Eggbound chicken, leaking clear and yellow, odourless liquid from vent

[Arret]

I'm a newbie to chickens and am soaking one in the tub; I think I feel an egg way in there, and judging from the discharge, think it broke. How long do I soak her, what can I do? I know this is serious.

She didn't come down from her roost today with the others. When I picked her up, yellow liquid splashed me, and there is clear watery stuff under the roost. I am soaking her in the tub in fairly warm water. Now what? How long do I let her soak before I blowdry her and get her to rest in a dark place? How do I get her to drink? Whenever I put water in a cardboard box with a hen, it gets ignored and then tips over.

There is a vet here who will see chickens, but I don't think taking her to the vets would be good for her right now. I think I am feeling a round egg shape way inside her vent. How do I help her? I got her three weeks ago, she has never laid an egg for me, she is a year and a half, a small brown production hen of some kind. Please help a newbie with a hen in her tub.

Arret

 

[7L Farm]

What happens is the egg drys up inside her & she can't push it out. You need to lube the egg inside her.

 

[GoChick]

this happened twice to one of my hens.

She once fell from her roost and broke an egg inside her.
I put her on my basement sink, with warm water up to her vent. I massaged her belly for 10 min or so, then i put some olive oil on my fingers and very gently inserted it up her vent, feeling inside. I was able to find pieces of egg and get them out, very gently. She also pushed some pieces out by herself, as I was massaging and probing inside. I stopped only when I could not feel any more broken shell inside her. then I washed her and blow dried. Next day, I did it all over again, to make sure nothing was left, and kept an eye on her for a few days afterwards.

Good luck, keep us posted!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

If you feel an intact egg, then don't try to remove it other than soaking for 30 minutes in the bath. You could break the egg and be in a world of trouble. However, if you do think that one of the eggs broke, I would try to get those pieces out.

I have no experience with eggbound hens...just trying to share what I have read on here.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/26414/eggbound-white-pekin-question
see post #2

http://www.avianweb.com/eggbinding.html
here is another link but for all birds

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-treat-egg-binding-in-chickens.html
and another

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I edited my post above.

 

[Arret]

Hi,

Well... here is an update. Half-comb is dry from her bath and eating so she is back out with the other chickens tonight. No egg or shell bits, but she had some stringy stuff and clear jelly come out. I am worried she is an internal layer, as I get no eggs from her and I have seen these watery poops with orange stringy bits under the roosts since I got her and her sister. Her sister lays a big egg every second day, and called Boss as she has so much attitude. Half-comb may be pooping egg yoke and not making shells. I don't know. I am new to chickens, just got my first ones in August. I am going away this weekend and am worried she will die in the sitter's care, which is not fair to the sitter. What do you think her chances are?

Arret

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

How is she today?

 

[Arret]

Just an update on my hen Half-comb. She is with the rest of the flock and behaving normally. Go figure. I was sure she'd be dead by the time I got back from my weekend away. She doesn't lay eggs for me, but I don't mind. She is a discarded production hen, two and a half years old, so I didn't expect much of her or her three mates; they all have sore feet, and one has a bare chest and butt that will just not refeather, and another lays thin-shelled eggs that break when she hops off them. She's laying one now, I'd better go mop out the nesting box after her. Lots of challenges for a newbie! Thank-you for all your help, I was pretty distraught over Half-comb at the time. I really appreciate it.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I am glad she is better!

Let me try to address some of your problems and see if it helps a little:

1. featherless areas- those might not regrow until the annual molt. I would think it is unlikely that the feather growing area has been so damaged that they won't regrow but it is possible.
2. thin-shelled eggs- try some oyster shell on the side in a bin (I even mix oyster shells in with my feed mix but be careful and don't add too much if you do this.)
3. sore feet- try to determine if this is bumblefoot (sores with a black scab usually) or cracked reddened feet and if you are interested in treating them maybe BYC can help- let us know!

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-treat-chicken-foot-sores.html
here is a page on bumblefoot in case it is that

http://poultrykeeper.com/rehoming-b...mon-health-problems-of-an-ex-battery-hen.html
UK site for ex-battery hen problems

 

[Arret]

Hi Everyone,

My two red rock hens came to me with lumps of dirt stuck in between their toes on either side of their middle toe. As soon as I remove the lumps of dirt, they run around the yard and get new lumps of dirt wedged in there. I worry, as their feet look swollen from the top and have rough spots beneath. I know they were in damp conditions before I got them. They are two and a half years old. I've tried soaking and bandaging their feet, they like it but it doesn't seem to help much. Here are some pics of the tops and bottoms of their feet. At what point do I need to treat this aggressively? How do I tell if it is bothering them? They aren't limping. I don't want to cut into their feet myself, if it is bumblefoot, and the vet is expensive.

I've learned a lot about bumblefoot by reading on this forum. Thanks!