EGG YOLK IN HEN'S BUTT - LETHARGIC. HELP!

[MaeM]

I feel like the prolapse is internal, if that makes sense? Her butt looks pretty normal on the outside but when I put the cream inside her butt (as the vet told me to do when she had the first prolapse) I was able to see a bit of her insides... The flesh is inflamed and some poop passed through one of the sides of the channel. So yes, there's a partial blockage.

I can't feel any egg though. I didn't put my finger in her vent again but her abdomen is not swollen and I can't feel eggs in it. It's either a soft shelled egg or an egg that broke inside her, although when I put my finger into her vent, I didn't retrieve any hard pieces, just yolk and white.

I will try to take her to the vet tomorrow. In the meantime I will keep giving her enrofloxacin and egg shells.

 

[Eggcessive]

The vet may decide tomorrow to give the steroids, and that would be fine. They would be better qualified. Steroids can cause a variety of side effects, such as ulcers, decreased resistance to infection, increased thirst and hunger, weight gain, and masking symptoms, among others. Be sure to keep the prolapse from drying out. Let us know if you see the vet, and good luck.

 

[Mayalys]

I feel like the prolapse is internal, if that makes sense? Her butt looks pretty normal on the outside but when I put the cream inside her butt (as the vet told me to do when she had the first prolapse) I was able to see a bit of her insides... The flesh is inflamed and some poop passed through one of the sides of the channel. So yes, there's a partial blockage.

I can't feel any egg though. I didn't put my finger in her vent again but her abdomen is not swollen and I can't feel eggs in it. It's either a soft shelled egg or an egg that broke inside her, although when I put my finger into her vent, I didn't retrieve any hard pieces, just yolk and white.

I will try to take her to the vet tomorrow. In the meantime I will keep giving her enrofloxacin and egg shells.

Chances are the vet will prescribe meloxicam for inflammation (this is what I got, but I'm unsure if it added something to the antibiotics). I would hold the steroids personally. I still think the most likely situation is that she got an infection from a previous broken egg. My experience has been that when a hen has eggshell issues, the problems get only worse as she ages, because she lays less often but the eggs are bigger. I'm now waiting for my hen with eggshell issues to drop an egg, since she's been suffering and trying to get it out all day. Most likely I will find a smashed very thin shelled egg under the roost tomorrow morning, and that would be the best case scenario. So I think you have to also prepare for the future.

 

[MaeM]

Chances are the vet will prescribe meloxicam for inflammation (this is what I got, but I'm unsure if it added something to the antibiotics). I would hold the steroids personally. I still think the most likely situation is that she got an infection from a previous broken egg. My experience has been that when a hen has eggshell issues, the problems get only worse as she ages, because she lays less often but the eggs are bigger. I'm now waiting for my hen with eggshell issues to drop an egg, since she's been suffering and trying to get it out all day. Most likely I will find a smashed very thin shelled egg under the roost tomorrow morning, and that would be the best case scenario. So I think you have to also prepare for the future.

I hear you. Bianca has always had egg laying issues. Calcium supplements never fixed them. The vet said that she probably has a congenital defect in her reproductive system.

After she got seriously sick last June, she stopped laying regularly. She is only 2 years old but is already laying only once in a while. Last time, she got a prolapse, and received Meloxicam shots.

Then laid the biggest egg ever. And now, this...

I also used to find yolk and soft shells below her roost. I didn't like seeing that but now I wish I would see that because I'm afraid of egg materials still being inside her.

What do you recommend for the future? I wish I could simply make her stop egg laying. I don't care about her eggs, I care about what's best for her.

 

[Eggcessive]

Some vets will use hormone implants to stop laying for 6 months.

 

[Mayalys]

I hear you. Bianca has always had egg laying issues. Calcium supplements never fixed them. The vet said that she probably has a congenital defect in her reproductive system.

After she got seriously sick last June, she stopped laying regularly. She is only 2 years old but is already laying only once in a while. Last time, she got a prolapse, and received Meloxicam shots.

Then laid the biggest egg ever. And now, this...

I also used to find yolk and soft shells below her roost. I didn't like seeing that but now I wish I would see that because I'm afraid of egg materials still being inside her.

What do you recommend for the future? I wish I could simply make her stop egg laying. I don't care about her eggs, I care about what's best for her.

If you live outside of US, you might be able to get the hormone implants. They are illegal in US, and that makes me really unhappy. Mine also only lays every so often, and if I see runny egg with no shell, I give her three days of Aqua-Mox in food, which I now always keep in hand. Seems to prevent infection without creating issues, it’s relatively narrow spectrum and doesn’t taste objectionable. I missed it one time, and she had a bad infection and it took a lot more antibiotics to clear. My hen is a 3 year old Isa Brown with shell issues due to age, so I’m playing by the month here (antibiotic resistance is not so much of a concern). Maybe your vet will have more ideas, because if she makes it through this one, it will certainly happen again. She may not have any egg left inside, but if there is internal swelling, they will behave as if there is.

 

[MaeM]

UPDATE:

Her vet is outside of the city but he sent me with a colleague.

This man told me that giving her enrofloxacin was the best choice - so thank you all! He says that I should give it to her for 7 days just to make sure the infection is cleared.

As for the anti-inflammatories, Meloxicam is the best choice because it has fewer side effects, but in the right dose, dex would have helped, too.

Now he doesn't think either of them is necessary as she is not as inflamed as she was.

I told him that she still isn't pooping properly but he believes that she has a sensation of an egg or a sensation of the inflammation she had. He said that hens can even sit on the nest box because of these sensations, even though there are no real eggs.

Anyway, he thinks that the problem will self-resolve at this point, I just have to keep giving her the enrofloxacin and make sure that she eats, drinks, and poops at least a bit.

I also must clean her because all the yolk dripping and the lack of dust bathing attracted lice.

He believes that with a few baths the lice will be removed as they are only around her vent, she isn't totally infested, but I'm not sure of this... What do you think? Is there anything else I can do at home to try to remove the lice?

He told me that if baths don't help he will give her medication but he'd rather not to.

 

[Mayalys]

I hope your hen is feeling better right now. Sometimes, after feeling very sick due to egg laying issues, my hen would enter a partial molt which allows her to stop laying for a bit, Sorry, no experience with lice as it’s not something my chickens than free range during the day tend to get (worms, on the other hand…). I did hear of people that had luck with minor lice infestations with dusting of diatomaceous earth. It might be that only minor care is needed until she’s feeling well enough to dust bathe.

 

[MaeM]

Bianca is feeling better! She is no longer taking antibiotics and the swelling went down by itself. She started pooping normally and is herself again! She started dust bathing again and the number of lice is super reduced in comparison to last time. The vet thinks that she will remove them all with a few more dust baths. Which are great news because he didn't want to medicate her.

He told me that because he is a chronically ill hen that has taken more meds than any other hen, he is unsure of his kidney function, that is why he didn't even give her Meloxicam - and that is why it took her about one week to recover. It could've been earlier but this vet is not "her" vet and he has no access to the other vet's notes, medical history, etc., so he chose the safest option.

Thank you all for your help!