitis is when they become infected) and there is actually no route for those yolks to then get into the oviduct or gut in order to come out of the vent, so I think it may be a myth perpetuated by people who do not understand the nature of the illness. If there is no obvious swelling and she laid eggs recently, then it is unlikely to be EYP.

 

[brandon00733]

 

[brandon00733]

This was a picture I found online thisbsi what her eggs have looked like before she stopped laying. I just assumed she stopped laying because she's molting

 

[rebrascora]

You might want to go back and delete some of those photo since they are all duplicates..... the system glitches sometimes. I had the same problem a few days ago.

The white element of the poop soiling her feathers is urates. That often happens when the gut is constricted. You might want to trim back her feathers and grease the remainder and her skin with coconut oil or Petroleum jelly. As regards the olive coloured stuff in amongst her feathers, it looks like it may be caecal poop, but perhaps that is not the pale yellow you are referring to or the photo has changes the colour.

 

[rebrascora]

Ok, well that is a shell less egg, so that is good news.....if it had been a lash egg, there would have been little hope.

I think another long soak in warm Epsom salts bath may help and a little lubrication and massage. Shell less eggs are really difficult for them to lay. A hefty dose of calcium will help her with the contractions, so give her a half a Tums tablet crushed and sprinkled on some soggy bread or scrambled egg some liquid calcium or however you can get it into her first. Once you (hopefully) get out whatever eggs there are in there, I would keep her in the dark for a few days to see if you can trigger her to stop ovulating.
Good luck with her and let us know how you get on.

 

[brandon00733]

Ok, well that is a shell less egg, so that is good news.....if it had been a lash egg, there would have been little hope.

I think another long soak in warm Epsom salts bath may help and a little lubrication and massage. Shell less eggs are really difficult for them to lay. A hefty dose of calcium will help her with the contractions, so give her a half a Tums tablet crushed and sprinkled on some soggy bread or scrambled egg some liquid calcium or however you can get it into her first. Once you (hopefully) get out whatever eggs there are in there, I would keep her in the dark for a few days to see if you can trigger her to stop ovulating.
Good luck with her and let us know how you get on.

Thank you ... going to go get started... she isn't looking so hot today. She looks tired