Last month, my chicken Clementine started having diarrhea on the daily. None of the other chickens were experiencing diarrhea, so I figured maybe she ate something that didn’t sit right while free ranging. Eventually, she started to molt same time as everyone else is, but her feathers were taking much longer to grow back. Turns out, diarrhea can be a symptom of egg binding, and sure enough when I checked her butt she was prolapsed and swollen. It seems like she’s been able to pass the eggs on her own, with a lot of difficulty, and for that I’ve been lucky.
But now I’ve started to soak her every morning for 15-20 minutes in a warm epsom salt bath, spray Vetericyn on her butt at night, and feed her a supplement of 2 mushed tums with mealworms, to help boost her protein to get the feathers back but also to encourage her to eat all the tums for her egg binding.
Unfortunately the other chickens recognize shes unwell, and though her feathers are growing back-ish, they keep getting plucked out by the rooster who I am desperately trying to give away. She sleeps in a cage by herself at night, and free ranges otherwise in the morning.
I also cut away some of the feathers around her vent so I can easier see/feel the prolapse and so I don’t have to clean the crusted sand/diarrhea combo as intensely.
Anyway, this morning after her soak, she immediately had a big explosion of diarrhea, and waddled off as normal. She used to be one of our best layers, and now she’s struggling.
Again, none of the other chickens have experienced these symptoms, and I’ve watched her pass an egg a couple of times. I’ve tried lubing up her vent with a gloved hand, and I can feel the egg sometimes, but otherwise didn’t seem to do anything but stress her out more.
Her vent has been far less hot and swollen since I’ve started soaking her daily, but the diarrhea continues.
How can I help her recover? What else can I do to help her lay?
But now I’ve started to soak her every morning for 15-20 minutes in a warm epsom salt bath, spray Vetericyn on her butt at night, and feed her a supplement of 2 mushed tums with mealworms, to help boost her protein to get the feathers back but also to encourage her to eat all the tums for her egg binding.
Unfortunately the other chickens recognize shes unwell, and though her feathers are growing back-ish, they keep getting plucked out by the rooster who I am desperately trying to give away. She sleeps in a cage by herself at night, and free ranges otherwise in the morning.
I also cut away some of the feathers around her vent so I can easier see/feel the prolapse and so I don’t have to clean the crusted sand/diarrhea combo as intensely.
Anyway, this morning after her soak, she immediately had a big explosion of diarrhea, and waddled off as normal. She used to be one of our best layers, and now she’s struggling.
Again, none of the other chickens have experienced these symptoms, and I’ve watched her pass an egg a couple of times. I’ve tried lubing up her vent with a gloved hand, and I can feel the egg sometimes, but otherwise didn’t seem to do anything but stress her out more.
Her vent has been far less hot and swollen since I’ve started soaking her daily, but the diarrhea continues.
How can I help her recover? What else can I do to help her lay?
