Eggbound hen - am I crazy to pay a vet $150?

[ace6175]

BW, I hope your BR is alright. You have done everything you can to help her at this point.
I am awaiting a return call from the vet...he will be back on Tues. I would almost rather just have her get a hysterectomy, then I would know that she wouldn't have any more laying problems. We'll see what he has to say.
The latest Avril antic - she saw me on the other side of the fence, and jumped on the fence post, calling to me for some attention. She is really such a cutie!

 

[prncs13]

Hi,
I just started reading this thread. Have you taken Avril in for an x-ray? It also may be a tumor. I took Goober in thinking she was egg bound and it turned to be a tumor instead. My vet said never to try and get the egg out but I would say if you don't have a vet then you may have to use the advice found here on BYC to remove it yourself if absolutely necessary.

I have been lucky and had 2 awesome chicken vets. One in Georgetown, TX (north of Austin) and one in Williamstown, MA (an hour east of Albany, NY) and both do not charge full price on avian, it is always half price.

Michelle

 

[BWchicken]

prncs13, did the tumor show up on a normal x-ray? Where was it, and what was the outcome, if you don't mind me asking?

ace, Avril is quite a character, what a sweet girl! I'm so glad to hear she's still feeling good. Please let us know what the vet says when you talk to him.

Edited to add: Still no change in Baby, my BR. She's acting fine but still not laying, and I can still feel something in her. I don't know what to do. I think the vet was wrong about it being her intestines, but it doesn't feel like a hard egg ether. It's small, round, and firm, but not hard like an eggshell. She went crazy over a treat of cold tomatos today, right along with everyone else. I try to feed them cold watery treats because it is HOT here in east texas, mid to upper 90's already. I hate to see my poor babies out there panting so hard like they do.

 

[prncs13]

Hi,
Yes it showed up in her x-ray. It was just below her vent where you thought an egg might be. When we went to the vet she thought it was an egg but then she did an internal exam and x-ray and realized it wasn't. But it was surrounded by an infection so we did the antibiotics and she felt better for about 2 weeks but then she was doing poorly again. I called the vet and we discussed the options and we put her to sleep. Chickens don't do great with anesthesia. I had surgery done on one chicken and she came through fine only to die later that night. She had an impacted crop. I think she was old and the stress of the whole thing was too much.

I hope your girl gets to feeling better. I moved my chickens to Vermont. None us of could stand the Texas heat when we lived there.

M

 

[ace6175]

BW, it's good to hear that Baby is acting normally....It's been hot & humid here (IL), so I can only imagine what it's like in Texas!

 

[BWchicken]

Hi ace! I hope Avril is still doing well. Were you able to talk to your vet?

 

[ace6175]

Hi BW,
I did talk to the vet a few days ago, he was going to an avian vet meeting, and the topic was Laparoscopic surgery. He thought maybe he could try this to find the egg, and remove the oviduct in the process. But he said he found out that chickens have too much fat for laparoscopic surgery. So my only option according to him is exploratory surgery, and if he can, he will also remove her oviduct.
BW, not sure what I should do! I know the longer I wait, the worse the surgery will be. It's probably already going to be very complicated, he will have to remove it from whatever tissue it is stuck to. And she acts normal, except for every couple of days when she lays a thin shelled egg. I really don't think she is suffering (or at least not for very long). Maybe a few hours before she lays the egg.
The thought of losing her is just so overwhelming. I'm afraid to have her have the surgery, and afraid not to have her have the surgery. I wish I had brought her in as soon as I suspected that she was laying around her stuck egg.
How long did Ginger lay around her stuck egg? Did your vet think the surgery was going to be complicated?
How is your BR doing? Has she started laying again?
Thanks for listening to my story - it's been such a crazy time lately, added 2 12 week old SLW to the flock (they are now Avril's friends), and it rains just about every day around here!

 

[BWchicken]

ace, I'm sorry you're going through this, but I'm glad Avril is still doing well, when she's not laying. Ginger laid around the stuck egg for at least a month until the laying process caused her to suffer for hours on end. Her procedure was done through the vent to drain and break the egg, not actual cutting type surgery. But if the shell couldn't be removed completely, the plan was surgery to remove it. And, yes my vet was apprehensive about that, but he said it would be our only option at that point.

I'm guessing Avril's surgery would be pretty complicated. You mentioned removing her oviduct, would it also be necessary to remove the ovary to stop it from producing? I know you're scared, and I know you don't know what to do. You don't want her to suffer anymore with the stuck egg, and you don't want to have her die in surgery either. It's hard. From my experience with Ginger, when the egg laying starts getting difficult it only gets worse from there. As sad as it is, it's true she may not make it through the surgery, any surgery is risky, but there are many birds that do make it and live long lives. What if he just removed the egg, would that be easier surgery? Or do you want the oviduct removed too? If you really trust your vet, I would just follow his recommendations for the surgery. I'm sorry, I know how hard this is. Keep giving Avril all the love you can and please keep us posted.

Thanks for asking about Baby. I posted about her on this forum and then later, on the egg-laying forum, but didn't get much interest from anyone. She still hasn't laid (it's been over a month now), but she acts fine, just like her normal self. I don't have a clue what's going on with her, so I'm still just keeping an eye on her for now.

 

[BWchicken]

How is Avril doing?

 

[ace6175]

Hi BW,
Avril is still acting normal, except for the soft shelled egg every other day. I wonder how long she can live like this, because she acts totally normal! Still torn about surgery vs. just letting her be.
How is Baby? Has she started laying again?